Antonio Mcgowan
Young adult books about summer camps are a great way to relive the excitement, nerves, and friendships of camp. From coming-of-age stories to fantasy worlds, there's a summer camp book for everyone. While there don't seem to be any YA books about summer camps that specifically mention incense, there are a plethora of books about incense that may be of interest. These include 'The Incense Bible' by Kerry Hughes, 'The Complete Book of Incense, Oils and Brews' by Scott Cunningham, and 'Incense and Incense Rituals: Healing Ceremonies for Spaces of Subtle'. So, whether you're looking for a fun summer camp adventure or want to learn more about incense, there's a book that fits the bill.
| Characteristics | Values |
|---|---|
| Setting | Summer camp |
| Genre | Mystery, horror, fantasy, romance, coming-of-age, graphic novel, comedy, supernatural |
| Themes | Love, independence, punishment, murder, emotional problems, epidemics, genetic engineering, juvenile delinquency, zombies, family, secrets, friendship, depression, art, magic, science fiction, loneliness, bullying, inclusion, heritage, religion |
| Target Audience | Young adults, middle-grade readers |
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What You'll Learn
Summer camp magic and mystery
Summer camps are a popular setting for YA books, with their potential for freedom, possibilities, and new experiences. Here are some examples of YA books that feature summer camps with magical and mysterious elements:
Camp So-and-So by Mary McCoy
A unique read with spooky and mystical elements, Camp So-and-So follows the story of every cabin at a summer camp in alternating chapters.
Shadow Falls
The first book in a series, Shadow Falls is about a girl who is sent to a summer camp for "troubled kids", only to discover that it is actually a camp for magic users.
Lumberjanes
Lumberjanes is a comic book series about a Girl Scouts-style summer camp. The campers encounter paranormal creatures during their camp adventures.
The Summer War by Harry W. Paige
The Summer War takes the reader through a teen's horrifying experience of discovering buried skeletons at a camp in the Adirondacks.
Before Wings by Beth Goobie
Published in the 2000s, Before Wings introduces supernatural elements to the traditional summer camp setting.
The Magickers by Emily Drake
Although this book is classified as middle-grade rather than YA, it is worth mentioning for its magical elements. The Magickers is about a group of kids who attend a summer camp and learn magic.
The Hundred Oaks Series
The third book in the Hundred Oaks series is a YA summer camp romance with a twist. It is set at a church camp and features a teen girl who falls in love while grappling with her strong beliefs.
Goldie's Story
Goldie, a camp counselor, keeps secrets from her best friends as a new camp season begins. The summer takes a complicated turn when a dead body is found floating in the lake.
Unnamed Theater Summer Camp Book
A fun and lighthearted read, this book is about a homeschooled math genius who finds herself out of her element at a theater summer camp. Her parents send her to camp with a checklist of typical teenage experiences they want her to have before she heads off to college.
Unnamed Hippie Camp Book
A teen girl whose mother's cancer has returned ends up taking a job as a counselor at a hippie camp across the lake. The camp caters to troubled campers who have gone through a lot.
Camp Dogberry
Camp Dogberry serves as the backdrop for a clever retelling of Shakespeare's Much Ado About Nothing. Sisters Bee and Hana Leonato are tricked by fellow counselors into revealing their feelings for their co-counselor crushes, Ben and Claudia.
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Incense-making basics
Incense-making is a simple process that can be easily picked up by beginners. The basic formula for natural incense is quite simple, and the fundamentals are easy to grasp. However, like baking or painting, you can spend a lifetime mastering the finer aspects.
To start, you will need a base material. Common base materials include red sandalwood, alder, and charcoal, which are low-scent and do not interfere with the other aromatics. Other bases with stronger scents include sandalwood and makko, a blend of tabu no ki and clove, which is a popular choice for incense makers due to its simplicity. Bases can be tricky, so it's important to choose one that burns well and evenly.
The next step is to choose your aromatics. All manner of herbs, resins, and woods have wonderful aromatic properties. Frankincense, patchouli, and myrrh are popular choices and hold particular significance in many spiritual traditions. You can also include liquid scents such as essential oils, decoctions, hydrosols, and other extracts to create a unique fragrance.
To bind your incense, you will need a binder, which acts as a form of glue to hold the incense together in the desired shape. There are two basic types of binders: gum binders and wood binders. Wood binders, such as joss powder or tabu no ki, are easier to work with and often act as a base material as well. Gum binders, on the other hand, are stronger and may be more suitable for certain incense shapes.
Once you have chosen your base, aromatics, and binder, it's time to mix your ingredients. Add a few drops of your chosen fragrance oils to a mixing bowl and gently mix them to ensure even distribution. For a more complex blend, you can combine multiple oils. You will need to add water to your blend to "activate" the binder. Then, form your incense dough into any shape you wish. Sticks and cones are the most common forms, but you can also use a fondant extruder or syringe to create coreless sticks.
Finally, allow your incense to dry thoroughly before use. Always remember to practice safety when burning incense. Place your incense in a sturdy, fireproof holder to prevent accidents and ensure a pleasant experience.
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Summer camp coming-of-age
Summer camp is a popular setting for YA books, and it's not hard to see why. It's a place where kids can be away from their parents for the first time, where they can form new friendships and romantic relationships, and where they can have thrilling, scary, or hilarious experiences.
One of the most notable aspects of summer camp stories is their coming-of-age potential. The very nature of summer camp, with its promise of freedom and new possibilities, lends itself to narratives of personal growth and self-discovery. This is especially true when the protagonist is experiencing summer camp for the first time, marking a significant shift in their life.
A great example of this is the book "Camp So-And-So" by Mary McCoy, which explores the unique concept of following different cabins at a summer camp in alternating chapters. It captures the vibe of summer camp while incorporating spooky, mystical elements for a truly captivating read. Another book, "Five Summers" by Una LaMarche, also received praise for its ability to capture the essence of summer camp, despite some readers finding the story itself less engaging.
Summer camps in YA books can also serve as a backdrop for tackling serious themes and social issues. For instance, the book "Shadow Falls" by C.C. Hunter is about a girl sent to a summer camp for "troubled kids," which is actually a front for a camp for magic users. This premise allows the story to delve into the timely topics of community, inclusion, and identity. Similarly, the book "Eat Your Heart Out" by Kelly DeVos takes place at a zombie-infested Camp Featherlite, addressing the hurtful nature of queer conversion camps.
Whether it's through supernatural encounters, romantic entanglements, or humorous mishaps, summer camp YA books offer endless opportunities for characters to navigate the complexities of adolescence and emerge with a newfound sense of self.
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Incense history and recipes
Incense is an aromatic biotic material that releases fragrant smoke when burnt. The term "incense" comes from the Latin "incendere", which means "to burn". Incense is used for aesthetic reasons, religious worship, aromatherapy, meditation, and ceremonial reasons. It is also used as a simple deodorant or insect repellent. Incense is made from aromatic plant materials, often combined with essential oils. The forms of incense differ across cultures and have evolved with technological advancements and increasing use cases.
Incense generally comes in two forms: indirect-burning and direct-burning. Indirect-burning incense, or non-combustible incense, cannot burn on its own and requires a separate heat source. Direct-burning incense, or combustible incense, is lit directly by a flame and then fanned or blown out, leaving a glowing ember that smoulders and releases a smoky fragrance. Direct-burning incense is the most common type used in contemporary settings. It is usually pressed into a shape, such as a cone or a block, or formed around a supporting material like bamboo.
The use of incense can be traced back to ancient Egypt, where it was used by priests for fumigating ceremonies and tombs. Resin balls were found in many prehistoric Egyptian tombs in El Mahasna, indicating the prominence of incense in Egyptian antiquity. One of the oldest extant incense burners originates from the 5th dynasty, and the Temple of Deir-el-Bahari in Egypt contains carvings depicting an expedition for incense.
Incense was also used in ancient India and other parts of southern Asia as early as 3300 BC. By around 2000 BC, the use of incense had spread to ancient China, where it was employed for worship and prayer. Incense was made from blends of herbs and plants such as cinnamon and sandalwood, fragrances that remain popular in modern incense. In late 12th-century China, buildings were specifically designed and constructed for burning incense. Resin-based incense, such as frankincense, was distributed to parts of Europe as early as 601 BC.
Incense is mentioned over twenty times in the Bible and the Koran, and it was one of the gifts, along with gold and myrrh, offered by the Magi to baby Jesus.
Recipes
To make your own incense, you can use foraged ingredients such as dried and ground herbs, resins, and woods, which all have wonderful aromatic properties. The basic formula for natural incense is quite simple: mix your chosen aromatics with a binder and water, form the mixture into a dough, and then shape it as desired. Sticks and cones are the most common forms, but you can also create balls or small pastilles.
When choosing aromatics, consider using a combination of bitter and sweet herbs or roots. Examples of bitter herbs include sagebrush, mugwort, yarrow leaves, juniper berries, and wormwood. Sweet herbs include rose petals, lavender, yarrow flowers, and cinnamon. For the base, you can use sandalwood, which pairs well with aromatics like frankincense or patchouli. Agarwood is another important ingredient in Japanese incense and is known for its weighty resin content.
To make direct-burning incense, form your incense dough into a paste and shape it around a bamboo stick or extrude it into a stick or cone shape.
For indirect-burning incense, use a loose resin and place it on top of a charcoal briquette. Light the briquette and allow it to burn for about 30 seconds before placing your incense on top.
You can also create your own unique associations with homemade incense. By blending your own batches of incense, you can intentionally create connections between a particular scent and a specific time and place, a season, your current mood, or a certain activity like meditation or prayer.
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Campfire tales
The summer camp experience is a rite of passage for many young people, and it's no surprise that it's a popular setting for YA literature. From coming-of-age stories to horror and fantasy, the summer camp provides a rich backdrop for all kinds of tales.
One of the most notable aspects of the summer camp in YA fiction is its evolution. While classic stories like 'Hail, Hail Camp Timberwood' by Ellen Conford and 'The Summer War' by Harry W. Paige focus on traditional outdoor activities, newer stories like 'Five Summers' by Una LaMarche and 'Camp So-And-So' by Mary McCoy take place at camps focused on specific skills, such as theatre and art.
Summer camps in YA literature are also often associated with romance and friendship. Stories like Emma Lord's untitled novel, the Hundred Oaks series, and 'Camp Dogberry' by Booth, explore the tangled web of relationships that can form at camp.
Of course, summer camps can also provide the perfect setting for horror and mystery. 'Before Wings' by Beth Goobie takes a supernatural turn, while an unnamed novel featuring a character named Goldie is a slow-burn murder mystery. 'The Summer War' also has elements of horror as a teen discovers buried skeletons at camp.
Finally, summer camps in YA literature can serve as a way to explore serious themes and social issues. 'One Fat Summer' by Robert Lipsyte tackles the sensitive topic of weight and body image, while 'Shadow Falls' features a camp for "troubled kids" that turns out to be a camp for magic users. Queer conversion camps, a disturbing reality for many, are also explored in YA literature, though the source does not provide specific titles or authors for these stories.
So, whether it's a rustic camp in the woods or a specialised programme, the summer camp setting in YA literature continues to capture the imaginations of readers, providing a backdrop for stories that are by turns thrilling, romantic, and thought-provoking.
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