Boot Camp

By Todd Strasser

Reviewed by Christian H., BCCHS student

Boot Camp deals with a fifteen-year-old boy named Garrett. One day Garrett is kidnapped in the middle of the night and taken to Lake Harmony, a teenage boot camp. What he doesn’t know is that his parents have paid for him to be taken to Lake Harmony to learn respect and self-discipline.

As this story progresses, we get to see the corruption and violence within the boot camp. Garrett has to deal with abuse and many failed attempts at brainwashing by staff member and students of Lake Harmony. “The concrete floor of TI feels colder than last time. Fall has arrived. I’ve lost count of how many times Ron and Jon have come in to twist my legs and arms and leave no visible marks or bruises. Every part of my body hurts.” (Strasser, 113) This quote made me think even though this book isn’t based on a real person, it shows us the physical and emotional abuse Garrett has gone through. The book not only deals with violence, but also with love, as Garrett has memories of his girlfriend Sabrina, who is the main reason he is in Lake Harmony.

If I were to rate this book, I would give it a two out of five. This book would appeal to tenth graders because of the way it shows love, action, and depression. Boot Camp can be boring due to the author’s tendency to repeat the same scenes over and over again. Besides that I feel that this book will make you wonder about the many boot camps that possibly are like this. If you want to find a good book to read, this is probably one of them due to the shocking ending the author leave us with.