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amsswim's review against another edition
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
Graphic: Colonisation, Murder, Sexual assault, Cursing, Death, Blood, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual content, and Grief
Moderate: Pregnancy and Death of parent
mysterymom40's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Murder
Moderate: Alcohol, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death, Pregnancy, Misogyny, Emotional abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, and Gaslighting
starrysteph's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
This eerie little tale felt dreadfully real and captivated me from cover to cover.
It’s very-near speculative fiction. The slightly elevated technology that encourages total detachment from the world. Violent impacts of climate change and ecological disaster. A continuation of those with a sense of power ripping away land and shaping it in their image.
And interwoven through all that - classism, possible collective utopia after criss, survival, curious gender binaries.
We follow three different POVs in the far north of Canada. Rose is an escort who has a secret reason for her placement at Camp Zero: she’s spying on its head architect in exchange for a secured future for herself & her mother. Grant is running away from his powerful family and the mistakes of his past, hoping to solidify his life in the north as an English professor. And the female collective of White Alice learns to survive and thrive in a climate research station.
We flip-flop through past and present during each POV, and layers of the mysteries surrounding Camp Zero and White Alice are slowly unfurled.
In my opinion, calling this a dystopian thriller is a mischaracterization. It is a slow, character-driven piece. Each POV is lost in swirling memories, and the action of the present is much shorter. The world of Camp Zero is very much our own.
The weakest point to me was a lack of intersectionality. While classism and sexism come into play quite a bit, race is curiously missing from the picture. Indigenous voices were referenced but not really explored; Rose is half-Korean but it was never significant outside of some discussions of her family’s immigration. I think there was an opportunity to dive deeper into gender & expanding boundaries and perceived binaries during the White Alice chapters, and that was missed a bit.
I thought the writing was incredibly strong, and there are elements here that will sit with me for a bit. I think it would be a great book club pick as well - and a group of readers would probably have vastly different takeaways and opinions on the final segment.
CW: murder, death, misogyny, sexual assault, animal cruelty & animal death, gore, toxic relationship, grief, classism, colonization, racism, pregnancy, sexual content
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(I received an advance reader copy of this book; this is my honest review.)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic relationship, Classism, Misogyny, Sexual content, Colonisation, Racism, Pregnancy, Death, Animal death, Gore, Grief, Murder, Sexual assault, and Animal cruelty
kellysbookverse's review
adventurous
challenging
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
thank you to the publisher, john murrays, for sending me an advance copy for review!
‘camp zero’ was a slow burner for me, but it really hit its stride around the halfway point. we follow three different perspectives - rose, grant, and the white alice camp - as they contend with a world which has been almost entirely destroyed by climate change and human greed.
all three perspectives were fascinating but i think white alice was my favourite - a nebulous narrator that never really gets named, a camp in the middle of nowhere ostensibly carrying out research, and an entire group of women just fighting to survive.
at first, these three perspectives seem unconnected, though rose and grant are in the same location. as the book continues the three intertwine in surprising ways, and the end feels very satisfying having followed them. i really enjoyed learning about the slow burn of the world in this book, terrifying though it is, and seeing how different people with different privileges experienced.
i particularly enjoyed the focus on strong women and how women specifically have to learn how to survive differently in this kind of apocalyptic landscape. one of my favourite quotes from the novel is along this line: “she knows now that power is never granted but seized. she never should have waited for it to be given to her. she should have taken it with her own hands and made it her own.” the white alice camp’s continued survival is testament to the power of women to overcome and adapt.
i would definitely recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed similar books from emily st john mandel.
‘camp zero’ was a slow burner for me, but it really hit its stride around the halfway point. we follow three different perspectives - rose, grant, and the white alice camp - as they contend with a world which has been almost entirely destroyed by climate change and human greed.
all three perspectives were fascinating but i think white alice was my favourite - a nebulous narrator that never really gets named, a camp in the middle of nowhere ostensibly carrying out research, and an entire group of women just fighting to survive.
at first, these three perspectives seem unconnected, though rose and grant are in the same location. as the book continues the three intertwine in surprising ways, and the end feels very satisfying having followed them. i really enjoyed learning about the slow burn of the world in this book, terrifying though it is, and seeing how different people with different privileges experienced.
i particularly enjoyed the focus on strong women and how women specifically have to learn how to survive differently in this kind of apocalyptic landscape. one of my favourite quotes from the novel is along this line: “she knows now that power is never granted but seized. she never should have waited for it to be given to her. she should have taken it with her own hands and made it her own.” the white alice camp’s continued survival is testament to the power of women to overcome and adapt.
i would definitely recommend this to anyone who has enjoyed similar books from emily st john mandel.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Sexual assault, Murder, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Colonisation
Minor: Violence, Death of parent, Sexual content, Pregnancy, Death, and Racism
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