• Booklist Reviews : Booklist Reviews 2010 April #1
  Thirteen-year-old Gen and her family are spending the summer at Camp Frontier, a living history camp that is Mom's longtime dream. Gen is less than thrilled to be milking a cow, weeding cornfields, and sharing a bed with her brother; only the presence of her surreptitious cell phone (used to text her friends) makes life tolerable. Then Gen discovers a secret cabin—dubbed the "electricity shack" because it contains a computer and a refrigerator full of diet soda—and she begins to realize that the overzealous owners of this 1890s social experiment have misrepresented their own devotion to the past. The author of Slipping (2008) offers here a comic look at modern technology dependence, especially among teens. Although Gen comes to appreciate some aspects of pioneer life, and the story demonstrates how texting can lead to loss of privacy (Gen's friends upload her messages to a blog, resulting in national media attention), it's also clear that Bell sees technology as necessary and often helpful. Young teens are sure to concur. Copyright 2010 Booklist Reviews.

CATHLEEN DAVITT BELL's first book for young readers was Slipping. She received her undergraduate degree from Barnard College and her MFA in Creative Writing from Columbia University. She lives in Brooklyn, New York, with her husband and two children.
www.cathleendavittbell.com