Today I’m reviewing the first book in the Camp Fire Girls series by Hildegard G. Frey, written in 1916. A few years ago, I adored this series, so now I’m rereading it to see if I still like it as much. The Camp Fire Girls in the Maine Woods didn’t disappoint me, though I didn’t love it quite as much as I used to.
As an aside, I have an interesting related post planned for Monday. I’ve generated some AI images based on the characters in this series, and am excited to share them. Back to the main book review!
History and Reception: A search on Ebay, Project Gutenberg, or the Internet Archive will show that there are a great many Camp Fire Girls series written by a variety of authors. However, Hildegarde Gertrude Frey’s ten-book series was the only one to be authorized by the Camp Fire Girls, a national association for girls founded in 1911 as the sister association to the Boy Scouts. Camp Fire Girls still exists to this day, though strangely enough, boys can also join. In the early 20th century, the association had their own handbooks, songs, and a magazine. Participants chose symbols and ceremonial names, collected honor beads, and rose in rank from Wood Gatherer to Torch Bearer. The watchword “Wohelo”, mentioned many times in this series, comes from the first letters of “work”, “health”, and “love” combined.
Synopsis/Blurb:
Six Camp Fire girls known in their circle as Sahwah, Hinpoha, Migwan, Chapa, Nakwisi, and Medmangi travel to a lakeside camp in Maine along with their Guardian Nyoda and new member Gladys, whose father paid for the camp. But the supercilious Gladys doesn’t get along with the other girls, no matter how much they try to befriend her. Through hiking trips, canoe excursions, social events with a neighboring boys’ camp, and more, the seven girls and their Guardian encounter a myriad of adventures, growing closer to each other and becoming intrepid lovers of the outdoors.
Characters: The characters are what I like most about this series. They’re pretty much your typical series book characters, not overly developed or realistic, but somehow they became important to me anyway. From the first time I read this book, the adventurous, water-loving Sahwah was my favorite character. I still held to that opinion during this reread, though she did seem rather perfect, which, though common in books of that era, is not always the most appealing character trait. My second-favorite was the writer Migwan, with her unique and artistic outlook on life.
Gladys’s character arc in this book wasn’t badly written, but I still thought it was unrealistic how quickly Gladys turned into a trustworthy, humble, and brave character from what she used to be. Other characters, mainly Nakwisi, Chapa, and Medmangi, are basically ignored–I guess the writer didn’t think she could balance eight main characters. (Also, for anyone who hasn’t read the book, the names they go by aren’t their actual names. Instead, these are their Camp Fire names.)
Setting/Style: I’ve combined these two categories because they are intertwined. Hildegard Frey’s style shines most when describing outdoor settings like Loon Lake, where the girls camp. Her writing style is descriptive and detailed but still easy and fast to read, different from Victorian writing.
Plot: This book doesn’t have much of a plot, but despite that, retains a certain cohesion. Most of the book is made up of incidents, some connected to each other and some isolated, like the girls’ Fourth of July pageant or their overnight hiking trip. If you’re looking for an action-packed and exciting plot, you won’t find it here, but if you prefer a calmer story, this book is the perfect choice.
Links:
A Handful of Quietness 
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