Camp X

Camp X
Written by Eric Walters
Published at Penguin Books Canada

About the book

It's 1943, and nearly-12-year-old George and his older brother Jack are spending a restless wartime summer in Whitby, Ontario, where their mom is working at a munitions plant while their dad is off fighting the Germans. One afternoon, the boys stumble across Canada's top-secret spy camp-and so begins an exciting and terrifying adventure as George and Jack get caught up in the covert activities of Camp X.

Fascinated by Camp X and its secrets, the boys begin to suspect local townspeople of being spies. Is the police chief keeping tabs on people for enemy purposes? Is Jack's boss at the newspaper really amassing information for sinister reasons?

Unable to resist the camp's allure, the boys keep going back to find out more details of what's going on-they even meet William Stephenson, the Man Called Intrepid himself. They also attract the attention of a very sinister character, someone who is determined to use George and Jack's knowledge against the Allies, no matter the consequences . . . or the casualties.

Who is Eric Walters?

Eric Walters is the author of many acclaimed and bestselling novels for children and young adults. His novels have won numerous awards, including the Silver Birch, Blue Heron, Red Maple, Snow Willow, Ruth Schwartz, and Tiny Torgi, and have received honours from the Canadian Library Association Book Awards and UNESCO's international award for Literature in Service of Tolerance.

Eric lives in Mississauga with his wife, Anita, and three children, Christina, Nicholas, and Julia. When not writing or touring across the country speaking to school groups, Eric spends time playing or watching soccer and basketball, or playing the saxophone.

Our Thoughts

A skeptic look.  That’s what I got when I first showed the book to my twelve years old boy.   But then he read the description in the back of the book and a smile crept on his lips.  He looked at me and said “Sounds interesting.” And he took the book in to his room.  Three days later, he gave it back to me saying he was done reading.   Really?   That was fast.  How did he liked it?   He responded saying that he hoped I could review other titles in the series.   Mmmm!  The book had caught his attention and mine as well because he usually don’t devour books like this unless it is very good and packed with mystery and action.  I will admit that I started reading the book after he has done so but before I share my thoughts about it I want to share my son’s thoughts about it.

This book was amazing!  This is definitively  one of my favourite ones.   The story was absolutely incredible.  It was rich with details and action.  I didn’t want to put the book down.    Jack and George are extremely good agents.  They’re just crazy about all that they do.  I can’t wait until I can read the next book.   And absolute must read.

I usually am the first to read a book before I give it to my kids.  But this time around I didn’t had the time to read it first so I took a chance.   I figure that since it was based on Canadian history based on war that the book would be interesting for my oldest son.   I was right.   So when he read it in a record time, I was curious and decided to read it as well.   The book is packed with actions and is keeping you on the edge of your seat as you read it.  It is hard to put it down as you go through the chapters because you always want to know more of what will be happening next.   The boys discover mysterious events going on while exploring the woods one day and they get swirled into an adventure they didn’t expect would happen in they neighborhood.    In the end, they suspect spies from many people they come across.   How will this end?    I won’t tell because I think it is a book worthy of being discovered by young boys. 

The book is geared for readers age 8 to 12 years of age but I think it would interest 13 and 14 years old boys as well.    At the end of the book, you will have some information on how the book ties in with Canadian history.   And even while reading the author’s note, you discover fascinating information about Camp X and the man behind it – Sir William Stephenson.   In these notes, the author also suggest other sources that would give more details on Camp X.   The main characters of this book, Jack and George, are fictional but the events surrounding the books are based on what really happened at Camp X during the Second World War.

Camp X is available at your favourite bookstore, even amazon.ca and amazon.com.

The book is also available on Kindle.

  

Disclaimer: Thanks to Penguins Book Canada for sending me the above mentioned product for review purposes. I was not monetarily compensated for this review. Please note that the review was not influenced by the Sponsor in any way. All opinions expressed here are only my own.