Contents
Camp Lies
Overview
Miranda recounts her parents’ divorce, her mother’s emotional distance, and a lonely summer as a junior counselor. To fit in, she invents stories about wealth and a deformed little brother, borrowing from August’s life. The lies bring popularity but widen the rift with Via as Miranda gravitates to Ella’s easier friendship.
Summary
Miranda explains that the summer before ninth grade her parents divorced, with her father immediately seeing someone new. Afterward, Miranda rarely saw her father, and her mother became remote and withholding, leaving Miranda without emotional support or family history.
Although Miranda wanted to stay home to help her mother, she was sent to camp as a junior counselor. Feeling isolated because none of her old acquaintances returned, Miranda began inventing details about herself—rich parents abroad, a fancy home, and a dog named Daisy—to gain attention.
Impulsively, Miranda told campers she had a deformed little brother. She regretted it but also rationalized it because she had known August since childhood and felt connected to his life. The revelation captivated other girls, and the rumors elevated her status among junior counselors and the influential girls in bungalow 32.
With new popularity came changes: the girls coached her appearance, they snuck out, smoked, and visited the boys’ camp. The approval reinforced Miranda’s lies, even as she felt like a fraud.
Returning home, Miranda chose to call Ella instead of Via to avoid serious conversations about the divorce and camp. She drifted toward Ella’s carefree companionship, embracing a more rebellious image while distancing herself from Via.
Who Appears
- MirandaNarrator; reeling from her parents’ divorce, lies at camp about wealth and a deformed brother, gains popularity, and drifts from Via.
- Miranda’s motherEmotionally distant after the divorce; sends Miranda to camp despite Miranda wanting to stay.
- Miranda’s fatherAbsent post-divorce and quickly with someone new, deepening Miranda’s sense of isolation.
- Via (Olivia Pullman)Longtime friend Miranda avoids after camp, representing the serious conversations Miranda doesn’t want.
- EllaFriend Miranda turns to after camp for easier, fun companionship without difficult questions.
- Girls in bungalow 32Popular camp girls who embrace Miranda after hearing her invented stories and shape her image.
- August PullmanReferenced; Miranda appropriates aspects of his life by claiming a deformed little brother.