Frederick is one of the "losers" in his grade, but he dreams of being one of the "cool" group. The one "cool" thing he does is go on a cruise with his family each year. When he long anticipated cruise is canceled Frederick runs (or rather floats) away from home and finds himself at a camp for at risk boys. Assuming someone else's identity Frederick sees his chance to be the kind of kid he has always wanted to be. I have mixed feelings about this book. On the one hand there are some funny moments, and Frederick does seem to come to terms with his nerdy identity by the end of the book. On the other hand, I always struggle with books with kids that make stupid decisions. Frederick makes one misstep after another and it made me cringe a little to watch him in action. I guess because I was, myself, so socially awkward as a kid, I have a hard time reading about someone else who is. It is amazing how embarrassment we feel as an adolescent sticks with us, seemingly forever. (288 p. 2018)
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