The Lightning Circle -- Vikki Vansickle, Hardcover

An intimate coming-of age novel for teens, told in verse with delicate line art, chronicling the beauty, magic and transformative power of summer camp, for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Judy Blume.

After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counselors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora's camp journal, including Nora's sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

Author: Vikki Vansickle
Publisher: Tundra Books (NY)
Published: 03/26/2024
Pages: 224
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.30lbs
Size: 8.40h x 6.10w x 0.90d
ISBN: 9781774882498
Age Range: 12-UP

Review Citation(s):
Publishers Weekly 12/11/2023
Bulletin of Ctr for Child Bks 03/01/2024
Kirkus Reviews 02/15/2024
Booklist 03/01/2024 pg. 53

About the Author
VIKKI VANSICKLE is the author of a number of acclaimed novels for children including Words That Start With B; Summer Days, Starry Nights; the award-winning The Winnowing; and picture books If I Had a Gryphon; Teddy Bear of the Year; and Anonymouse. A former bookseller and marketing director at Penguin Random House Canada, Vikki is a full-time writer, as well as a regular guest on the CTV network talking about books, a children's literature columnist at Open Book Ontario, as well as the education coordinator for The Period Purse, a charity focusing on menstrual equity. She lives in Toronto with a cat named Barb.

LAURA K. WATSON is a drawer, printmaker, embroiderer and writer from Georgetown, Ontario. She acquired her B.F.A. from Mount Allison University in 2015 and currently lives in Sackville, New Brunswick.