Acerbic wit becomes Julie’s ticket to membership within the tribe, and once she’s been dubbed “Jules” by the group’s queen bee, the suburban misfit sheds all remnants of her former self and never looks back. Once inside the tent, Julie partakes in their witty banter and Watergate-era cynicism, and the group decrees her good at both. She begins her adventure by not bringing attention to herself, lest the cool kids realize their admissions mistake. And yet, despite her lack of obvious talents or pedigree, Julie gets to join this remarkable circle. Nor is she an animator savant, or a dedicated dancer, or the musically talented offspring of a world-famous folk singer. It all begins when Julie is invited to join a group of fellow campers who are clever and sophisticated, or at least they seem so to the girl who is not a product of Manhattan private wealth. And there, through the eyes of camper Julie Jacobson, we are introduced to a world of heightened possibilities. It’s the summer of 1974, a time defined by both the aging Age of Aquarius and the unraveling Nixon years.

3 at Spirit-in-the-Woods, a counterculture arts camp for talented high school kids. In her new novel, The Interestings, Meg Wolitzer drops us into Teepee No.

For some, that exposure becomes a lifelong game-changer, and not always in beneficial ways. File under ’Twas Ever Thus: for as long as there have been summer camps - particularly quirky, pot-laced, nurture-your-creative-genius camps - kids with artistic whims have been exposed to new worlds and, once exposed, have raised their expectations a notch or two.

The interestings review