Grace Ellis Reviews “Penikese Island Adventure” by Kathleen Hickey

“Penikese Island Adventure” follows Julia, an incoming high school junior who volunteers at a camp for troubled boys run by her father. Initially, she is motivated to help in order to spend time with her dad and work on her essay, but ends up becoming friends with several of the boys, especially one named Diego. Kathleen Hickey’s writing follows a satisfying pace, allowing Julia’s relationships to develop naturally. The story lets her explore her own goals without excluding the importance of those connected to her, like her dad, her mom, her friends, and her love interest.

Hickey also manages to write about Julia and Diego’s relationship in an interesting way without defaulting to unnecessary drama. The two characters still act like realistic teenagers, but they avoid frustrating romance tropes like miscommunication, petty jealousy, and issues with parental approval. Even when these things do come up, they are handled organically, and aren’t dragged out in order to pad out the story. Every part of the story feels relevant to Julia’s character development.

Julia’s life isn’t left on a cliffhanger after her time at camp. The story goes out of its way to show how she has been impacted by the camp and the relationships she forged along the way. I liked that most of the story’s significance was placed on Julia’s entire life (including her future) rather than just the moments at camp. We are also given closure on the lives of some of the boys she gets close to. Overall, I found this book a refreshing change of pace, and would recommend it to readers of any age!