The Lightning Circle - by Vikki Vansickle (Hardcover)

About the Book

"After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora's camp journal, including Nora's sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait."--

Book Synopsis

An intimate coming-of age novel for teens, told in verse with delicate line art, chronicling the beauty, magic and transformative power of summer camp, for fans of Elizabeth Acevedo and Judy Blume.

After having her heart broken, seventeen-year-old Nora Nichols decides to escape her hometown and take a summer job as an arts and crafts counsellor at an all-girls' camp in the mountains of West Virginia. There, she meets girls and women from all walks of life with their own heartaches and triumphs. Immersed in this new camp experience, trying to form bonds with her fellow counselors while learning to be a trusted adviser for her campers, Nora distracts herself from her feelings, even during the intimate conversations around the nightly campfires. But when a letter from home comes bearing unexpected news, Nora finds inner strength in her devastation with the healing power of female friendship. Presented as Nora's camp journal, including Nora's sketches of camp life, scraps of letters, and spare poems, The Lightning Circle is an intimate coming-of-age portrait.

Review Quotes

One of CCBC's Best Books for Kids and Teens for 2024
One of Quill & Quire's Favourite Young Readers Titles of 2024

PRAISE FOR The Lightning Circle
"[A] richly imagined and deeply felt story that speaks to the power of female friendship, the gift of reinvention, and the perspective-shifting joy of being outdoors." --STARRED REVIEW, Quill and Quire

"This journal-like free-verse novel expertly conjures the essence of the summer camp experience while exploring self-identity and highlighting the importance of friendships." --STARRED REVIEW, Shelf Awareness

"An inviting take on feminine wisdom and the power of collective self-transformation." --Kirkus Reviews

"[A] sweetly melancholic novel . . . tinged with nostalgia." --Booklist

"VanSickle writes a delightful coming-of-age story that is easily relatable for even those who have never been to camp or had their hearts broken, via great character development, her ability to describe teen feelings, and an apt use of monochromatic line drawings by illustrator Watson." --School Library Journal

"[T]he bonds the girls form and the ways in which they comfort, heal, and support each other are deeply loving . . . . There's no major trauma here, just the kind of heartbreak that can seem bigger than the whole world until one realizes the universe beyond their own hurt." --The Bulletin of the Center for Children's Books

"A heartwarming story told in accessible free verse and illustrated with Laura K. Watson's delicate line drawings, The Lightning Circle reads like a teenager's sketchbook/journal." --Canadian Review of Materials

"[A] tribute to girls bonding and a sensitive coming-of-age novel for teen readers." --Winnipeg Press

About the Author

VIKKI VANSICKLE is the author of a number of acclaimed novels for children including Words That Start With B; Summer Days, Starry Nights; the award-winning The Winnowing; and picture books If I Had a Gryphon; Teddy Bear of the Year; and Anonymouse. A former bookseller and marketing director at Penguin Random House Canada, Vikki is a full-time writer, as well as a regular guest on the CTV network talking about books, a children's literature columnist at Open Book Ontario, as well as the education coordinator for The Period Purse, a charity focusing on menstrual equity. She lives in Toronto with a cat named Barb.

LAURA K. WATSON is an artist, writer, and zine-maker. She is also the current poet laureate for Tantramar, Canada, where she lives with her partner, Patrick, and her cat, Magpie.