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A review by kellysbookverse
Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling
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