Reviews tagging 'Sexual content'

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling

32 reviews

prairieraven's review

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

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Sexual content, Animal death, Blood, Sexism, Misogyny, Grief, Classism, Rape, Toxic friendship, Colonisation, Death, Murder, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Pregnancy, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Sexual harassment, and Violence

oceanwriter's review

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

Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Death

Moderate: Alcohol, Misogyny, and Sexual content

Minor: Death of parent, Racism, and Pregnancy

mandi_lea's review

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

Graphic: Abandonment, Classism, Colonisation, Blood, Violence, Sexual content, Sexual assault, Sexism, Death, Confinement, Sexual violence, Murder, and Misogyny

Moderate: Animal death, Racism, Car accident, Child death, Alcohol, and Pregnancy

torturedreadersdept's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I don’t always love dystopian stories but this one got me to love and fear it. Between the ominous update to our present-day social media addiction and the continuation of our climate disaster, as well as the well-placed references to the ways our societies have harmed the earth and stolen from indigenous communities, this novel taking place in 2049-2050 was a gut punch, as was realizing that one of the main bad (ish) guys was born in the 90s, making him younger than me…. Yikes! I really enjoyed this book way more than I expected to.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Death, Murder, Violence, Colonisation, Child death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Sexual assault, Body horror, Classism, Alcohol, Confinement, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Infidelity, Sexual content, Trafficking, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual harassment, and Blood

micaelamariem's review

challenging 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

3.0

I’m usually into dystopians but this one didn’t hit as well to me as they usually do. This is a great book for some people. There were interesting themes of environmentalism, feminism, colonialism, and survival. With multiple perspectives that weave into each other’s stories, it was interesting to see how it was all connected. But, it just wasn’t what I was expecting, and it was hard to focus on what the most important takeaway was. There was a lot of violence, and too many of it against animals for my liking. That being said, this book reminded me a bit of The Great Alone by Kristin Hannah, just in the survival in the Arctic kind of sense. And the feminist themes. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Animal death, Colonisation, Cursing, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Alcohol, Blood, Violence, Death, Pregnancy, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment

unboxedjack's review against another edition

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

Minor: Trafficking, Sexual content, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexism

booksbeyondthebinary's review

emotional reflective tense slow-paced

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

4.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder and Sexual content

Moderate: Misogyny

Minor: Racism and Pregnancy

mdal26's review

dark reflective slow-paced

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

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Classism

Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual content

soobooksalot's review

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!

---

Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Rape, and Sexual content

kylieqrada's review

adventurous dark reflective medium-paced

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

3.0

This had me for about the first half and then it lost me. The themes are so on-point but I just couldn't get on board with the execution. Womp wompppppp.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Sexual content, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Misogyny, Alcohol, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Racism