Man Camp is a “chick-lit” first novel by Adrienne Brodeur and published by Ballantine Books. It was an easy read and I enjoyed the story even if it one that probably would never happen in real life. Actually, that’s probably what “chick-lit” is all about.

The Man Camp premise is simple: if your male friends are clueless about relationships, send them to camp and let them learn from the experts.

To quote from the back cover: If males will go to any length to attract females in the animal kingdom, why are their human counterparts so hopeless in courtship? This is the question biologist Lucy Stone and her best friend, Martha McKenna, tackle daily.

Consider Adam, Lucy’s boyfriend, who demonstrates on a romantic camping trip that he can’t build a fire or jump-start a car. Or take Jesse, Martha’s neurotic brother, who can’t summon the courage to ask out the woman he’s crazy about.

But on the other hand, there’s chivalrous and charming Cooper Tuckington, Lucy’s best friend from college, born and bred on his family’s dairy farm. Surely, think Martha and Lucy, the men in their lives would benefit from the tutelage of someone like Cooper, who rewires lamps, builds shelves, and pulls out chairs for the ladies.

Thus, Man Camp is born. Lucy and Martha convince Adam, Jesse, and a handful of their other male acquaintances to visit Cooper’s farm, where they will learn exactly how to treat a woman. But the guys soon prove themselves in ways the women would never have imagined — and in the process, Lucy and Martha discover surprising new things about life and love.

Adrienne Brodeur is the founding editor of Zoetrope: All-Story and lives in New York City.