Camo Girl

Magoon, K. (2011). Camo girl. New York: Aladdin. Sixth grader Ella Cartwright still misses her father who died three years ago. She also misses her friend Millie who seems to have deserted her for the more popular folks in their Nevada classroom and only talks to her when no one else is around. Consequently, she spends most of her time with Zachariah (Z) who also has had his share of losses over the past couple of years: his father and their home. Because his mother works at Walmart, he spends his nights sleeping in the retail giant's aisles. Ella has vitiligo, resulting in patches of light and dark brown patches on her face. The school bullies have taken to calling her "Camo Girl," which prompts her to avoid her classmates and to assess herself only according to her outward appearance. When newcomer Bailey James enters the scene, his personality and basketball skills provide him a quick ticket to popularity. Still, he is drawn to Ella, possibly because they are the only two African Americans in the class but possibly because they may have something else in common. As Ella begins spending time with Bailey, Z withdraws further into the fantasy world that he and Ella have created in order to avoid the harsh and painful realities of their lives. But his fantasies lead Z on a potentially dangerous journey, and Ella realizes that her friend needs more help than she can offer. She also discovers that while she and Z have secrets, Bailey has secrets on his own.

The cruelty of middle graders and the effects of loss in this book are offset by the love the women in each of these families have for their children. In all three families, the mothers--and in Ella's case, her grandmother--are doing their best to provide a loving, supportive environment for their offspring. The author also carefully shows how there are many ways to hide the truth from others. While Z creates his own world filled with magic and quests and Ella withdraws into herself, Bailey uses the mask of friendliness and popularity to hide his pain.

Favorite Lines:
“When sad things happen, you build a room in your mind to put them. A safe place to hide the thoughts that make you want to cry. If you try really hard, you can sometimes get the door to lock” (p. 179).

“I haven’t realized how cool I am, how the desert breeze whirling around us has already stolen the heat of the day” (p. 181).

“It’s hard to be the broken one, the different one, the one carrying secrets and holding things that hurt” (p. 183).