Book Review Children's: Camp Cretaceous, Volume One: The Deluxe Junior Novelization (Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous)
The beauty of Camp Cretaceous, Volume One, is its echoes of the franchise's mood. Despite being for children, it has thrills, kills, with some adorable humor.
Blurb: "Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous--the exciting new television series on Netflix--follows a group of six teenagers chosen for a once-in-a-lifetime experience at a new adventure camp on the opposite side of Isla Nublar--the home of the Jurassic World theme park. But when dinosaurs wreak havoc across the island, the campers are stranded. Unable to reach the outside world, they'll need to go from strangers to friends to family if they're going to survive. This action-packed novelization expands on the amazing first season of Jurassic World: Camp Cretaceous and features eight pages of full color images and a poster!"
Death: Reading this to my 9-year-old, I thought it would be mild, not like the movies where people are eaten. I was pleasantly surprised it does not shy away from that. Odd for a parent, maybe, but honestly, the kids love the movies around that age, and part of the entire theme of the movie franchise is bringing back extinct animals that could be lethal is not ethically sound, and extremely dangerous. It was realistic and not as gory, meaning "off-screen" deaths. The setup, attack occurs, and then evidence the person is gone. The drama fits, and it is realistic.
Stereotypes: Normally, I would hate stereotypes, but for kids, it is more relatable since complex and realistic characters are hard for them to break down on top of all the action. Since there are six kid characters, it helps young minds differentiate them. The stereotypes are fun and are starting points for character growth. There's a spoiled rich kid, social media influencer, scaredy-cat, athlete, dinosaur lover, and spy. The main character is dynamic, with depth and a backstory. Basically, they are tested and rise to the challenges, either reinforcing the stereotype or breaking it.
Plot/theme: There is action, dinosaur escapes, problems, and solutions. It has all the thrills of the scare-tactic dinosaurs that rival the movies. The themes are working together to get out of situations, forging friendships despite differences, and courage to do what is right for the group. It definitely has some great messages for children.
Camp Cretaceous, Volume One, has everything the movies do but catered more for kids where they can learn valuable lessons while getting some dinosaur thrills and kills.