Book Review: Wish You Weren’t Here by Erin Baldwin

‘Wish You Weren’t Here’ by Erin Baldwin was released in 2024. It is a rivals to lovers romance set in a summer camp.

Baldwin’s debut novel was gut-wrenching and evocative, providing readers with many nuanced layers of character to unpick and understand throughout the course of the story.

We are introduced to our rivals, Juliette Barrera-Wright and Priya Pendley in a fond flashback on the first page, where you come to understand that once upon a time, Juliette and Priya didn’t hate each other. There was fondness and allyship between them. I really liked how it introduced the idea they didn’t need to dislike each other like they seemed to.

I really liked how their distance evolved from dislike and politeness to a semblance of fondness that subsequently kept blossoming and changing as Juliette came to realise maybe she didn’t hate Priya after all.

Something that really got me when I was reading this book was the various obstacles Juliette encountered during her summer. Primarily, Galahad. When Juliette gets to camp, readers are given the opportunity to get some insight into who she is among campers, The North Star, the cream of the crop, and the prime example of a camper at Fogridge Summer Camp. Alongside the title, Juliette was awarded a private cabin, Polaris, to share with a mentee, instead of being crammed into a twenty-person dorm. But, when she goes to her Camp Councillor to complain about having to share with Priya, and explain they don’t get along, she encounters, Galahad, a new-hire with an attitude.

While readers may come into this book assuming Priya would be the force to be reckoned with, it is Galahad that proves the most obstructive and corrosive against Juliette’s positivity and instance that she have the best summer she can, in spite of everything. From an obligatory sneak-out to celebrate a camper’s birthday resulting in a sprained ankle, to the assumption that Juliette is a spoiled brat because she asked to share with someone else, someone who distinctly wasn’t Priya, made Galahad the antagonistic figure in the story.

I loved it. Because who hasn’t had a teacher you can swear on your life truly hates you. I can think of a few who may not have liked teaching me, but hate? Only one comes to mind, and yet, out of respect for Galahad and her job, Juliette takes blow after blow from her and perseveres, like you have to when someone in a position of authority tries to lord over you and make you feel small. I thought it was incredibly mature, and provided readers with a better sense of who Juliette, The North Star is.

Juliette and Priya’s character development throughout the story is incredible, from the backstory to Priya’s supposedly obscene and ridiculous birthday party, spanning from a celebration of her late-grandma’s life, to the two girls coming to understand one another. hearing stories, making jokes and getting closer.

I really enjoyed reading this book and would wholeheartedly recommend it. Juliette’s adoration of her summer camp, and immense nostalgia is very powerful. The way Baldwin navigates so many heavy topics, like things living up to expectations etc. was very evocative and I haven’t been able to stop thinking about it.