This book made me want to call my dad & talk about things. Not sure that a week at a summer camp can fix allllll of that but damned if this book didn’t give it a try.

I enjoyed John’s process during his week at Dad Camp, especially when he realizes that his “problem” with his daughter wasn’t that they don’t spend enough time together - it was that he wasn’t giving her space to grow into her own person without him. My dad had his faults, but he always made a point to emphasize that we are individuals in addition to being a daughter, a sister, a partner, etc.

Overall this was a heartwarming story and I enjoyed my time at Dad Camp.

Thank you to NetGalley, Evan S Porter, and Dutton for a review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Rating: 4.5 Stars

As John's daughter grew up, she grew away from him. A week at Dad Camp was John's last ditch effort to restore the connection between them that was once so strong.

I always associate camp books with summer fun, and there were a multitude of laugh out loud moments in this book, but the heart of this story was a father's love for his daughter as he tried to cope with the way their relationship was changing.This book may be told from the point of view of a father, but I found is very relatable as a mom. I was a single mother and remember how all my interests and hobbies took a back seat to caring for my daughter. As she grew, her activities dominated the calendar, so it was easy to lose myself in parenting. It's a rude awakening when your only child leaves for college and you are sitting around with all this time not knowing how to fill it. Do I regret it? No and that's the impression I got from John, too.

Though John wasn't quite at the empty-nest point, he had made Avery the center of his world. Therefore, this new pre-teen version of her was causing him a lot of stress, and he was desperate to stay a part of her life. I appreciated his effort, but even more so, I appreciated how much he learned about himself, Avery, and fatherhood during his time at camp.

Camp Triumph may have been a bit rundown but it was a beacon for those dad's who wanted a place to spend time with their daughters. These dads all had different motivations - divorced dad, workaholic dad, stay-at-home dad, and they all had different things to teach John. I loved the process of them growing together, and all the different parenting styles/types that were put on display. It was done with a lot of heart and a lot of humor which are two things I adore in a story.

Overall, I found this be a rather heartwarming story which I feel portrayed the challenges of parenting and also the rewards in a fun and endearing way.

Dad Camp...

Hmm?

Judging by the title? What are you going to get yourself into here?

Is it general fiction? drama? thriller? romance?

Im here to tell you!

This is a heartwarming story between Father and Daughter. You'll laugh, you'll cry but above all, you will feel the love and lengths this father will go to, to give his daughter a life she deserves.

Now tell me, what little girl on the brink of becoming a teenager would want to spend a week at summer camp with her Dad?

I mean I would have, but this book isn't about me!

Dad Camp is a book compared to The Guncle and Cheaper By the Dozen, and I couldn't have heard a better comparison.

I typically gravitate toward thrillers or romcoms but Dad Camp, is a book that will be loved no matter what your preferred genre is.

Check out this teaser :

After his daughter, Avery, was born, John gave it all up—hobbies, friends, a dream job—to be something more: a super dad. Since then, he’s spent nearly every waking second with Avery, who’s his absolute best bud. Or, at least, she was.

When now eleven-year-old Avery begins transforming into an eye-rolling zombie of a preteen who dreads spending time with him, a desperate John whisks her away for a weeklong father-daughter retreat to get their relationship back on track before she starts middle school.

But John’s attempts to bond only seem to drive his daughter further away, and his instincts tell him Avery’s hiding something more than just preteen angst. Even worse, the camp is far from the idyllic getaway he had in mind. John finds himself navigating a group of toxic dads that can’t seem to get along, cringe-worthy forced bonding activities, and a camp director that has it out for him. With camp and summer break slipping away fast, John’s determined to conquer it all for a chance to become Avery’s hero again.

It took me a few days to truly evaluate my feelings for this book. I feel indifferent. I did not hate it but I would not say I loved it either. At times, John seemed a little overly obsessed with his daughter Avery, blowing off job opportunities, friends, and his wife. I am not a parent yet so I will not claim to know what it is like; however, it just seemed over the top extreme at points. It made me stop reading and not want to continue at some points.

There were definitely some heart warming parts between John and Avery, the girls, and the dads. I do appreciate how the book ended and think there was generally an okay plot line.

Thank you to NetGalley and Evan Porter for allowing me to read an advanced reader copy of this book.

I received an advanced copy of Dad Camp and really enjoyed being taken back to those fond summer camp memories! What a great summertime read and getting to relive those feelings of enjoying time at summer camp!

While the writing and pacing of this book were great, I did find that it was a bit too cliche and overly-sweet. To be fair, I am not a father and therefore not the target audience, but as a parent I was hoping to be able to relate more. Regardless, it is well written and has good humor.

I loved this story of a father seeking connection with his pre-teen daughter. The lessons he learned as a parent throughout his time at Dad Camp with her were so heartwarming and true to life: give her space when she needs space, give her guidance and acceptance when she feels lost and alone, support her in her endeavors to be the person she wants to be, not the person you want her to be. I also found the connections between the Dad-attendees so heartwarming and loved that they all illustrated different types of fathers.

Dad Camp had a quick pace, just enough emotion to make it meaningful, and was a beautiful portrayal of fatherhood; especially to young women. This was such a lovely read for Father's Day weekend! Will definitely recommend.

This a 3.5 star read for me. The storytelling overall was good and I was immediately drawn into the premise of a plot about a dad wanting to take his daughter to camp to strengthen their bond. I haven't seen very many books written by male authors for a male audience so I was anxious to read the story. I found the main character, the father, to be endearing at first even if the early decisions he made were self-serving I could empathize but the deeper into the story, I found his behavior and actions more off-putting than anything else. I appreciated the variation of the other fathers depicted ad actually found myself far more interested in their story--even with their flaws--than in the MMC. I believe the main audience for this book is probably other fathers based on the type of jokes and some of the language used in the story. Overall, I really wanted to love this story but struggled to like the MMC even by the end when his character transformation left me wanting more than just a sudden moment of clarity.

John needs to fix his relationship with his daughter, Avery They were thick as thieves and then just like that they weren’t. He surprises Avery with a week at Dad Camp during the last week of the summer. Avery is not happy about it, but John will do everything in his power to make her like him again


OMG’! This book made my heart so happy. As a daughter with a dad it was healing but also made me think of my future children and the relationships they might have with my husband. It just felt super good. I genuinely truly couldn’t get enough

Thank you Evan Porter, Nicole from Dutton for reaching out and NetGalley for the arc of this book

I received an Advanced Reader copy from Netgalley. John and his daughter go to Dad camp for a week. Bonding experiences with other Dads and daughters are meant to bring everyone closer. The camp bans the use of technology, including cell phones and computers. The camp is in financial trouble. Each father learns about himself and a deeper look at their relationships with their daughters. The Adventure Box is a cool idea. I would have added the penny to the box. Interesting concept since most camps are for boys or girls, not parents and kids.

Dad Camp is a standalone family dynamics novel by Evan S. Porter. Released 11th June 2024 by Penguin Random House on their Dutton imprint, it's 368 pages and available in hardcover, audio, and ebook formats. It's worth noting that the ebook format has a handy interactive table of contents as well as interactive links.

This is a fun and worthwhile story. It's warmly written with well rendered main characters and an engaging story. Some of the secondary characters are a bit two dimensional and pasted in, but overall the story and dialogue flow well, and there are numerous moments of gentle unforced humor.

Definitely a book for any parent who has ever looked at their kid, a human they almost certainly love beyond all reason, and wonder where the sulky eye-rolling gremlin standing before them suddenly came from. Nearly all the preteen family dynamics books lately have been from the mom's point of view, and it's refreshing and nice to see dads getting some bandwidth.

Four stars. This would make an excellent buddy read or book club selection, as well as a good choice for public library acquisition.

Disclosure: I received an ARC at no cost from the author/publisher for review purposes.

I received an ARC in exchange for an honest review//thank you NetGalley and Penguin Random House for sending me a copy of Dad Camp!!

Dad Camp is a sweet heartfelt story of a dad navigating the preteen years with his daughter. In a moment of desperation, our main character books a week at a camp dedicated to dads and daughters. Dad Camp talks about what it means to be a man, a husband, and ultimately a good father.

Dad Camp was a sweet story of a dad who wanted to connect with his daughter. I also enjoyed the side story of the other dads at the camp and understanding why they were there. I found this book to be enjoyable, but there were some things that I found a little annoying.

Our main character just didn’t seem to understand what he was doing wrong and assumed he was doing everything right. I also felt bad for his wife because it seemed like he put being a parent first over being a husband. His whole identity is being a dad. I did appreciate the character development towards the end as he realized he was holding his daughter back, but it felt like it took awhile to get there.

Overall, I would recommend this book if you’re wanting a sweet, summer camp read but don’t go in with super high expectations.

Dad Camp by Evan S Porter is a coming of age novel about a forty-ish dad who is dealing with his formerly doting pre-teen daughter. She is suddenly yearning for independence. In an attempt to rekindle their relationship, he takes them to a dad/daughter camp, reminiscent of those of his youth, where he meets other dads with other problems. He does not relate to them immediately but relationships grow and his relationship with his daughter reignites, not as it was before, but in something new and wonderful.

There were plenty of interesting characters: dads, daughters, and staff and lesson were learned by all. It was an amusing book, also a poignant one, as the protagonist’s problems rear their heads in all dad/child relationships. The key, as the book showed, was to adjust expectations and go with the flow. Lessons learned. This was on Ok book that could have been better. Not sure how, but I feel it in my bones.

I was invited to read Dad Camp by Penguin Group Dutton. All thoughts and opinions are mine.
#Netgalley #PenguinGroupDutton #EvanSPorter #DadCamp

This is a good book that could have been great. John is trying to connect with his tween daughter and signs them up for a dad/daughter camp. He thinks the problem is his daughter, and when they arrive and he meets the other dads, he is sure that he is a better dad than the other guys.

The author does a commendable job of having different kinds of dads with understandable issues, not all of which are easy fixes. The camp is in abysmal shape, and the camp director is a bit goofy with some surprising depth. The relationships between the dads and daughters are well done. What mars the story is some agenda items and a boatload of profanity.

Overall, I liked the story.

Not family friendly due to profanity.

Thank you to NetGalley and Dutton for this eARC!

This was a very heartwarming read about a father and his relationship with his daughter. With one week left of summer John surprises his daughter Avery with a summer camp for fathers and daughters to help get their relationship back on track. I really enjoyed this + the summer camp vibe.

First off thank you to the publisher for allowing me the e galley of this novel. This is typically not the type of story I would pick up. A bunch of dads at a summer camp with their daughters. Even though this story is not want I normally reach for, did enjoy the summer camp feeling of the story. The father daughter relationship between John and Avery was one that you could see the growth over week they were at camp. Seeing how all the dads in the story learned from each other and how they are all in similar situations with their daughters. It was nice seeing how they all learned more about their daughters. Would I recommend this story? Only if you really like the family aspect and summer camp feel of a story. I personally did enjoy the story but it did take me some time to finish since the story is not one I would reach for.

As a parent of two, there was a lot to connect with with this book. The love and difficulty of being a parent, the bitter sweetness of watching them grow, the never ending exhaustion. I loved seeing the kids bond in the book, and also the dads too. It spoke to how it takes a village to raise a child, but also support a parent as well. As the oldest of three girls who lost my mother at 13 and had to be raised by just my dad, I appreciated this book in a different way as well. I'm sure my dad would love it.
The scene where they're all around the bonfire was pretty funny.
I read this just in time for Father's Day, a perfect read.
I LOVED the note on Good reads from the author, I think it should be published with the story.
As a teacher though - can we retire the phrase "those who can't do, teach", it's so belittling. I teach children how to read, I can assure you that I can ALSO read.
Thank you Netgalley, Evan Porter, and the publisher for this book.

This book was SO sweet! Witty, charming, and so heartwarming. The author's love for his own daughters shined through in his writing. Dad Camp is a great light read with a healthy dose of sappiness. There was also a noted effort to identify stereotypes while also pushing beyond them. Overall, quite endearing, albeit predictable and cheesy.

Thank you to NetGalley & Dutton for the ARC!

This is a heartwarming novel that explores the complexities of father-daughter relationships. The characters feel real, and the story captures the challenges of parenting a moody preteen. A well-written debut that delves into family dynamics and gives you the feeling of a big tight hug!

Thank you NetGalley!

Dad Camp by Evan S. Porter is a moving story. I absolutely enjoyed.
These are some of the most realistic characters ever.
I fell in love with these characters. John and Avery are real characters going through real life stuff and feeling real emotions.
I thought Porter’s writing was very engaging. He wrote these characters perfectly.
And I couldn’t feel every single emotion.
A witty and touching story about the relationship between fathers and daughters.

Thank You NetGalley and Dutton for your generosity and gifting me a copy of this amazing eARC!