The title says it all – we have loved reading Lumberjanes!
My daughters are enamored with this series, which focuses on a group of girls who attend a Girl Scout-like summer camp, only to find themselves immersed in supernatural adventures and mysteries. When we got our hands on the first volume, we were excited to read it, and it has yet to disappoint.
The main characters – April, Mal, Ripley, Jo, and Molly – each have a distinct personality, as well as their own strengths and struggles, and every adventure requires them to ultimately work as team in order to succeed. Naturally, they tend to discover things about themselves, develop new survival or mystical skills, and learn to support one another throughout the process, all things which add to the rich storytelling. In addition, each story tends to contain just a little danger, a touch of original or classic mythology, and new material that builds upon the series’ mythos. Even when stories wrap up neatly, you tend to be left wondering what new obstacles the girls from Roanoke Cabin will face in their next adventure. My youngest daughter likes the fact that the girls work as a team, while my oldest loves the humor of the series. As for me, I gravitate toward the supernatural and paranormal aspects of the series, and the variety of personalities the writers have cultivated in both the main and supporting characters (Bear Woman is cantankerous, but tends to be one of my favorites).
Over the course of a number of Books at Bedtime sessions, we read the first ten volumes, each of which collects several issues of the series. The creative team does change over the course of the series, which sometimes took adjusting on our parts (we would read one volume, becoming accustomed to one writing or artistic style, only to find this had changed in the next volume). However, while the series may have its ups and downs (depending on what you’re looking for, storywise), there were never any disappointments or stories that the girls felt were uninteresting. Each volume we finished left us wanting to pick up the next one (we already have the next volume on the way).
Highly recommended (for kids and adults, alike). Pick up some Lumberjanes the next chance you get!
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