Overall, this was a very cute summer sapphic book! I really enjoy how Priya and Juliette aren’t mean to each other for no reason and instead have a mutual relationship that they are civil as they run in the same friend groups.

Once our two main leads end up in not only the same summer camp but also the same cabin, we see their “enemies” to lovers begin to build so organically. I love good banter and it’s good to see lines that aren’t cringy or just flat out mean.

This book brought all the ache and nostalgia as a summer camp person myself that graduated from camper to staff member. This year is actually the first year I won’t be going (life, you know?) and this book made miss it so much. God, I wish I could go.

I suppose I should talk about the romance instead of reflecting on my own sadness about missing camp. Juliette and Priya are the absolute cutest ever! I really appreciate that the miscommunication trope is not the conflict in the story. I HATE the miscommunication trope. This book was just an all around great read!

I ATE THIS BOOK UP MAN!! FULL MEAL, DESSERT, AND SNACK!! I was never a summer camp girlie, but this book made me yearn for it. The only summer camp I went to was what I called Church Camp and I was forced to ago after I was real depressed in middle school, but that's not relevant to the review. Erin Baldwin clearly knows how to write gen-z dialect so well that I wasn't super cringed-out anytime there was some pop culture reference. But overall, this was a banger. Cute rivals to lovers, and there was a super cute epilogue that I think more YA romance need. If you love sapphics and summer camp, specifically the girl in the rainbow tie dye at the start of Parent Trap, read this once it comes out!!

Honestly, I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did, and to be clear, I was expecting to like it a lot! It’s a fun sapphic ya novel about camp; what’s not to like? Juliette is expected to share a room with her sort-of rival Priya. Priya’s from Juliette’s school—which means she’s very conscious of the blending of her two worlds and that Priya’s invading her safe space—her cabin, her friend group, even her camp activities.

I wasn’t exactly a camp kid—though I did attend a STEM camp at what would later be my high school that was less color war and sports and more labs and academics—but I don’t think you have to have been a camp kid to understand that gut punch that is loving a place and knowing you’ll have to leave it.

The romance was sweet, and I enjoyed their growth. But I think that’s the part this book got right above all else—it’s such a love letter to camp but also to the liminal space of late teenagerdom on the precipice of your whole life changing, and Juliette spoke to a lot of those anxieties so well. It was easy to root for her—to empathize with her resistance to change, even when different doesn’t always mean bad.

thanks to netgalley for the arc!

This is about two frenemies, Juliette and Priya, who have been stuck with each other for their whole lives. They called a truce, so they're nice to each other and won't talk about each other to their friends, but they still aren't fans of each other. All Juliette wants to do is spend summer at Fogridge Sleepaway Camp, a place she can be herself. She's already sad that it's her final summer there and then Priya shows up.

I like both of the main characters, especially as we learn more about them and they learn more about each other. The side characters are all well done and nobody is "just there." I never had a summer camp experience, but I can see that resonating with a lot of people.

I feel like the romance was well done and not rushed. I'd recommend this to anyone who likes books about being at summer camp, former or current theater people and readers who like lgbtq+ books.

I received a free copy of this book from NetGalley in exchange for my honest review. All opinions are my own.

This was so amazing! I absolutely loved the characters and Juliette was such a relatable and funny character, and of course Priya was just so fun to read about. I needed two more books about them. The only issue I had was with Gia and Lucy, I felt like their characters were added as a second thought and they were pretty one dimensional, but the relationship between Juliette and Priya made up for it! Would love a sequel were we see more of Juliette’s family issues and how it affects her views of herself and her relationship.

This novel beautifully captures the butterflies of young love amid the heat of summer camp. Follow these two girls as they go from enemies to lovers in this sapphic camp romance.

I really want to know what’s in the water with these recent ya contemporaries. They’ve been so good I am gobsmacked. Wish you weren’t here was no exception.

I loved the plot, I loved the banter, I loved how no one drastically changed at the end of the story and had a personality change. The characters are my current Roman Empire. It is so necessary to my bloodstream to have a toxic free friend group that aren’t all unnecessary in love with each other and fight for no reason.

I’ve never been a summer camp pal, I did a week trip once and I was so miserable I cried when I got home. This made me yearn for a summer camp, it seemed so fun. A little group or place where you can just exist is what everyone needs.

Overall, this is a 2024 favorite. It’s a quick and fun read. Everyone deserves to be in my pocket. This is a must summer read and I will be shouting from the rooftops to make sure it happens.

*I received a ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.*

I did not like this book, unfortunately. It had more to do with me than the book. I was a sleep away camp counselor and I did not enjoy it. If I had a different experience or had been a camper I think it would’ve been different.

It’s very camp heavy. I’m not saying I was a Galahad like in the book but I certainly wasn’t the over enthusiastic Flagstaff that everyone loved. There were so many names, too I could’ve done with less. I felt instead of plot reasons it was camp reasons. This book is also currently marketed as ‘theater kids’ and while they do a show at camp there’s way more camper activities than just theater.

As far as the main characters, their enemies to lovers romance is sweet and YA innocent. It has a nice arc for both characters. I did find Juliette a little too whiny at times but gave her grace because I’m sure I was too at that age. I’m glad she found gratitude by the end. I still don’t understand Priya’s all-white clothes but I’d guess it plays to her perfectionism. I am oh so glad this WLW romance will available to young adults.

Lastly, TK was a name of a character and I know they were camp nonsense names but that’s journalistic shorthand for “to come.” So, I’m curious if that character will have a better name come the release.

I hope you’ll form your own opinion you may love it.

This book made me wish I went to summer camp as a teenager. The author did a good job making not only the main characters relatable, but the secondary characters were also fun and I found myself caring about them as I did the main characters. Though this book is for younger readers, I as an adult in my 30s found the storyline appealing. In my opinion, this is a sweet summer romance that could be enjoyed by all ages.

I really enjoyed the writing in this book! The characters were dynamic and loveable. It was a quick read for me! Some of it felt a little rushed but that might just be a me thing. Overall, I thought this was a fun and sweet book!

This is one of the strongest debut novels I've had the pleasure of reading in a long while. The world building is just as vivid and lush as the characters themselves -- who have some of my favorite voices ever. Juliette and Priya are so lovable on their own, but especially together. I especially enjoyed the nuanced take of a 'not so' enemies to lovers dynamic. This is one of those books that will stick with me for a long time.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an e-arc!

Wish You Weren't Here by Erin Baldwin follows two childhood not-friends, Juliette Barrera-Wright and Priya Pendley. It is Juliette's last summer at Fogridge Sleepaway Camp, her home away from home, and she is excited to spend all five weeks being herself. These plans are very quickly disrupted when she arrives at camp to find Priya in her cabin. Juliette grows increasingly more frustrated as camp starts to mirror her home life, and she once again finds herself constantly second to Priya. However, as the two girls actually start to spend time together, they realize that their long-term mutual frustration might not have to be where their relationship ends.
Immediately, Erin Baldwin's writing style made this book so fun. The book was in Juliette's first-person perspective, and I felt like Erin captured the thought process of a teenage girl very well. The dialogue and texting between characters also felt real, which was a refreshing break from the way adults normally exaggerate teenage colloquialisms. And *speaking about* texting, I got a little glimpse of the love of my life, mixed media. Loved the visual of the text messages!
I had a bit of a love-hate relationship with Juliette's original thoughts about Priya. There were a few extra repetitive trains of thoughts that felt a little childish when I had to read them for the fourth time in a row. She's obsessing about how the town loves Priya thinking, "Why should I worship her?" I've got news for you babe, you actually can just not if you don't want to. Free will is a thing. Especially coming from a character whose core trait is supposed to be that she is "intense" and doesn't say things to please people even if it means she is less popular.
All of that being said, at about the 25% mark, these thought processes changed quite a bit and became very real, and I was entirely for it. It was less movie-script rivals and more of the inherent jealousy that girls feel for each other when they are raised in a society that always compares women to pit them against each other. And I get it and I've felt it, and Erin wrote it so well. This switch also made the progression of their relationship from 'rivals' to friends to lovers feel so natural, since getting over the "I hate her because she's pretty" mindset is something most teenage girls already go through. This story just adds queerness into the mix.
Also on the note of Juliette being so real, Erin Baldwin had no business being so correct in her writing of 'intense' girls. Oh my god, too many lines hit way too hard for a silly little queer rom-com. "It's hard work for me to be likable and, sometimes, I don't want to work." Excuse me? How dare you? The messages surrounding this particular personality were so heartwarming though, and something I think more young girls need to hear. You can be 'too much' and 'intense' and still find someone to love you because of that, not despite it. Those personality traits are not flaws.
Last but not least, Juliette and Priya, my loves. The banter absolutely ate. The sarcasm, the teasing, the growth into friends first, oh my god. So gorg.
10/10 recommend to absolutely anyone wanting to read a cute sapphic annoyances-to-lovers romcom that also somehow tackles the complex societal pressure on teenage girlhood. Erin Baldwin, you have my heart and soul.

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My ARC copy of the book was provided by the publisher through NetGalley for a fair, unbiased review.

3.5 that I have to round down because for everything it does really well, there are just as many places where it stumbles.

I loved the rivalry and tension between Juliette and Priya, but I definitely got the sense that it was mostly Juliette towards Priya, and Priya actually wanted to be friends. It made the rivalry feel one-sided, but more than at, made the moments where Priya ignored or dismissed Juliette (like cropping her out of the photo after expressly inviting her to be in it) really weird and unbalanced.

The sense of camp and all of the memories and ties and sense of belonging was so well-done, but I got the sense that the Galahad storyline got cropped or cut-out or /something/, because her actions towards Juliette felt out of nowhere and escalated for no reason. The musical storyline similarly felt disjointed, at least in its conclusion, which felt anti-climactic after how much both Priya and Juliette had built it up. There were also things like why did Priya always wear white? Why was Priya the only one on tech/crew? How were Color Wars kept even if the campers got to choose their teams? Why did Juliette even send a letter to one of their mutual friends? Things felt at once both over and under-explained, which was a shame because the sense of love of camp and having a place where you could learn to define yourself was so nice and I loved watching Juliette figure out her feelings for Priya in that setting.

What a cute YA story. The writing was so good, and it really felt like they were teenagers. And the setting that was described at the camp made me wish that I had been able to go to one when I was in high school.

What I really liked about the story was that it was pretty low angst for a book about so called "rivals." They weren't really mean to each other, and didn't pull pranks like other stories I've read. They just rubbed each other the wrong way, but eventually they learned it was all from misunderstanding each other as people. And once they took the time to really get to know each other, then a real nice friendship was formed. From there, the friendship to more was just pure sweetness.

Would definitely recommend this book to anyone looking for a sweet read that makes you reminisce about summers during high school.

such a cute ya book with good banter!! i really loved the setting of this book, a summer camp, it was a nice change from other books. although i read this in the winter, i think it will make for the perfect summer read, it’s super easy to get through with an enjoyable plot & characters.

This is the PERFECT ya lgbtq not-quite-enemies to lovers summer camp book experience


Seriously it was just is fun ??? And heartwarming ??? And encapsulated the senior year teenage nostalgia experience ????

Tooth achingly sweet and one I’ll be thinking about for a while

Wish You Weren’t Here is a YA Contemporary that I adored. I loved Juliette and Priya as individuals and together.

Juliette has one place that feels like home. One place where she doesn’t feel like “too much” or is eclipsed by her rival Priya. One place where she’s embraced with open arms and has a found family. And that place is Fogridge Sleepaway Camp.

Juliette is excited to spend five peaceful Priya free weeks at camp. It’s her last year as a camper and she wants to enjoy every second. So she’s devastated to discover not only is Priya a camper this year, but is also her cabin mate.

The banter and exchanges between Juliette and Priya are so fun, especially as the book progresses and it’s so obvious (except to Juliette) that Priya is flirting with her.

Juliette’s best friends at camp, Lucy and Gia, are great. Priya fell in seamlessly with them, joining in with the joking and friendship. And I found the dialogue between all the characters very entertaining.

I also loved the setting. Despite the fact I’ve never been to a summer sleepaway camp, I think they are a blast to read about. Between the various camp activities, silly camp counselor names, the wilderness survival challenge, and color wars you can just feel how much every character loves camp. And their enthusiasm was contagious as a reader.

Overall, this is the perfect summer YA romance.

Publication date: June 4th 2024

Thank you to NetGalley and Viking Books for Young Readers for a copy of this eARC in exchange for a honest review.

5/5 (I would give it higher if I could)

Let me just start this review by stating how much my heart hurts because this is over and ended with the perfect ending.

To give you a glimpse of what you are in store for we are hit with “I don’t want anyone else” and “I’m glad it was you.” Get ready for the full hearts and longing sighs.

Priya Pendley and Juliette Barrera-Wright, long time childhood rivals, spending years in a passive battle reach the peak of their rivalry when the two come face to face at Fogridge Sleepaway Camp and are bunched together as cabin mates. Fodridge has long been Juliette’s home away from home and the only place she felt she could be seen as her true self, not the subdued, ignored girl she feels she is in Priya’s world. But with Priya now in her domain, Juliette is faced with the struggle to be herself and staying enamored with her home away from home as her final year as a camper.

The nostalgia alone could make this a top tier book but when you mix in tropes such as “enemies to lovers,” “forced proximity” and “she falls first” you know you are in for a holy grail of a rom-com. This book was perfect and I cannot wait for its release because it will be one of those books that becomes everyone’s new favorite. The pacing, the silly situations, everything that could go wrong going wrong, the healthy communication and maturity of it all mixed into a positively amazing setting such as Fodridge. It is hard, in my case nonexistent, to find anything to dislike about this book. I cannot wait for its release so everyone can fall in love with it just like I have. Thank you for such a beautiful story Erin Baldwin. I hope we see more from you.

3⭐️
Such a cute YA romcom book which is just what I needed after reading like 4-5 heavy books. I deeply enjoyed this book and the characters were so fun to read, so fun that I finished this book in 2 days while reading in every lull in both days.

Thank you to Penguin Kids for the free ARC! 🫶🏼