The theme of "identity" is predominant in this story. Marcy searches for her own amid the confusion she feels over her new outer image (due to her weight loss and breast development) and her anger toward her parents. A second theme is "responsibility"—who has it and what to do with it. Marcy sets off to camp to become an adult, but discovers the accompanying duties and responsibilities are more than she anticipated. This gives her a new sympathy for the feelings of her parents, as well as a new outlook on her former teacher, Ms. Finney, whom she has always considered perfect. She learns how unfair it is to expect perfection from anyone.

There's a Bat in Bunk Five introduces a long list of characters, a potentially confusing situation with which Danziger aids the reader by supplying a list of the campers...