Reviews with content warning for Rape - Camp Zero

I finished this book nearly a month ago, and it's been stopping up my review queue ever since. I have very complicated feelings about it. Ultimately, I think I liked it, based on a personal reading that was very much between the lines and that I can't guarantee the author intended. You see, this book has many feminist themes, and it's not particularly subtle about them. They also lead, at least on a surface-level reading, to a fairly ugly, gender-essentialist conclusion about the nature of men versus women.

After much deliberation, I choose to interpret the book as undermining those apparent themes, for a number of reasons that are are too spoilery to discuss here. But I understand how many readers might, and have, come to a different conclusion. For that reason, I'd recommend this book to people who like their plot themes to be a little messy rather than straightforward, and caution those who are particularly sensitive to depictions of gender-essentialist feminism.

The things I liked the most about this book were getting to know the characters, the speculation on future technology with the Flick devices, and the empowering depiction of sex work, both in Camp Zero and in the Floating City. I also appreciated how the White Alice narrative was separate from the main narrative until near the end, leaving the reader uncertain of whether it was set in the future, the past, or concurrently with the rest of the plot.

The most important question: does the bear die, does the snake die, and do the dogs die?

There's a scene where a captured bear cub is used in a gambling game. The bear cub is implied to have been injured in the course of being captured, but, though its ultimate fate is unclear, no harm comes to it on screen. In another scene, we briefly encounter a pet snake. It's later implied to have already been dead when we arrived. In addition, there are several guard dogs working at Camp Zero. All survive.

Content Warnings

unboxedjack's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

risaleel's review

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adventurous dark mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Content Warnings

soobooksalot's review

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adventurous challenging tense medium-paced

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

3.5

I appreciate dystopian novels for the reflection they initiate.
Viewing ourselves as a society anything dramatically different than we currently are seems unthinkable, though we have seen forms of it in recent years.
Yet this is a scenario posed in Camp Zero by author Michelle Min Sterling. Thank you to Tandem Collective and Penguin Random Canada for my AD-PR Product for review!
The year is 2049, and global warming has left much of North America uninhabitable due to extreme climate change. People have Flick devices implanted under the skin to allow constant media access.
The story is told in alternating chapters from those who have been sent to the far North to combat the world's changes through various means.
I'm a bit on the fence with Camp Zero. I was quickly drawn into the world created, which I find so essential in dystopian fiction. The reader needs to accept the world and scenarios the characters are in.
I think it was more my reaction to the characters. I could relate to many, but was ambivalent to some as well. Thus it felt like an uneven read for me, as alternating chapters changed how I felt with each section.
The prose was beautiful at times, spare at others. The ending was left somewhat open, and felt like possibly paving the way for a sequel.
While perhaps not perfect, Camp Zero is definitely worth the read - recommended!
Released on April 4!

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