Camp

Gr 9 Up–Randy always spends the whole school year eagerly anticipating his month at Camp Outland, the sleepaway camp for queer teens where he lets his femme flag fly and participates in theater. But this year will be different: Randy has a plan to woo Hudson, the hottest boy at camp, who only dates masculine boys. Randy comes to camp without his sparkly nail polish and false eyelashes, but with toned abs and a new nickname, Del. Hudson doesn’t recognize Del and the boys get to know one another through a new assortment of activities: hiking, obstacle course, and absolutely no theater. As they begin to fall in love, Hudson shares stories about his family, like bonding with his grandmother over makeup. As Del gradually shows off his feminine side, Hudson unleashes his internalized homophobia. Del—or Randy—has to question whether all this work is worth it to win over a boy who may never love the real him. Fabulous Camp Outland welcomes a diverse range of queer teens, with supporting characters who are trans, nonbinary, ace, and demisexual. Randy is white and Jewish; Hudson is Korean and Jewish.