L.A. Campbell

Full disclosure: I have not read [b:Cartboy and the Time Capsule|15793167|Cartboy and the Time Capsule|L.A. Campbell|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1352781281s/15793167.jpg|21515131], the first book in the Cartboy series.

The middle-grade doodle-filled journal-style genre is generally not my favorite genre, but it's by no means my least favorite, either. And I've read enough of the characters, both male and female, in the genre by now to have an idea of which ones are better than others.

Cartboy Goes to Camp is not one of my favorites. I found it less funny and less relatable than others, while Cartboy's parents were even more frustrating to me than most middle-grade novel parents (and that's saying something!). But what I liked least about Cartboy Goes to Camp were the illustrations. Most of the books in this genre use "hand-drawn" doodles or illustrations, to give the books that kid's journal feel. Cartboy Goes to Camp includes some hand-drawn pictures and timelines, but it also includes stock photos and clip-art. I would have liked the book so much more if all the illustrations had been hand-doodled, like the timelines. (In my copy, the stock photos even had watermarks on them, though hopefully that was just because I was reading a galley.)

For kids who have read all the other middle-grade doodle-y journal books, Cartboy Goes to Camp will give them something to read until the next entry into the popular genre appears. But if they haven't, I'd recommend Alvin Ho (by [a:Lenore Look|267992|Lenore Look|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1342271732p2/267992.jpg]), Desmond Pucket (by [a:Mark Tatulli|445206|Mark Tatulli|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1235252681p2/445206.jpg]), or Kate the Great (by [a:Suzy Becker|43615|Suzy Becker|https://d.gr-assets.com/authors/1399853577p2/43615.jpg]) instead. The bestselling [b:Diary of a Wimpy Kid|389627|Diary of a Wimpy Kid (Diary of a Wimpy Kid, #1)|Jeff Kinney|https://d.gr-assets.com/books/1388183826s/389627.jpg|2617009] ranked only 2-stars for me as well, but I'd also recommend that series over Cartboy.

Note: I received a digital galley of this book from NetGalley.… (more)

Cartboy and the Time Capsule looks at the challenges of middle school through the eyes, and assignment of one Hal Rifkind, sixth grader. The book could be read by ages 8 and up with discussions including peer pressure, what to do when you get embarrassed, empathy, responsibility and mean kids.

Hal’s assignment is to write a journal to kids of the future which will be put into a time capsule and not opened for many years.
Hal’s journal entries are hilarious and reflect the point of view of your typical sixth grader trying too hard to make a name for himself while not humiliating himself. A true challenge for any sixth grader!

The book is somewhat reminiscent of Diary of a Wimpy Kid in that we have the boy’s POV and the journal includes illustrations and pictures. This is a charming and humorous look at being a sixth grader.

You can find out more about the book and the author at http://lacampbellwriter.com/… (more)