John thinks he's a superdad because he has dedicated his life to his daughter - he has put aside his career, friends and pretty much everything to make sure his daughter Avery is his top priority.  But now that she is going into middle school, she is starting to pull away (as they tend to do) and so he signs her up for a week of "dad camp" which he thinks is going to be a week of fun dad/daughter time.  But when they arrive he realizes it's not what he signed up for - it's a weeklong therapy session for toxic dads who can't get along with their daughters.  But instead of leaving they stay and during the week John realizes that his smothering way of parenting has its own level of toxicity and he needed the therapy as much as the other dads.
I wasn't sure how I would feel about this one because the dad seemed really annoying at the beginning of the novel and I couldn't tell which way this was going to go, but it turned into a really cute story about learning that kids need independance to thrive (and parents need it as well).  The story had a bunch of different types of toxic dads and their backstory as to why they ended up that way and how they all come together in the end - it was just a sweet cute story that I could totally see as a Disney movie.  If you're in the mood for a carmel popcorn read - then this is it - or wait and see if they make it into a kids movie version and watch it with your tween.  

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for the ARC to review

3.75 stars

This was an easy, fun read. I really enjoyed the idea of a dad wanting to gain a better relationship with his daughter. The father attempts to improve this relationship by signing up the two of them in a father-daughter summer camp. It was very enlightening to see some of the different parenting styles between the different fathers at the camp.

I would definitely recommend this book.

Thank you NetGalley and Penquin Group Dutton for this advanced ARC.

Dad Camp is the perfect read for any parent. As parents we all strive to be the best for our children but unfortunately sometimes life doesn’t always allow us to. As Avery is approaching middle school she definitely has developed the preteen attitude which her father just can’t figure out. With only a week left of summer John is trying all he can to hold onto his time with his daughter. As a last ditch effort to get Avery to spend a little more time with him he signs them up for a father/daughter camp. Camp isn’t quite what either had imagined. The girls seem okay but the other dads are real characters as they all learn to navigate how to raise girls. This is a story of finding balance as parents, learning about yourself and letting go. It’s a great light hearted read that’ll have you reflect upon your childhood and how you raise your own children. When is it time to hold on tight and when is it time to let go? I loved reading this and reflecting back to my child with my father and all the adventures we had together. Thank you NetGalley and Evan S. Potter for allowing me this read in exchange for an honest review.

This was the cutest story of a journey of not only the main character and his daughter towards a stronger bond, but also of a group of dads and their daughters and the main character and his wife. I thoroughly enjoyed reading their struggles and adventures. A perfect summer book.

this was a cute and lighthearted book. The dad could be a little obnoxious at times but honestly all dads are like that. I think it was a little too long though.

ℝ𝕒𝕥𝕚𝕟𝕘: ⭐️⭐️⭐️ | 𝔽𝕠𝕣𝕞𝕒𝕥: 𝐸-𝐵𝑜𝑜𝓀

ℝ𝕖𝕧𝕚𝕖𝕨: 𝑫𝒂𝒅 𝑪𝒂𝒎𝒑 𝐢𝐬 𝐚 𝐡𝐞𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐡𝐮𝐦𝐨𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐬 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫 𝐭𝐫𝐲𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐨 𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐨𝐧𝐧𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐭𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐛𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐠𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐭𝐰𝐨 𝐮𝐩 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐬𝐮𝐦𝐦𝐞𝐫 𝐟𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫-𝐝𝐚𝐮𝐠𝐡𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐜𝐚𝐦𝐩. 𝐈𝐭’𝐬 𝐚 𝐬𝐰𝐞𝐞𝐭 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐯𝐞𝐥𝐲 𝐬𝐢𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐢𝐜 𝐬𝐭𝐨𝐫𝐲, 𝐩𝐞𝐫𝐟𝐞𝐜𝐭 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐬𝐨𝐦𝐞𝐨𝐧𝐞 𝐥𝐨𝐨𝐤𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐰-𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬 𝐭𝐚𝐥𝐞. 𝐈 𝐟𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐚 𝐛𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨𝐨 𝐬𝐥𝐨𝐰 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐜𝐡𝐞𝐞𝐬𝐲, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐞𝐧𝐝𝐞𝐝 𝐮𝐩 𝐩𝐮𝐭𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐢𝐭 𝐝𝐨𝐰𝐧 𝐚𝐛𝐨𝐮𝐭 𝐚 𝐪𝐮𝐚𝐫𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐨𝐟 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐚𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐮𝐠𝐡. 𝐁𝐮𝐭 𝐈 𝐝𝐨 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐧𝐤 𝐨𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐫𝐬—𝐞𝐬𝐩𝐞𝐜𝐢𝐚𝐥𝐥𝐲 𝐩𝐚𝐫𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐬 𝐰𝐡𝐨 𝐜𝐚𝐧 𝐫𝐞𝐥𝐚𝐭𝐞—𝐰𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐛𝐞𝐭𝐭𝐞𝐫 𝐞𝐧𝐣𝐨𝐲 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐛𝐨𝐨𝐤!

𝒯𝒽𝒶𝓃𝓀 𝓎𝑜𝓊 𝓉𝑜 𝐸𝓋𝒶𝓃 𝒮. 𝒫𝑜𝓇𝓉𝑒𝓇, 𝒫𝑒𝓃𝑔𝓊𝒾𝓃 𝒢𝓇𝑜𝓊𝓅 𝒟𝓊𝓉𝓉𝑜𝓃, & 𝒩𝑒𝓉𝒢𝒶𝓁𝓁𝑒𝓎 𝒻𝑜𝓇 𝓉𝒽𝑒 𝒜𝑅𝒞! 𝒜𝓁𝓁 𝑜𝓅𝒾𝓃𝒾𝑜𝓃𝓈 𝒶𝓇𝑒 𝓂𝓎 𝑜𝓌𝓃.

Dad camp
By Evan S Porter
3.5/5⭐️


Dad camp focuses on dad John and daughter Avery who is 11 and having a hard time talking and connecting with her dad like she used to. On her last week of summer break her dad surprises her with a trip to a camp 2 hours away for dads and daughters hoping to help get their relationship back on the right track. They meet other dads and daughters who have bigger problems than John and Avery so he believes they don’t belong there and they should leave. They do end up staying and nothing goes particularly right. As the week goes on their relationship seems to strain even more. Can they get back on track with where they were before the week is over?

Dad camp was overall a very cute book. It does highlight the difficulty of being a parent. I enjoyed all the funny hijinks the characters got into. The “men’s group” scene was funny. I enjoyed the message that this book showed.

Thank you to the author Evan S. Porter, the publisher Penguin Group Dutton and Netgally for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

This fun, feel good story, was a quick read that held my interest. You can see the parent/child relationship from both sides and see how this dad and his daughter deepen their relationship through their time together.

I don't have kids and preteens and teenagers terrify me a bit, so I went into this book cautiously. Though there is a healthy amount of teen attitude, this is a sweet and meaningful book about a dad trying to connect with his daughter. I loved the unique point-of-view and I loved the way John connected with the other dads as well. This is my idea of a perfect summer read.

John decides he needs to spend more time connecting with his eleven-year old daughter and take her on a camping trip. They used to be best buds, but now Avery is an eye-rolling preteen. The week long camping trip takes them far from civilization and every attempt to connect seems to push Avery further away. Between toxic dads, cheesy forced father-daughter activities John is determined to win back his daughter. This is a super sweet father-daughter story.

A dad wants to reconnect with his 11 year old daughter, so he books them for a father-daughter summer camp. What he thinks will be a fun adventure turns into a week of self-reflecting and growth.

Dad Camp is a light family drama. I do enjoy a story about dads trying to connect with their kids and be better parents. I was hoping for more humor, and it got a little too sappy for me.

I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a very adorable, charming read. While I'm a mom rather than a dad, I felt like it really captured the struggles of parenting - the push and pull of maintaining your identity as a person and your marriage, while also giving everything you can to the human you created. Especially as they get into the tween/teen years, and start pulling away. My youngest is fifteen now, and I definitely mourn how cool he used to think I was!

I do think that John was awfully smug at times after his parenting skills versus the other dads, but some of the journey was realizing he shouldn't be. But his wife is a much more patient person than I am, because I would have told him off for keeping secrets from our daughter! I loved that you got to see different types of dads and daughters work together. I enjoyed this, and think anyone who has teens or tweens of their own would enjoy reading this story. It also made me miss my old summer camp! It was also nice to get to read something like this from a man's perspective. We often talk about how difficult being a mother is (and it is!), but it's rarer to be focused solely on dads as parents.

What a fun summery book about then ups and downs of a father daughter relationship. I really enjoyed getting to read this book. I liked getting the background and story on each of the 4 main dads and their relationship with their daughter and family. I really enjoyed how they all came together to give them the experience they wanted and leave nothing unsaid. I think this book did an amazing job and digging into the complicated emotions that go along with a dad daughter relationship. Truly a great read!

What happens when a hands on dad feels his almost eleven year old daughter slipping away? He signs them up for Dad Camp. John and Avery have always had a close, special bond, but lately Avery wants nothing to do with him. When John sees an ad for a dad and daughter away camp, he immediately signs them up. John waits until the last minute to spring the news and Avery is none too happy. After all he’s ruining the last week of summer and perhaps the rest of her life. Upon arrival John quickly sees that this camp is nothing like the nostalgic camps of his youth, the facilities are outdated, the food is barely passable and the other dads just aren’t what he was expecting. Soon he’s dreaming up ways to escape the week and head back home with Avery in tow, but circumstances prevent it. Buckling down he’s giving his all to enjoy it and mend his relationship with Avery. As the week progresses Avery seems even more distant and the harder he tries the more he fails. He’s sure she’s hiding something from him, but he’s keeping something from her as well, something big and the further they drift apart the harder it is to tell her. Days go by and the other dads and daughters seem to having some major breakthroughs, but John’s last ditch effort to make them friends again might just be too late. This was a delightful, heartwarming story filled with both humorous and poignant moments. A book that should be at the top of the list for all girl dads! Thank you to Penguin and NetGalley for an ARC of this book.

Any parent who has tried their best with a child will, I think, relate to this father-daughter story. John has been a very devoted dad. However, as his daughter is now a pre-teen, she is distancing from him. Of course John misses what he had and does not want to lose his connection with Avery.

John decides that he and Avery will attend a week long camp together. However Camp Triumph is not exactly as it was described. How will the two fare? Will their relationship survive? Strengthen? Read this one to find out and get to know these two characters well. Readers will also meet many other daughter-dad dyads and see how they interact with each other.

I enjoyed this author’s writing style. It was one that drew me right in from the opening ball game.

This is a good choice for a summer read. Many thanks to NetGalley and Penguin Group-Dutton for this title. All opinions are my own.

In Dad Camp, a father took his tween daughter to a dad camp for a week where dads and daughters are there to reconnect. I loved the premise, I loved seeing these dads try and be there for their daughters and just better themselves as parents and I loved the camp vibes and competitions like capture the flag and archery. It was very sweet and bittersweet at the same time - that turning point when your kids are becoming more independent and don’t need you nearly as much. Time is fleeting and the years go by fast. Seeing these dads look back and analyze the prior years was very emotional. The one thing that bothered me was the dad withholding info from his daughter about a soccer team - maybe because my kids are soccer players but I yelled at the book anytime it came up (which was probably the point so it was effective on me). But setting that aside, this was a charming book about the love between dads and daughters.

I enjoyed this. Obviously I’m not a dad but I found the softball coach/parent of a pre-teen parts to be very relatable. I also liked the dad perspective that I don’t always think about. I also thought it was a nice variety of dads.

I don't often read books told from the dad's point of view, so this was a little bit different for me (in a good way, as it turns out)! John takes his daughter Avery to "Dad Camp" for a week to strengthen their bond. I enjoyed this much more than I thought I would- the pace of the novel was good, and saw quite a bit of character development/self-realization within a week.

Thank you Dutton, for the invitation to read this book, and to NetGalley for the eARC of this book.

A sweet story of a dad and preteen daughter with a little cheesy humor sprinkled around. This is a sweet story about the ever changing dynamics as our kids get older and need us less and less. It will make you laugh, cringe a little and tug at your heart strings. Thank you Net Galley and Penguin Group Dutton for the advance copy.

I feel guilty about not finishing this book before its pub day almost two weeks ago, but sometimes life just gets ahead of us. Nevertheless, I still want to spread plenty of love for it here on booksta because it was such a sweet, thoughtful, hilarious ride, and I think many of you will love it.

The premise of this book is pretty unique (see 2nd slide), and I was immediately hooked reading the description. It doesn’t hurt that I’m A) a sucker for summer camp novels, and B) a somewhat new parent myself, so novels exploring the various stages of parenthood are exactly my jar of jam right now.

I loved watching the relationship between John & Avery develop on the page, and visiting his memories of her as a younger child as he reflects on what he wishes he’d done differently. The author perfectly captures the bittersweet mixture of heartbreak and pride that comes as your children grow more independent.

I wasn’t fully expecting John’s relationship with his cabin mates/dad buds to be such a big part of the narrative, but it turned out to be an unexpected surprise. Each of them are struggling with fatherhood in their own way, and it was sweetly satisfying to see them help each other move past their insecurities and try to do better. I thought the depiction of grown men overcoming their reluctance to be emotionally vulnerable with one another was extremely well done. Maybe it’s because many of the novels I read have female MCs, but I don’t often see men’s mental health addressed so explicitly on page, which was refreshing.

I adored the humor in this book. Some of my favorite novels in recent years (The Guncle, Big Gay Wedding) utilize humor to process much heavier and complex emotions – particularly regret and grief – and this book is no exception. At times the writing did not feel quite as developed as I would have liked, but it is still an outstanding debut.

Bonus: I listened to the last third or so on audio to help me finish more quickly, and the narration was great. So I’d recommend reading this book via any medium!