I was looking forward to this story but unfortunately, it did not meet my expectations. I like that the main character was shown in a fearful situation for readers to immediately relate to him. The bully was typical and realistic; not so much his dialogue. However, the boy at camp did not speak like someone his age. His inner thoughts were too psychological and I found them unrealistic. I like the ally he found when he was being bullied; and it is a great lesson to teacher middle grade readers. The main problem is that the story is not fun. It is too on the nose and reads like a pamphlet about how to deal with anxiety. These kids do not at all read like kids. Unfortunately, I would not recommend this and I probably won't remember this book in a few months because the characters read like AI bots.

At a time when mental health issues have become a veritable epidemic among both adults and children - partly as a result of stress and our modern lifestyles, and worsened further by the pandemic - this book provides a useful resource to assist parents whose children are experiencing problems with anxiety, self esteem, bullying and other such issues.

Cameron Poole is having a difficult time at Camp Pontchartrain. As the smallest boy within his age group, he is a frequent target for bullies. And with each experience, his anxiety about the possibility of further such incidents increases, creating a vicious circle. All this considerably worsens Cameron's existing tendency towards catastrophising.

And things are about to get a lot worse as the kids at the camp become embroiled in the Demon Lord Malphas's plan to bring his Monster Army over from another dimension to invade our world. If Cameron can't cope with ziplines and rope-ladders, how on earth is he going to deal with mythical monsters like the gargoyles and gremlins that Malphas is unleashing?

But sometimes, we can do things together that we would struggle to do alone. And as the children of Camp Pontchartrain develop some unlikely alliances among themselves to combat the common threats that they face, Cameron finds hidden resources within himself that unexpectedly come to the surface...

The author has made it clear that he wrote this book as part of coming to terms with his son's journey with anxiety, and the effort and intelligence that he has put into his storytelling is evident.

The story is fast-paced enough to hold the attention of youngsters whilst weaving in a variety of strategies to help address The Beast that children like Cameron struggle with - namely, deep-rooted and debilitating anxiety.

Many children are likely to find Cameron's issues highly relatable, and will benefit from being able to access a story like this. It might also help them to deal better with peers who have not previously understood what kids like Cameron have to get to grips with on a daily basis. A commendable effort and worth a read.

This was such a gem of a book for my almost 9 year old grandson and I to read. With the anxiety issues he faces, this book opened some dialogue between us so many thanks. The main character Cameron is a delight. Kids not only will love the story but they may learn how to battle some issues of their own. Thanks #Netgalley and #BooksGoSocial for the eARC in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are mine.

My preteen grandson wanted to read this on his own (we usually group read). He read the synopsis and felt that it was a book to read himself quietly. He said that it felt like someone he knew wrote it for him just when he needed it and felt supported as well as enjoying the story. He has made me promise that I will buy him a hard copy as soon as it is released.