Reviews tagging 'Ableism'

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

34 reviews

aidenm's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

I wish there was more of it tbh? There were time skips that I found myself really wanting to know what happened!! Also I fully thought the main character was 15 until they said she had turned 20. They felt young and that made sense for how much information they had withheld from them but being reminded they were in their 20s always surprised me. That’s such a small thing tho I ate this up in 2 days. During midterm season of my senior year.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Vomit

enyltiak's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious tense 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

4.25

This book was 5 stars to me for about the first 75%… and then something just got lost. The last quarter wasn’t bad by any stretch, and I enjoyed it, but it didn’t propel me to keep reading the way the beginning and middle did. I honestly just felt like

the scenes between Rose and Saul and Rose and Willow, as well as the final appearance of Camp Damascus itself

would’ve been a whole lot more impactful if we’d gotten a better peek into these dynamics earlier on. A little bit of dramatic irony would’ve gone a long way in this story. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, Medical trauma, and Gaslighting

bree_h_reads's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? No

5.0

This book really cemented for me that I need to read more Chuck Tingle books.

I wasn’t super sure what to expect from the book just from the blurb, but I really enjoyed it. I love how it explored sexuality and religious trauma. Rose’s personal journey of realising what her feelings were and that confusion around that was deeply relatable. It made me take to her as a MC quickly. Not just the realisation of her sexuality, but the complex feelings around religion and realising how it hurt her. I liked the variety in how characters felt about religion, each had complex but still valid feelings on it. I especially liked the contrast between Rose and Saul. While both suffered at the camp, Rose turned away from religion while Saul embraced it in a more accepting way. I appreciated that neither was depicted as wrong, it was a level of nuance I hadn’t expected.

The characters as a whole were also so well done. Each felt like a real person with complicated feelings and motivations. They all felt consistent and I understood why they were doing what they did. I was pleasantly surprised by how many characters were given depth and complexity too. It was nice that even the less that stellar characters were still people.

The book’s atmosphere and descriptions were also great. Things were described in delightfully disgusting ways. It just made everything properly creepy. Not to mention how well the book did with atmosphere and tension building. There was a deep underlying sense of dread to the book and most scenes that I really enjoyed.

The only flaw that really bothered me was how heavy handed the book could be at times. However, a lot of topics the book discussed are really complex. I think it can be helpful to clearly state what you mean when talking about such layered topics.

Overall it was an amazing read and I highly recommend it. Even if you usually a horror reader, I think it’s worth checking out.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Cursing, Death, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Mental illness, Violence, Medical content, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, and Grief

kaneebli's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, and Car accident

Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Death, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Gun violence and Vomit

sweetxsage's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

The pacing feels slightly off but the writing is great!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Homophobia, Violence, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror

judassilver's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny lighthearted mysterious 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Body horror, Gore, Homophobia, Violence, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, Torture, and Lesbophobia

Minor: Death, Medical content, Car accident, and Alcohol

swiftpool's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense 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

5.0

Thoroughly disturbing and intriguing. The writing was really good and had a distinct voice. The family dynamic and conversations were so real I had to stop a few times. I didn’t know much about the plot when I went into the audiobook, but it immediately hooked me in.The audiobook is definitely the way to go, it really brings everything to life. 

Even before it was revealed the MC is indeed autistic I was identifying with her and wondering if she was neurodivergent. I really enjoy her friendship with Saul despite their differences and her conflicting feelings for her family, it’s all portrayed really well.  The descriptions of the demons and videos were so well written it made my stomach twist, but admittedly I don’t read many books with written descriptions of things like that so others may not think the same.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Ableism and Vomit

fkshg8465's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional inspiring sad 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? Yes

4.0

I learned earlier today that the Bible only started using the word “homosexual” and its other forms in 1946. Evidently, the same word was previously translated as masturbator and its various forms. So conversion therapy, I would guess, probably only followed suit after homosexuality became demonized by the Church (otherwise, there’d be no church if they had to convert every masturbator to what exactly????).

Gay people have been around since the beginning of time, because more of us are scientifically gayer than “polite” society wants to admit (sexuality is a range spanning heterosexuality to homosexuality with lots of shades in between). So the idea of conversion camps fascinates me. Why are we trying to homogenize the world? What is the deep fear or desire motivating it? Thus, I had to read this book, and it wasn’t exactly what I expected, but that’s partially because I forgot to read the small print saying it was also a horror book. However, I suppose it is a horrible experience for those forced to undergo it. And I imagine a lot of what’s in the book might be true enough (the cost and the brainwashing).

Mostly, I’m glad there’s a book for questioning young people to read that lets them know there’s nothing wrong with them and that they have the power to resist.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

raptorq's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Medical content

Minor: Ableism and Drug use

thekeytotheend's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad fast-paced

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

4.5

Not as scary as i was expecting, but I wouldn’t consider that a bad thing per say. I was expecting more haunting but the demons are fun too. I enjoyed the introduction to the world and the idea that both science and religion fit into this story, that no point is dismissed. I do find it surprising that the main character lets go of her faith so quickly throughout the book, but I don’t mind, considering what she went through Also i am a huge fan of the character being autistic and well written at that, not just quirky or weird for the sake of weirdness but actually well written autism.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism