Genre - Contemporary Fiction, Humor

I loved summer camp. I loved my time there as a kid. Even latrine duty at rustic camp had a magic that perhaps wouldn’t be true now. So when asked by Dutton, an imprint of Penguin Random House to read and review Dad Camp by Evan Porter, I was all in. John is at a crossroads with his daughter Avery. After restructuring his whole life to be a superdad, he finds that as she enters her middle school years their relationship is getting more and more difficult. Avery who used to love her time with him is now often annoyed by him. She wants desperately to try out for a travel soccer team for which he will no longer be her coach. When John spots a camp online designed to help daughters and dads work on their relationships, he signs up. With a reluctant Avery along, he soon discovers that the camp may not be as delightful as pictured online, and wonders just where exactly this week might take them.

I love the setting - I’m not sure I would have loved it as much if it had been picture perfect. Camp dorms should be a little rustic. Spiders ought to exist in the bathrooms. The food should not be worthy of a trained chef. Ice breakers should be awkward - and camp leaders just a bit cringey. Porter creates this world with resounding success. When bunks are being claimed and the dads are awkwardly getting the lay of the land and each other, I felt returned right back to my camp days. John’s dad mates, Ryan, Booker, and Lou are introduced here, and while John is the central focus of the book, each of these dads is well developed and dynamic. Porter captures the stay at home dad, the dad who works too much, the hyper gung ho dad, and the over involved dad, without creating stereotypes. We gain insight to each as John does, and the growth and change is poignant in and among the comedic camp antics that punctuate the content. The men breaking into the office tipsy on non alcoholic beer is just one such moment. Also notable for me - hand written letters home. I love that every day the men hide the pen, paper, and envelope provided for them and that every night they reappear on the pillow. I don’t have the letters that I sent home from camp, but I have some that my children sent me. What a delightful memory. The letters here are used to illustrate the growth and change - and give us insight into these men. I found myself looking forward to the next one.

My kids are raised and out in the world - partnering with others and one is raising her own child. I often awaken in the middle of the night just obsessed with something I did wrong or wish I had done better in raising them. Even good counseling hasn’t eliminated those moments for me. I love the insight that Porter offers here for parents of young children. None of us will get it perfect, but the men here and what they learn can offer some advice to all. The focus is on dads and daughters - but extends to all parenting. I have entered a different space in my relationship with my dad - which involves to some extent a role reversal. But it also involves getting to know him in a different way. The time spent with him has offered my insights into his childhood, young adulthood, dating life with my mom in ways that I just didn’t have access to before. This review is not the right place for me to develop this idea, but Evan Porter’s Dad Camp has made me grateful for this time in a more profound way. You might gain some insight into your own parent/child relationships, but you will laugh, and maybe well up a bit. Dad Camp is a great summer read!