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American Girl Mysteries
Secrets at Camp Nokomis: A Rebecca Mystery (American Girl Mysteries) by Greene, Jacqueline(March 1, 2010) Paperback
Rebecca loves everything about summer camp, but making friends turns out to be harder than she expected. What secret is her bunkmate hiding--and why? When camp pranks start getting out of hand and a girl goes missing, Rebecca is determined to find out what's really going on at Camp Nokomis. At the end of the story, the Looking Back section provides interesting facts about summer camps in Rebecca's time.
Paperback
First published January 1, 2010
About the author
Jacqueline Dembar Greene
42 books27 followersMs. Greene is an American author of more than 30 books and stories for young readers. In addition to her American Girl series, some of her notable books of fiction include: Out of Many Waters, a historical novel about the first Jewish settlement in America.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 39 reviews
July 14, 2022
American Girl, look.
You are marketing to the wrong people.
Stop trying to market to the kids of today. We all know they don't play with dolls, they don't read books, they don't care about history. Just go back and market to we, the girls who GREW UP on American Girl, and give us more books like these. Because I NEED Courtney mysteries and more 'hardcore' AG mysteries in my life. 🤷🏻♀️😂
You are marketing to the wrong people.
Stop trying to market to the kids of today. We all know they don't play with dolls, they don't read books, they don't care about history. Just go back and market to we, the girls who GREW UP on American Girl, and give us more books like these. Because I NEED Courtney mysteries and more 'hardcore' AG mysteries in my life. 🤷🏻♀️😂
May 31, 2014
Secrets at Camp Nokomis is the first mystery for Rebecca by the same author as her core series. The book takes place in the summer of 1916, when Rebecca is 11. A polio outbreak in New York City has prompted the Children's Health Fund to create free summer camps for city children to get away from the diseases of the city. Rebecca and her best friend Rose are excited when their applications are accepted for the first group of campers. Sadly for Rose, a boy in her building has contracted polio and therefore, her entire building is under quarantine. Rebecca is excited and nervous about going to camp and making new friends.
Rebecca loves camp right away. She loves the fresh air of the country, the charming Indian theme of the camp taken from Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha", the camping, the activities and everything! At first Rebecca's tent mates seem like they will be good friends. She is especially close to her bunkmate, the shy, small girl, Christina (Tina) Pfeffer. Rebecca quickly makes an enemy in her tent though and she's not sure how to deal with the bully. Her friend Tina also seems to have a big secret but won't confide in Rebecca. When the bully goes too far, Rebecca has to decide what, if anything, she's going to do about it.
This mystery isn't much of a mystery. It's a typical camp story and adolescent bullying story. The details of camp activities are nice but nothing new. I did like how the author incorporates "Hiawatha" into the story, and not just in the camp name. I figured out the mystery early on and it seemed so obvious that I don't know why no one else figures it out The kids act pretty realistically for girls that age and the issues are and aren't resolved in a fairy tale manner. The conflict between Rebecca and the bully is pretty good and handled well. The bully is who she is and though she learns a lesson, her personality is still the same.
Rebecca loves camp right away. She loves the fresh air of the country, the charming Indian theme of the camp taken from Longfellow's poem "Hiawatha", the camping, the activities and everything! At first Rebecca's tent mates seem like they will be good friends. She is especially close to her bunkmate, the shy, small girl, Christina (Tina) Pfeffer. Rebecca quickly makes an enemy in her tent though and she's not sure how to deal with the bully. Her friend Tina also seems to have a big secret but won't confide in Rebecca. When the bully goes too far, Rebecca has to decide what, if anything, she's going to do about it.
This mystery isn't much of a mystery. It's a typical camp story and adolescent bullying story. The details of camp activities are nice but nothing new. I did like how the author incorporates "Hiawatha" into the story, and not just in the camp name. I figured out the mystery early on and it seemed so obvious that I don't know why no one else figures it out The kids act pretty realistically for girls that age and the issues are and aren't resolved in a fairy tale manner. The conflict between Rebecca and the bully is pretty good and handled well. The bully is who she is and though she learns a lesson, her personality is still the same.
October 21, 2021
This is the first AG Mystery I've read. I'm delighted that they decided to continue on with the historical characters past the core 6 "lessons" books, and it's clear they are marketing to a slightly older reader, with the lack of pictures and heavier on lengthly text. I'm sure that the older part of their target audience loves mysteries and it might extend the playability of the doll for the owner, but I'm not sure if I'm going to read any others.
The story starts off interesting, if a bit unsubtle, in its build up of Rebecca going off to a free camp alone because her friend Rose is quarantined due to the polio outbreak. It swiftly transitions to the dynamics between the campers, and it devolves from there. Most of the campers are caricatures, not real characters, particularly the bossy, bullying Corky. Rebecca doesn't get up the nerve to deal with her, and it costs her later. It is nice to see the friendship blossoming between Rebecca and Tina. Strangely, we get less insight into camping in 1914 then we do in Molly's core book.
I figured out the mystery before the mystery even happened, but I'm not sure the target audience would. I do think the dynamics of the relationships and interactions of 11 year olds is realistic, and Rebecca learns quickly that her own inaction gets turned right back at her when the shoe is on the other foot.
I read this last week, and I already can't recall if there was a Looking Back section. So it was either not very memorable, or they skip it in the historical mysteries.
The story starts off interesting, if a bit unsubtle, in its build up of Rebecca going off to a free camp alone because her friend Rose is quarantined due to the polio outbreak. It swiftly transitions to the dynamics between the campers, and it devolves from there. Most of the campers are caricatures, not real characters, particularly the bossy, bullying Corky. Rebecca doesn't get up the nerve to deal with her, and it costs her later. It is nice to see the friendship blossoming between Rebecca and Tina. Strangely, we get less insight into camping in 1914 then we do in Molly's core book.
I figured out the mystery before the mystery even happened, but I'm not sure the target audience would. I do think the dynamics of the relationships and interactions of 11 year olds is realistic, and Rebecca learns quickly that her own inaction gets turned right back at her when the shoe is on the other foot.
I read this last week, and I already can't recall if there was a Looking Back section. So it was either not very memorable, or they skip it in the historical mysteries.
June 24, 2010
rebecca is eleven now, it's 1916, & her name was chosen by the children's charity to go to sleepaway camp in the country for one week. her friend rose was supposed to go too, but a boy in her building was diagnosed with polio, & the entire building was quarantined. rebecca & all the other campers from the city have to present the town where the camp is located with health certificates identifying them as polio-free. rebecca is really sad that rose can't join her, & she's worried about the polio epidemic in the city--kids get a fever, & the next day, they're paralyzed or dead. but she's excited about camp & she hopes to become fast friends with all the other girls in her tent. she plans to learn how to swim so she can go on a canoe trip, & when she learns that the entire camp will be staging a production of "the song of hiawatha," she decides to try out for narrator.
there are two notable characters in rebecca's tent. corky is a bossy irish redhead who comes up with cute nicknames for the other campers, but seems to have a mysterious manipulative streak. she occasionally pulls pranks on the other campers & acts like she knows everything because she'd been at camp the summer before. tina is small for her age & reluctant to change or bathe in front of the other girls. she also occasionally disappears during lessons, & is a target for corky's bullying tendencies. rebecca & tina share a bunk, & rebecca decides to draw out a friendship with tina. but as camp progresses, she begins to realize that she has told tina all about herself, but tina hasn't reciprocated. rebecca wonders how much to trust tina when tina is so secretive & mysterious.
all the campers are scared that a monster called the windigo lives in the woods. rebecca's tent goes on a hikinig trip one day without their counselor, & corky tricks the group into splitting up. she leads her own group safely back to camp, where they sit in the crafts tent & have fun, while rebecca's group gets lost, finds a scary cave, & is scared that they have discovered the monster. rebecca is disappointed with corky's tricks.
their counselor selects rebecca to be the narrator of the play based on a brief audition, in which rebecca did great & corky did terribly. corky is really jealous & upset, & tells the other campers she'll do their chores if they vote for her to be the narrator instead. rebecca makes a drum to beat while narrating (because much of this book is historically accurate in terms of little white girl appropriating native american culture & traditions to lend a little extra flavor to their camp experiences), but when corky stages her coup, she takes rebecca's drum. even tina doesn't stand up for rebecca, & rebecca cries herself to sleep.
corky is also jealous when rebecca receives a letter from home. corky's mother is illiterate & won't be writing any time soon. when rebecca's letter goes missing, she starts to feel like the whole camp is against her.
one day, corky organizes an i-spy-style game for the girls in the tent, & uses this as a pretext to open tina's trunk, where she discovers a leg brace. apparently tina had had polio. she's not contagious anymore, & she's at camp to enjoy the food & exercise & build her strength back up. my one complaint is that the foreshadowing on this big reveal was incredibly heavy-handed. as soon as tina was introduced as "small for her age" with "bloomers that were too long," i knew she was a polio survivor. i'm thinking the girls in the tent are a little on the slow side...or they're clueless children. anyway, tina is embarrassed & upset & runs away in the middle of the night because she doesn't think anyone will want to be her friend now. she knows first-hand how terrified people are of the polio epidemic, & no one knows for sure what causes it, so no one wants to buddy up too much to someone who has had it.
rebecca realizes tina is gone & she decides to go into the woods after her. corky comes along too. they re-discover the cave where they think the windigo hangs out, & there are weird noises coming from inside it. but it's just their tent counselor, ginny, & the lake instructor, roger, reading poetry to each other (riiiight). rebecca & corky explain that tina has run away, & roger leads them to a house near the woods. inside, they find tina with miss pepper, the camp cook. it turns out that miss pepper is actually mrs. pfeffer, & she's tina's mom. mrs. pfeffer took the camp cook job on the condition that tina could become a camper to help with her recovery from polio. the camp director broke a lot of rules to allow tina to be a camper, but he thinks he made the right choice for tina's health.
corky acknowledges that rebecca would be a better narrator for the end-of-week performance & returns the drum. everyone makes up & the girls in rebecca's tent learn that it's not okay to shun someone just because they have a non-communicable debilitating disease (i guess?). on the last day of camp, the girls get the news that due to low camp enrollment due to polio quarantines in the city, everyone gets to stay an extra week! yay! so rebecca & her tentmates have an extra week to be friends now that all the drama & bullshit are behind them. & yes, corky stole rebecca's letter because she was jealous. she returns it & rebecca forgives her. the boy in rose's building recovers from his bout with polio, & no one else in rose's building contracts it. happy endings.
there are two notable characters in rebecca's tent. corky is a bossy irish redhead who comes up with cute nicknames for the other campers, but seems to have a mysterious manipulative streak. she occasionally pulls pranks on the other campers & acts like she knows everything because she'd been at camp the summer before. tina is small for her age & reluctant to change or bathe in front of the other girls. she also occasionally disappears during lessons, & is a target for corky's bullying tendencies. rebecca & tina share a bunk, & rebecca decides to draw out a friendship with tina. but as camp progresses, she begins to realize that she has told tina all about herself, but tina hasn't reciprocated. rebecca wonders how much to trust tina when tina is so secretive & mysterious.
all the campers are scared that a monster called the windigo lives in the woods. rebecca's tent goes on a hikinig trip one day without their counselor, & corky tricks the group into splitting up. she leads her own group safely back to camp, where they sit in the crafts tent & have fun, while rebecca's group gets lost, finds a scary cave, & is scared that they have discovered the monster. rebecca is disappointed with corky's tricks.
their counselor selects rebecca to be the narrator of the play based on a brief audition, in which rebecca did great & corky did terribly. corky is really jealous & upset, & tells the other campers she'll do their chores if they vote for her to be the narrator instead. rebecca makes a drum to beat while narrating (because much of this book is historically accurate in terms of little white girl appropriating native american culture & traditions to lend a little extra flavor to their camp experiences), but when corky stages her coup, she takes rebecca's drum. even tina doesn't stand up for rebecca, & rebecca cries herself to sleep.
corky is also jealous when rebecca receives a letter from home. corky's mother is illiterate & won't be writing any time soon. when rebecca's letter goes missing, she starts to feel like the whole camp is against her.
one day, corky organizes an i-spy-style game for the girls in the tent, & uses this as a pretext to open tina's trunk, where she discovers a leg brace. apparently tina had had polio. she's not contagious anymore, & she's at camp to enjoy the food & exercise & build her strength back up. my one complaint is that the foreshadowing on this big reveal was incredibly heavy-handed. as soon as tina was introduced as "small for her age" with "bloomers that were too long," i knew she was a polio survivor. i'm thinking the girls in the tent are a little on the slow side...or they're clueless children. anyway, tina is embarrassed & upset & runs away in the middle of the night because she doesn't think anyone will want to be her friend now. she knows first-hand how terrified people are of the polio epidemic, & no one knows for sure what causes it, so no one wants to buddy up too much to someone who has had it.
rebecca realizes tina is gone & she decides to go into the woods after her. corky comes along too. they re-discover the cave where they think the windigo hangs out, & there are weird noises coming from inside it. but it's just their tent counselor, ginny, & the lake instructor, roger, reading poetry to each other (riiiight). rebecca & corky explain that tina has run away, & roger leads them to a house near the woods. inside, they find tina with miss pepper, the camp cook. it turns out that miss pepper is actually mrs. pfeffer, & she's tina's mom. mrs. pfeffer took the camp cook job on the condition that tina could become a camper to help with her recovery from polio. the camp director broke a lot of rules to allow tina to be a camper, but he thinks he made the right choice for tina's health.
corky acknowledges that rebecca would be a better narrator for the end-of-week performance & returns the drum. everyone makes up & the girls in rebecca's tent learn that it's not okay to shun someone just because they have a non-communicable debilitating disease (i guess?). on the last day of camp, the girls get the news that due to low camp enrollment due to polio quarantines in the city, everyone gets to stay an extra week! yay! so rebecca & her tentmates have an extra week to be friends now that all the drama & bullshit are behind them. & yes, corky stole rebecca's letter because she was jealous. she returns it & rebecca forgives her. the boy in rose's building recovers from his bout with polio, & no one else in rose's building contracts it. happy endings.
March 12, 2022
The great AG marathon continues. Again, reading for the first time as an adult, inspired by the American Girls podcast.
There are about four notable things about this Rebecca-at-summer-camp story:
- Class. Rebecca’s family is not rich enough to send her to summer camp, so the privilege here is born of luck, not money. There are charitable organizations making this happen for these girls. Public health is still in a place where the prevailing wisdom is that cities aren't terribly healthy places to be when the weather is hot, so beyond letting the kids have a fun time in the woods, there's an expectation of health benefits, too.
- Conflict. A lot of AG books tend to be low on interpersonal conflict between friends – there’s a lot of dealing with hard situations, and in each series we usually find a character who’s clearly just there to be an antagonist. But here we see conflict arise (and truly, would it really be a camp story if there weren’t pranks and hijinks somewhere?), and we also see the girls resolve it, pretty much on their own.
- Cultural appropriation. This camp’s name is Ojibwe, the campers shiver over wendigo stories (admittedly terrifying, but it’s the only horror story they use), and they listen to and act out Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” – complete with props and costumes that they make as craft projects. It's a lot more overt than what we see at Molly's camp. Having removed Indigenous groups from their native lands, Americans are now inviting their children to vacation in the woods and play at being “Indian.” Being accurate for Rebecca's period doesn't make it less cringe-worthy. It would have been nice to (a) have an actual Native person somewhere in the mix or (b) have the narrative acknowledge that this is problematic even if the characters don’t see it that way.
- Crutches. Polio was the element that made the story deeper and more interesting to me, and I liked the way it was woven in via Rose and Mama’s letters, even while a polio survivor was literally right under Rebecca’s nose.
That was one of several points that might be surprising or suspenseful to a young reader, but which were pretty easy to spot as an adult, but this was a fun read all the same.
There are about four notable things about this Rebecca-at-summer-camp story:
- Class. Rebecca’s family is not rich enough to send her to summer camp, so the privilege here is born of luck, not money. There are charitable organizations making this happen for these girls. Public health is still in a place where the prevailing wisdom is that cities aren't terribly healthy places to be when the weather is hot, so beyond letting the kids have a fun time in the woods, there's an expectation of health benefits, too.
- Conflict. A lot of AG books tend to be low on interpersonal conflict between friends – there’s a lot of dealing with hard situations, and in each series we usually find a character who’s clearly just there to be an antagonist. But here we see conflict arise (and truly, would it really be a camp story if there weren’t pranks and hijinks somewhere?), and we also see the girls resolve it, pretty much on their own.
- Cultural appropriation. This camp’s name is Ojibwe, the campers shiver over wendigo stories (admittedly terrifying, but it’s the only horror story they use), and they listen to and act out Longfellow’s “Song of Hiawatha” – complete with props and costumes that they make as craft projects. It's a lot more overt than what we see at Molly's camp. Having removed Indigenous groups from their native lands, Americans are now inviting their children to vacation in the woods and play at being “Indian.” Being accurate for Rebecca's period doesn't make it less cringe-worthy. It would have been nice to (a) have an actual Native person somewhere in the mix or (b) have the narrative acknowledge that this is problematic even if the characters don’t see it that way.
- Crutches. Polio was the element that made the story deeper and more interesting to me, and I liked the way it was woven in via Rose and Mama’s letters, even while a polio survivor was literally right under Rebecca’s nose.
That was one of several points that might be surprising or suspenseful to a young reader, but which were pretty easy to spot as an adult, but this was a fun read all the same.
June 29, 2010
I'm not sure whether my younger, more demo-age self would have figured out pretty much the entire book as early as I did, or if I'd have enjoyed it more then.
As it was, I figured out the mystery before the mystery even happened. As soon as they mentioned Rose couldn't go to camp due to the polio outbreak, I knew there'd be a mystery camper who had polio before, and that odds were good she'd be someone important's daughter, and none of the campers would know her secret until, somehow, Rebecca helped reveal it.
What I didn't plan on was the 'fun' stereotype of the hotheaded, redhaired, ignorant Irish kid who is an odd sort of bully. Really. That's what you're going with? I guess the AG series has Nellie to off-set this character, but still. Just hit each and every stereotype (except for the drinking since these are eleven year olds) while you can. Oy.
If you ignore that, the book is a fun camp read, except for that part where Rebecca doesn't really have a whole lot of fun at camp due to Corky, the aforementioned walking stereotype.
What is worth noting is that Tina, Rebecca's only friend at camp, is believable in her actions when presented with Corky's bullying. When Corky turns her attentions away from Teeny and towards Rebecca, Tina doesn't always stick up for her friend. She might not side against her, but she doesn't stand up for her, either.
As it was, I figured out the mystery before the mystery even happened. As soon as they mentioned Rose couldn't go to camp due to the polio outbreak, I knew there'd be a mystery camper who had polio before, and that odds were good she'd be someone important's daughter, and none of the campers would know her secret until, somehow, Rebecca helped reveal it.
What I didn't plan on was the 'fun' stereotype of the hotheaded, redhaired, ignorant Irish kid who is an odd sort of bully. Really. That's what you're going with? I guess the AG series has Nellie to off-set this character, but still. Just hit each and every stereotype (except for the drinking since these are eleven year olds) while you can. Oy.
If you ignore that, the book is a fun camp read, except for that part where Rebecca doesn't really have a whole lot of fun at camp due to Corky, the aforementioned walking stereotype.
What is worth noting is that Tina, Rebecca's only friend at camp, is believable in her actions when presented with Corky's bullying. When Corky turns her attentions away from Teeny and towards Rebecca, Tina doesn't always stick up for her friend. She might not side against her, but she doesn't stand up for her, either.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
March 7, 2014
I wouldn't call this a mystery so much as an adventure. There's plenty of strange goings-on, there's a whole lot of action. The bullying made me sad, and the resolution was satisfactory. Overall I liked this story and wish there were more books about Rebecca.
February 9, 2019
Kept me hooked couldn't put it down.
November 27, 2021
The book was set during the 1916 NYC polio epidemic, which felt reminiscent of the COVID-19 pandemic with the closure of public places and quarantining polio patients (alongside all residents living in the same apartment building as the polio patient). I did not like the cultural appropriation of Native American culture and traditions. In her author's note, Greene stated she previously studied Native American lore and ancient caves, which were both used in the novel's plot. I did not like the strong use of Native American lore and wished the plot could have focused more on camp life instead — 2.5 stars.
June 24, 2023
I really liked this one! It sure helped that it was written by the original author of the Rebecca books. Summer camp stories are some of my favorites to read, and it was especially neat to read about a summer camp experience in the 1910s. I didn’t realize there was such a polio epidemic in New York at that time, which spiked the rise of summer camps to get children safely out of the city. I figured out the mystery of Tina pretty early on, but that’s ok! It still held my attention. I know doll playsets based on the mysteries have never been a thing, but my Rebecca totally wants to go to camp now - and she wants to read a tiny copy of Hiawatha.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
December 9, 2022
Important for folks to know that there is a pretty extensive use of “Indian” and the children dressing up as “maidens” for a Hiawatha reading.
I also don’t think Rebecca’s Jewish identity is treated well here. Keeping kosher is just briefly dealt with, and no one defends or accommodates Rebecca and it is instead explained through a Catholic lens for the reader. Furthermore, the multi-ethnic camp seems a bit of a stretch here for this time period.
Also unnecessary Irish stereotype.
Overall, my daughter loved it because it reminded her of her own camp, but I definitely changed some words.
I also don’t think Rebecca’s Jewish identity is treated well here. Keeping kosher is just briefly dealt with, and no one defends or accommodates Rebecca and it is instead explained through a Catholic lens for the reader. Furthermore, the multi-ethnic camp seems a bit of a stretch here for this time period.
Also unnecessary Irish stereotype.
Overall, my daughter loved it because it reminded her of her own camp, but I definitely changed some words.
November 2, 2017
This book was good but I thought it was kind of slow.
April 14, 2019
fun book and good lessons
June 24, 2020
Very interesting—fun camp setting and interesting introduction to the fear of polio epidemics—especially in the time of COVID-19.
June 3, 2024
Camp Rock 3: Electric Boogaloo
September 22, 2020
I originally read this when it came out in 2010, and I disliked it so much that I never bothered with any of the other Rebecca mysteries, especially since I hadn't particularly cared for her original series in the first place. However, since I am reading all of the American Girl mysteries this year, again or for the first time, I gave this another chance.
It was still horrid. I'm keeping my existing two-star rating, since the book involves significant educational information about polio and an epidemic in New York, but the mystery itself is lackluster and predictable, and the social dynamics at camp are awful. Although Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story makes overnight camp seem like a grand adventure, this book is a grim reminder that bullies are everywhere, and that adults are conveniently never around when you need them, or choose to totally ignore obvious red flags because they don't want to bother getting involved.
Of course, the bully has an abrupt change of heart at the end, and we're supposed to believe that the cabin is all a happy family by the book's conclusion, but the story never offers sufficient explanation for why the bully behaved the way she did or why she chose to change. I disliked this book very much, hurried through it, and will not pursue it for my American Girl library. I'm glad that the library still had a few copies so that I could complete my reread without having to pay for this, because it was just as terrible as I had remembered.
It was still horrid. I'm keeping my existing two-star rating, since the book involves significant educational information about polio and an epidemic in New York, but the mystery itself is lackluster and predictable, and the social dynamics at camp are awful. Although Molly Saves the Day: A Summer Story makes overnight camp seem like a grand adventure, this book is a grim reminder that bullies are everywhere, and that adults are conveniently never around when you need them, or choose to totally ignore obvious red flags because they don't want to bother getting involved.
Of course, the bully has an abrupt change of heart at the end, and we're supposed to believe that the cabin is all a happy family by the book's conclusion, but the story never offers sufficient explanation for why the bully behaved the way she did or why she chose to change. I disliked this book very much, hurried through it, and will not pursue it for my American Girl library. I'm glad that the library still had a few copies so that I could complete my reread without having to pay for this, because it was just as terrible as I had remembered.
June 4, 2012
Rebecca is off to summer camp, where she can't wait to swim, canoe, and meet new girls. She loves the shivery tales told around the campfire and seeing the stars and fireflies at night, but making friends turns out to be harder than she expected. What secrets is her bunk mate hiding - and why? When camp pranks start getting out of hand and a girl goes missing, Rebecca is determined to find out what's really going on at Camp Nokomis.
Age 9 and up.
About the Author: Jacqueline Dembar Greene is the author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books for young readers. The camp setting for Secrets at Camp Nokomis was inspired by her research for the American Girl series about Rebecca Rubin. Ms. Greene's previous studies of Native American Lore and her interest in ancient caves added to the mystery's plot. She has walked, swam, slid, crawled, and squeezed through caves and caverns throughout North America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Europe. She especially loves the random caves scattered around the Hudson Valley of New York, where each one seems to hold its own silent secrets. Ms. Greene lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, with her husband. In addition to writing, she loves to hike, garden, and travel off the beaten path.
I loved every minute of this thrilling mystery. I love everything American Girl, the stories are always awesome!
Age 9 and up.
About the Author: Jacqueline Dembar Greene is the author of more than thirty fiction and nonfiction books for young readers. The camp setting for Secrets at Camp Nokomis was inspired by her research for the American Girl series about Rebecca Rubin. Ms. Greene's previous studies of Native American Lore and her interest in ancient caves added to the mystery's plot. She has walked, swam, slid, crawled, and squeezed through caves and caverns throughout North America, Mexico, Puerto Rico, and Europe. She especially loves the random caves scattered around the Hudson Valley of New York, where each one seems to hold its own silent secrets. Ms. Greene lives in Wayland, Massachusetts, with her husband. In addition to writing, she loves to hike, garden, and travel off the beaten path.
I loved every minute of this thrilling mystery. I love everything American Girl, the stories are always awesome!
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January 16, 2020Hey Neera i just read this book called secrets at camp Nokomis .Can you read my summary about the book. Rebbeca is the main character and she was really excited to go to camp but she did not now what was coming for her. First she wanted to escape her town because there was polio passing around terrible. I think that she had made great friends but also bad enmys her enmy was corky her bunk mate she was taking things from her like the only talking role in a play everybody else was a bunny or an old grandmothers. Then she put a frog in her bed it was not helpful for anything and they were being very disrespectful and her best friend at camp had polio and also had run away and get this the cook was her mother and she was giving her extra food and she lived at the camp. This is the last thing i will tell you they call s'mores marshmellow sandwiches. I hope you enjoy it.i also would change the ending by making them not be friends but having to work together but not be friends and she went home and they would never be friends and they just won't be friends next year or any year.
This entire review has been hidden because of spoilers.
June 18, 2014
February 2010 review:
Rebecca is sent away from her home in New York city to a summer camp for girls in the country, so as to avoid a frightening polio outbreak. She can’t seem to make any friends, and one of her tent mates is a bully; always wanting everything for herself. Rebecca is starting to think maybe camp wouldn't be as fun as she thought, when she begins to notice something mysterious about another of her tent mates; a girl named Tina. Rebecca tries to be as friendly as she can, because Tina seems to be lonely as well. Tina seems to be nice girl, but there ids definitely something mysterious about her. Will Rebecca find out what it is? Or will the bullying tent mate ruin Rebecca’s summer? If you want to find out, read this book! This is the first “Rebecca” mystery in the American Girl’s Mystery collection.
Rebecca is sent away from her home in New York city to a summer camp for girls in the country, so as to avoid a frightening polio outbreak. She can’t seem to make any friends, and one of her tent mates is a bully; always wanting everything for herself. Rebecca is starting to think maybe camp wouldn't be as fun as she thought, when she begins to notice something mysterious about another of her tent mates; a girl named Tina. Rebecca tries to be as friendly as she can, because Tina seems to be lonely as well. Tina seems to be nice girl, but there ids definitely something mysterious about her. Will Rebecca find out what it is? Or will the bullying tent mate ruin Rebecca’s summer? If you want to find out, read this book! This is the first “Rebecca” mystery in the American Girl’s Mystery collection.
June 16, 2022
Sadly disappointing. Was that Irish stereotype really necessary?
Re-read 2022: I had a negative reaction to this book the first time around, because one of the characters is a heavy handed Irish stereotype. Extremely weird in an AG book. The mystery isn't much of one, and the book instead is really about bullying and hazing. Except that neither is really dealt with in any way. It's feels very strange that the book ends with the character who had organized the bullying to just... say she's sorry and everybody is good buddies now? Apparently without hard feelings? It's extremely unsatisfying, and I doubt that young readers who are experiencing bullying would be satisfied, either.
Re-read 2022: I had a negative reaction to this book the first time around, because one of the characters is a heavy handed Irish stereotype. Extremely weird in an AG book. The mystery isn't much of one, and the book instead is really about bullying and hazing. Except that neither is really dealt with in any way. It's feels very strange that the book ends with the character who had organized the bullying to just... say she's sorry and everybody is good buddies now? Apparently without hard feelings? It's extremely unsatisfying, and I doubt that young readers who are experiencing bullying would be satisfied, either.
March 28, 2010
Rebecca is lucky enough to get to go to a week-long sleepaway camp, far away from the city and the current polio scare. At camp, Rebecca is excited to make friends, learn to swim, and perform as the narrator for a camp skit, but she feels her bunkmate Tina is harboring a deep, dark secret.
Meh. The “mystery” within this book was ridiculously easy to figure out, and I was kinda disappointed that Rebecca couldn’t figure it out sooner. I’ve liked other Rebecca stories more.
Meh. The “mystery” within this book was ridiculously easy to figure out, and I was kinda disappointed that Rebecca couldn’t figure it out sooner. I’ve liked other Rebecca stories more.
March 11, 2012
I thought it was good and pretty funny.There is a girl named Rebecca Rubin who is the main character and she goes to a camp called Camp Nokomis.There she has an interesting bunkmate named Christina, but the girls call her Tina for short.There is a girl who they call Corky and who bullies people into doing what she wants.In the end, you discover Tina has Polio, but had it last year.She goes to camp because her mom is the cook.
May 6, 2022
Secrets at Camp Nokomis has an engaging plot that serves well as both a summer camp adventure and a peek into history.
And as a case for vaccines!
Note that some of the camp activities Rebecca participates in appropriate elements of Native American culture. Given the era, this is probably something that really would have happened, but it would have been better had a character (or some sort of author's note) called it out.
And as a case for vaccines!
Note that some of the camp activities Rebecca participates in appropriate elements of Native American culture. Given the era, this is probably something that really would have happened, but it would have been better had a character (or some sort of author's note) called it out.
October 30, 2018
Read all of the Rebecca mysteries today, and this was one was a gem. I believe I had actually read it before for a Children's Lit class, but it was a nice little reread. Good character development for Rebecca, and I do really love that Rebecca's stories let you see so many different sides of turn of the century NYC.
December 31, 2017
Of all the American Girl characters, Rebecca is my favorite because of her decade. I am also fascinated with the history of Polio so when I found out that the backdrop for this story was the 1916 polio epidemic, I was ecstatic. This has become my favorite book in the entire American Girl series.
February 4, 2014
Rebecca goes to camp and noticis that her bunkmate is linping.while they were playing a game Corky one of the camp girls opened this lid that belonged to Rebecca's bunkmate and inside was a cast which ment tina (Rebecca's bunkmate ) had polio....
January 23, 2016
Suspenseful and well-told, lots of good stuff in there like friendship and trust themes. My child, eleven like Rebecca, calls the book "very good" and "advises other people to read it." I read this after she did.
March 16, 2010
This was great! I loved it! Rebecca is one of my favorite American Girls!
March 2, 2010
Violet's reading page: http://happyheartsmom.typepad.com/swe...
March 11, 2010
This is a good summer story that highlights the threat of polio. Rebbecca learns how to be friends with a different set of girls at camp and solves a mystery in the process.
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