Milestones by Samira Armin Hodges

One day. That's how long it took for fourteen year-old Faye Martin's ordinary life to take a dramatic and completely unexpected turn. First, she gets struck by lightning. Second; Benjamin Parker, the object of her obsession, witnesses her near-death experience. Finally, her parents are forcing her to leave her friends and hometown of Seattle to attend a summer camp, aptly named Camp Milestone. Only, Camp Milestone is no ordinary camp. There are no phones allowed, shabby cabins and only a handful of campers. The only good turn of events is Benji her longtime crush is among the sparsely populated camp. Before she knows it, Faye finds herself caught in a whirlwind of uncertainty, torture, calamine lotion and romance....All in the name of summer camp. But as the summer unfolds, she realizes there is much more to Camp Milestone than meets the eye. Will she be able to unravel the mystery that surrounds this unusual camp? And more importantly, will she be able to survive the madness long enough to put the pieces together?

I’ve got to admit, I started this book with low expectations. Right away, I found things to nitpick at: the writing seemed amateurish, the characters and story a bit stereotypical. But, those problems soon rectified themselves. Within a few chapters, I found myself constantly picking up the book to read. The mystery surrounding Camp Milestone was just too intriguing to pass up. The characters began to take shape as they worked together to discover what they were doing at such a strange camp. And when that mystery was revealed—BAM! I never would have guessed it in a million years. This is what made Milestones shine: its unique storyline and shocker of an ending that leaves readers desperate for the next installment of this intended trilogy. A great book for pre-teens and teens, Milestones is a fresh, interesting debut.