This was my first book from NetGalley to review, and wow, what I way to start!!
Y'all, if you love a good, fast-paced spooky ghost and slasher story, you're going to love this!
Taylor is one of very few Black students at her private school and when the girls she thinks are her friends show their true colors, she pays for it by being sent to do a summer work release program at a camp set up right by Lake Lanier. Weird things start happening right off the bat, and you're immediately sucked in all the way to the end!
I loved Taylor. She was smart, funny, and genuine. It was so easy to root for her and rage with her. All the characters were well written and described, in my opinion. And I can't recommend this enough!

Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey is a thrilling mix of horror and adventure that follows a group of teens at a summer camp where things take a dark turn. The story is fast-paced and keeps you on edge with its eerie atmosphere and unpredictable twists. Barzey does a great job of blending supernatural elements with relatable characters, making it an engaging read for fans of horror and suspense. The book is a fun, creepy escape that's perfect for a quick read.

Taking place in a fictionalized camp around the real Lake Lanier, this fun summer slasher incorporates elements of real history of the lake into its mystery. With a diverse cast of characters and pop culture references it would be a fun, quick read for a budding teenage horror fan. I recognize I am not the target audience however, I did enjoy it as a quick "popcorn" read.
Let's start with some positives. The main character is witty and relatable, the struggles she has with grief and finding a place with peers were well done. I enjoyed the slight historical fiction touches. It truly felt like the vibes of a Friday the 13th movie mixed with modern touches like Get Out, which the book references. To get into some criticisms however, I think the messaging is a little heavy handed but for he demographic I do think it works. Just wasn't my taste per se. Same with the pop culture references. I also thought the reveal was easy to guess with very obvious bad guys.
In the end I think it would be an entertaining read at least for younger teenage horror fans, especially if they are familiar with the real setting. I have read a book for a similar demographic that I think does a similar premise and theme better however so I would have a hard time recommending it.

Actual rating of 3.75

Taylor is basically the only POC student at her prestigious private school, she works hard, and she's determined to make a go of it with her basketball skills. When she gets caught shoplifting with her wealthy "friends", they let her take the fall for it. She ends up being given community service working at a summer camp for rich kids. It won't be so hard, will it? When she arrives, she's deemed acceptable enough to work with the main staff, while the rest of the work release kids live in tents and are responsible for maintenance and cleaning duty. She begins to see things that others can't and is being haunted by a little girl. This leads her to uncover the history of the land and the manmade lake. When one of the work release kids disappears and is marked as a runaway, Taylor and her new friend Liam work together to find out the truth. It seems kids have been disappearing and running away for years, but they don't think that's the truth. As they dig deeper into the past of the Camp Lanier land, they'll uncover something much darker than they anticipated. Will they survive to get the truth out there? Or will they just become runaways as well?

I'm a sucker for a summer camp horror, and this one was no exception. From the get-go, Taylor endeared herself to me as she was such a hard worker and she just wanted to be a part of something, have some close friends and do good in life while trying to heal from a loss. I hated her "friends" from the get-go and just knew that they were up to no good, however, they play a super small role in this story, so I didn't have to put up with them for too long. I really enjoyed the characters of Taylor's parents too, we only see them for a brief stint in the beginning, but I really loved them, which is saying a lot because they're honestly not in the story that much at all.

This was a super quick read, and the story flowed really well. I did find that there were a couple of continuity issues, for example, when Taylor and V are getting their food on the first night, is says that they both bypassed the meatloaf, however when they're at the table, it mentions that they "stab the slabs of meat with their fork" this didn't affect my rating at all, it was just something I noticed, it only happened maybe once or twice and is something that could be fixed super quickly in an editing sweep. It was something that stuck out though and I wanted to mention it. This story had a deeper message to it, and one that I feel Barzey did a fantastic job at illustrating. At its core, this story deals with racism in all different facets, and it's so important because this is something that is still so prevalent today as it was 50 years ago. Barzey did a fantastic job at really making you feel the caged in hopelessness of someone who just knows they won't be listened to because of the colour of their skin. Barzey really made me feel that trapped, isolated, ostracised and just all-around hopeless feeling and I applaud them for it. The horror aspect of the story was done well, and I feel that this is a good gateway book for people looking to dip their toes into the horror genre without going full pelt, headfirst into it. The different ghost scenes were creepy, and the author did an awesome job at making me curious about the lake and its history, how it tied into everything.

The characters were wonderful, and I enjoyed all of them, except for Taylor's friends in the beginning, but that's to be expected. For an author to make me truly dislike a character in such a short time is a testament to their skill and I'll definitely be checking out more of their back catalogue. I did have part of it picked probably a bit sooner than we were meant to, but I've read and watched a lot of horror, so I tend to be able to put the pieces together pretty quick. It didn't detract from the story at all, and I still enjoyed every second of it.

This was a short and sweet one, but I don't want to say too much and risk giving anything away. I read this book really quickly, yes, it's not super long, but when you've been having difficulty putting books away for the last 2 years, it's refreshing to have a book that you can't put down and just fly through. This is a great book to segue into horror, so if you're looking for something spooky, with a touch of gore yet a great message with wonderful characters. Give this one a go!

I loved the main character, Taylor, and I thought she was well observed by the author... it can be difficult to write from a teenager's perspective, but for me, she felt well developed and believable. I was rooting for her throughout!

A solid book! This one definitely feels like you’re hearing spooky stories by the camp fire. I love that there are supernatural elements within this story as well as some history mixed with urban legend.

I didn’t realize that this book was YA, so it was harder for me to get through for that reason. It felt a bit on the younger side for me. However, this would be a great read for the YA audience it’s meant for.

3 ⭐️

This was alright. I kind of ended wishing there was more. The ending felt abrupt. There were a few cringe parts as well. But I overall enjoyed it

Loved the setting of Lake Lanier! This was an enjoyable read though I wished it went into more of the disturbed history of the lake. Thanks to Sterling & Stone and NetGalley for the ARC.

This book could use a few more rounds of editing, both at the line level and developmental focus. The story doesn't read as a finished or near-finished draft, which made it hard to read. On top of these issues, the overuse of pop culture references lowered the seriousness of the story. It made the writing immature.

Taylor has a choice because of shoplifting. She can either go to juvenile detention or go to Camp Lanier. She chooses the later.
The lake at the camp is supposedly cursed and kids have been "running away" from there since the camp started.
Taylor doesn't believe these stories, but there is no explanation for the screams and crying only she can hear. Taylor does some investigating and realizing that there is more to this camp than just stories.
I received an ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I was immediately drawn to this book a) the cover is STUNNING b) Lake Lanier. This book gives Friday the 13th meets Get Out, and it has a lot of potential. The author does a great job mixing urban legend, history, AND paranormal, however the horror wasn't giving HORROR. I understand it was a YA read, I wanted more.

I didn’t realize this book was geared more towards young adults. I was expecting a lot more action but overall I did enjoy the story. I love how the author blended the lake’s actual history and the fictional story of Taylor seeing the ghosts she saw. There were some parts where I got a little jumpy.

Thank you to the author, publisher and NetGalley for the arc.

I love a good YA horror, and bonus if it involves a summer camp! I also have a vague knowledge about Lake Lanier and the urban legends and ghost stories that surround it. So this book seemed right up my alley. I enjoyed the book. I did. But I also wish that it had chosen to either be a campy summer camp slasher/horror or ghost horror, or chosen to take itself more seriously. It has some points where the discussion about racism and how it affects minority lives to this day could have really gone somehwere and made some really great points. And while it does that, it also just sort of didn't make the impression I felt like it could have. The villains are pretty easy to pick out very early on, just based on their attitudes and behaviors. The ghosts are interesting, but I feel like it was missing something too.

<spoiler> The people killed when the lake was created are trying to take a life for each one lost. Which makes horror movie sense. But they are also after the family that runs the camp because of their history. Yet deaths that were basically "fed" to the lake seem to have appeased the spirits... something about the logic there seemed off. Or if they weren't actually accepting it, that should have been explained somehow? Maybe I'm just overthinking this. </spoiler>

I also really wanted the MC to go somewhere with the talk of her brother's death. Its sort of mentioned all along, but at the same time, its a thread that really could have had a big impact, and it just kind of fizzles out.

BUT - while the ending is a bit rushed and I wanted to know more about why some things appear (the Ripper kind of came from left field for me), it was a fun read. If you like YA Horror, you should definitely give it a try.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for allowing me to read and review the book.

One last nit pick- she says in the beginning that they moved from West Virginia. As someone born in WV, I always love to see a character who isn't a stereotype in a novel. But later when someone asks where she came from, she tells them Virginia. I know, a seriously tiny nit pick. But.... there it is.

I absolutely LOVED Camp Lanier by Sylvester Barzey. Just recently, my niece asked me “why do you like horror stuff? Why do you read whole books that are horror?!” Camp Lanier is a perfect example of why I love horror (and specifically, indie horror) — horror authors are able to give us a way to try and make sense of the real horrors, traumas, and tragedies in our world.
I grew up in an arguably good/great school system in the heart of Ohio, surrounded by mostly white Christian families. Thus, I missed out on learning so much of this country’s (and world’s TBH) true history until I was an adult and actively worked towards learning more about the world myself. I remember the first time I learned of Lake Lanier and Oscarville and being utterly horrified and fascinated — how could I NOT know about this?!?!
In Camp Lanier, Barzey gives us Taylor, a phenomenal young woman who instantly finds a home in your heart to become her biggest cheerleader. After being thrown directly and dangerously under the bus by her popular crowd “friends” at her new school, Taylor is sent to Camp Lanier to work for the summer in lieu of a jail sentence. Taylor finds a LOT more than just some racist rich campers, but luckily she finds some amazing real friends along the way to help her solve the mysteries and crimes of Camp Lanier.
I first was drawn in to Barzey’s work with his short story Parish, and after Lake Lanier I can’t wait to dig into even more of his work. He writes awesome, strong, powerful female MC’s who jump right off the page.

Thanks to NetGalley for the advance read.

I really wanted to like this book. I felt like it was quick and somewhat easy to read, but it didn't flow well for me. When I would get to the next chapter, I was sometimes confused as to what was going on. I would have to go back and reread the last paragraph of the last chapter to make sure I understood what was happening. There were also certain aspects of the story that didn't make a whole lot of since to me or as I stated earlier just didn't flow well.

I did like the historical pieces to this story. I it was interesting to learn a few things about the Georgia area that I was not aware so I did appreciate that.

As someone who lived in Atlanta for several years, and who has always heard the rumors of Camp Lanier - I wanted to read this as soon as I saw it listed on NetGalley. It was like, day one at my job and people were telling me "whatever you do, don't ever let someone take you to Camp Lanier or you won't be coming back". There was a moment when the main character said something along the lines of, "people say they're from Atlanta but really they live in Duluth" that had me cracking up. So while you definitely don't need to know Atlanta to love this book, it was nice to have little moments like that.

I'm going to be fully honest; I didn't think I was going to like this as much as I did. When I first started reading, I didn't understand that the narration style was *meant* to read like the main character talking to the reader, or like a diary entry. This is something that did irk me for the first few chapters, but once I was in on it, I was able to get on board. There were also two characters named Chanel A and Chanel B that like.... literally felt ripped off from Scream Queens and I'm still not sure why that was necessary lol. There were a couple cringe-y moments, like one instance where our main character said, "Because I fainted, but like a gangsta." Then later towards the end of the book when the big bad killer is revealed they say, "It was all going so well until you started causing trouble everywhere you went." It all felt wrapped up in a very Scooby Doo way. These are fairly minor, all things considered, but why I ended up taking a star off the review.

Otherwise - I really liked this. Camp Lanier is a real place with a real backstory and I liked how the author stayed true to some aspects of that while creating a fictionalized town and scenario. I also really appreciated the time taken at the end of the book to dive into the real history. This book was twisty, and mostly unpredictable, and the ghosts were just scary enough to keep me interested without being nightmare fuel. It was a perfect ghost story around the campfire vibe and was fast-paced. I think the entire book was really well done, and I'm excited to read more from this author.

I’m not one to usually pick up YA books but i really wanted to give this one a try. The blurb really did capture my attention and that cover is seriously something else.

Camp Lanier gave me Friday The 13th vibes - coincidentally one of my favorite horror franchises ever - with a paranormal twist. It’s not overly scary but it’s done in a pretty realistic way, which makes the reader feel more anxious as the plot develops. The fact that it’s based on a real location just makes it seem and feel more authentic.

My usual horror book picks have more of a slow pace but i enjoyed the fast pace of Camp Lanier. It kept me on my toes wanting to know what happened next.

Camp Lanier weaves the real history of Oscarville in Forsyth county Georgia with the fictional Camp Lanier. A little bit paranormal, and a little bit murder mystery, it has something for everyone. It’s quickly paced and made for a good read-in-one-sitting kind of book. Overall, a great spooky summer camp story. Oh, and stay out of the water.

Oh. My. Goodness. This is a perfect book! I will definitely be rereading this! Do yourself a favor and read this book!!!

Listen, when I read that this was a summer camp horror book, I downloaded it immediately! I’m glad I did too. This book has a Friday the 13th vibe combined with the urban legend of Oscarville in Forsyth County, Georgia. The main character Taylor was entertaining and even the side characters were likable (well except for a few, IYKYK). I really enjoyed this book and look forward to checking out more by this author.