Reviews with content warning for Misogyny - Camp Zero

3 stars

There are some really strong parts of this novel. But overall the narrative felt a bit flat and not as memorable as I was hoping for.

First of all the premise itself is interesting, the idea that oil is essentially no longer bountiful is a very real reality for future gens. As well as the idea of a female commune that also are kind of vigilantes/kill men to survive, pretty fascinating.

I think the convergence of multiple POVs is also such a great narrative device where we can see so many different sides of the story.

I think in general the writing style was very strong, especially for a debut novel.

Some critiques:
- the middle of the novel is sort of a blur for me, it was just kind of meh and because of that nothing stood out as important to remember.
- the pacing was a bit weird (I understand this may be a series so that could be why) but the first half of the book felt a lot slower paced than the last half
- some of the POVs were much stronger than the other ones and I found myself not as enthralled by each POV

Overall it was a pretty decent dystopian story that had a lot of potential for future books set in this world that could be even better, I would recommend it if you can get over the issues I mentioned above.

Content Warnings

kaykaysbookshelf's review against another edition

Go to review page

3.5

What to expect: global warming survivors, multiple povs, men suck

This dystopian novel was an interesting read! It took me a while to get invested in the story and understand what was happening. The three povs was interesting and around the 75% mark was when they peaked. I also appreciated the way they ended up intersecting. I was shoveling snow while listening to the audiobook and it def added to the cold winter setting, recommend doing that if you can lol

Overall, I wish the ending was less open-ended but I enjoyed the story.

Spice: strong themes surrounding sex, but any actual scenes are written more romantically/lyrically. Romance is not a focus in this story. Check content notes.

Content Warnings

amsswim's review against another edition

Go to review page

adventurous emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

This book was not bad, I just don't think it was anything outstanding. Anything above a 3 is still worth a read if you're interested, in my opinion. If the author's intent was for me to be mostly bored and hate every man in this book it was achieved. Then the story I did like following, the WHite Alice plot, was generally ignored until 2/3 of the way through. I think overall Rose's story was the best written though. I could've just read a book about her experiences, which she was definitely the main character. Ending was alright but a pain to get to. The themes of climate change and folies of men are good, and I love a dystopian always (this was more of a pre-dystopian in my opinion).

Content Warnings

sylvestra's review

Go to review page

dark medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? No
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

Content Warnings

prairieraven's review

Go to review page

dark emotional inspiring mysterious reflective tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

Content Warnings

oceanwriter's review

Go to review page

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? No
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

2.5

Dystopian plots fascinate me. Many times they’re prophetic. It’s especially interesting to read one set in the nearish future. Camp Zero has a great premise, but I wish I hadn’t spent most of the book trying to figure out what the focus of the book was.

Set in a future suffering from the results of harsh climate change, Rose agrees to work as a spy to provide housing for her mother. Meanwhile, Grant wants to break away from his family’s past. The two meet at Camp Zero. It becomes a part that this place is harboring secrets.

As I mentioned, I have no idea what the central focus of this plot is. Climate change is the obvious answer, but with minimal world-building and context so much was lost. From page one it felt like I was supposed to already know what was going on as I entered the story. The names (or lack of) were confusing, the POV shifts added to the trouble getting my bearings… I overall felt like I was left out of the loop.

I enjoyed the writing itself. With more world and character building I think I would have loved it. My feelings are mixed.

Content Warnings

mandi_lea's review

Go to review page

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? It's complicated
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

Content Warnings

More...