I Want To Go Home

In Gordon Korman’s I Want to Go Home, unhappy camper Rudy Miller drags his new friend Mike Webster along on a series of escapades as he tries to escape from summer camp. Despite excelling at the various sports, crafts, and activities, the ever-sarcastic and stubborn Rudy is determined to participate in as few of the camp activities as possible. He comes up with scheme after scheme, earning himself and Mike lots of work detail while making enemies of his counsellors and bunkmates—and accidentally setting in motion a plan to flood the entire camp!

Initially, I was completely baffled as to why the third most-read Gordon Korman book of my childhood (after Who is Bugs Potter? and Go Jump in the Pool!, for those who were wondering) was coming to me for a review. An explanation was included: the book is 40 years old and needs a 2021 review. My heart sank. Oh, no. What if it doesn’t hold up? What if, with all the progress we’ve made in the last few decades, this cherished childhood tale has become another book that requires me to verbally edit on the fly as I read it aloud to my kids?

Well. I needn’t have worried. There is a reason why even Gordon Korman’s earliest books are still occupying library shelves across the country. Aside from one reference to a “portable music player,” the book feels timeless; it could just as soon be taking place in 2021 as 1981. I actually appreciated the attempt to keep up with ever-changing technology and pop culture; when I compared this new edition against the 2004 copy, “portable music player” was replacing the word “CD player” (which I bet was replacing the word “Walkman”!) and references to Bobby Fischer, Beckham, and Donovan Bailey were replaced with Magnus Carlsen, Messi, and Usain Bolt.

The jokes are still funny; my kids were howling with laughter as Rudy tormented his bunkmate Harold Greene, and giggling as Rudy’s literal take on instructions repeatedly frustrated the camp counsellors. The story is simple, the vocabulary easy and clear, and the length suitable for a middle grade reader who is perhaps just moving out of graphic novels or easier reads.

If I wanted to get really picky, I could point that the book doesn’t exactly fall under the heading of diverse— it’s an all-male cast, except for one short interaction with a neighbouring camp for girls. That said, I Want to Go Home has always been a go-to recommendation of mine for middle school reluctant readers of any gender, and I’m glad I was given the opportunity to take a look at it through an updated lens.