I want to start this review by saying: wow! I read Rosen’s Jack of Hearts (and Other Parts) last year and loved it to bits, so I jumped at the chance to read his latest novel!
Camp follows Randall Kapplehoff who spends his summers at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens, where he and the friends he made during the years at the camp can be themselves without judgement or weird looks. Randy loves musicals, nail polish, and colourful clothes – but his heart belongs to ‘masc4masc’ Hudson. This year, Randy has a fail-safe plan ready and reinvents himself by becoming ‘Del’, a sporty guy who draws Hudson’s attention right away. Will Randy’s plan work and make Hudson fall for him? And can they really fall in love when both ‘Del and Hudson are keeping secrets?
Now I’m going to try to be as coherent as possible and not simply scream at you to read this book because of its important themes, fluffy love story, and Rosen’s funny and relatable writing. *deep breath*
Here’s what you need to know about the camp this story centres around – Camp Outland is a safe place for all queer kids. This quote from the book explains it best: “It’s a safe place. A place for you all to be yourselves and have a childhood that you don’t get anywhere else.”
One of the things I was most impressed with is the direction this story took. From the synopsis you might expect a cutesy and predictable rom-com situation: a boy decides to change himself in order to draw the attention of a resident hottie, only to realise that he is perfect as he is and falls inexplicably in love with this other character who ‘saw him’ from the get-go. Yes, I admit, I was 100% sure this was the direction this book is going to take. BOY WAS I WRONG! I won’t spoil anything, but I will say this: Get ready for a fab love story filled with twists and turns that will both break your heart and mend it too!
Camp defied toxic masculinity at every turn. Sure we start the story with Randy changing his whole persona in order to attract Hudson’s attention, but throughout the book, we dig deeper and get to the root of the problem, to the very heart of toxic masculinity and dispel it in the most inspiring of ways. Rosen stays true to his quick-witted writing style and also adds an educational component with facts about queer history and culture in general that not everyone may know about (no matter your sexuality, sexual orientation, or identity).
Another one of my favourite things about this book are the queer friendships in it! Randy has so many supportive and incredible friends – friends not potential lovers and I adored that with my whole heart! Rosen actually wrote a little piece for The Nerd Daily on this subject and I think you should give it a read ASAP!
And don’t get me started on the characters! I want to hug the heck out of every single one of them! This is a queer camp so of course we read about characters of a variety of different sexual orientations and identities, from gay and trans, to demi, ace, aro, and non-binary. I’ll never stop preaching about how we desperately need more books with such diverse cast of characters as everyone deserves to be able to find themselves in books, and stories like Camp make this possible. My heart is so full of love.
There were so many quotes in this book that made my eyes water but also nod my head as they are quotes that should be rules to live by. We sadly still live in a world that largely ostracises and shames queer people, and that is exactly why we need more books like this one! Camp is a perfect read for everyone – queer and not-queer folks alike! Why? Because it is a funny and relatable story that also shines light on struggles that queer people face – how it can still be dangerous to just be yourself. This might seem unimaginable to some people, but dressing how you like, wearing makeup, just being yourself can still be unsafe. Those feelings of being watched and judged make people retract back into their shells, make them not want to show their true colours. It may even make them think that there is a wrong or right way to be gay, make them believe that you should not play into stereotypes (as is shown in one of the main protagonists in Camp).
But the truth is this: “There’s no one way to be gay” and “No coming out story is the same as another”.
We need books like Camp, books that bring those issues to light, make us face them, and talk about them! So go pick up Camp as soon as it hits shelves, and buy a few more copies for your friends, your neighbour, your delivery driver, and everyone in between. Queer or not, we need books like this one, we need to read them, and take them to heart.
“She said I should be proud of myself for knowing who I was, and what I wanted, and to never let anyone tell me anything about me that made me happy was something to be ashamed of, I’ve tried to keep that in mind.”
Camp is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of May 26th 2020.
Will you be picking up Camp? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
From the author of the acclaimed Jack of Hearts (and other parts) comes a sweet and sharp screwball comedy that critiques the culture of toxic masculinity within the queer community.
Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplehoff loves spending the summer at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. It’s where he met his best friends. It’s where he takes to the stage in the big musical. And it’s where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lim – who’s only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.
This year, though, it’s going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as ‘Del’ – buff, masculine, and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish, and his unicorn bedsheets, he’s determined to get Hudson to fall for him.
But as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much is he willing to change for love. And is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn’t know who he truly is?
