Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle

12 reviews

embee007's review against another edition

challenging dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

"Beware a curious person whose attention has been piqued."

My first Chuck Tingle book, somehow, & definitely not my last (Bury Your Gays is also on my TBR for the fall).

“The stuff they believed, the messages they pounded into our heads … none of it was that weird. They’re just the thousandth little twist on the exact same book.”

As multiple other people have pointed out, Camp Damascus feels YA, not in a bad way. But if the book was marketed as YA, it would immediately be banned from at least half the country's school libraries, & quite a few public libraries as well.

"It’s hardly the worst thing organized religion has come up with."

This book is uncomfortable, & heavy. Bible quotes are repeated, as well as the cult's tenets. Religious trauma is heavily explored.

“There are things I miss about my old life, like community and family and just … going to church on a day like today. You’ve shown me how someone could find love in that book on their own terms, but too many people around here have used it for hate.”

Representation: Autistic lesbian MC, wlw relationship, gay supporting character.

Warning: Religious trauma, cult, gay conversion camp, gaslighting

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Homophobia, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror and Confinement

oliviajreads's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Murder, and Gaslighting

kshertz's review against another edition

mysterious sad 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? No

4.0

Really Chuck Tingle can do anything and I would follow him anywhere. I’m not much for a horror, but I love the type of horror that he writes. His horror is based on the world around us and the people that make the world horrific. He makes excellent Points and I find myself swept up in the story and committed to the characters. Camp Damascus and the idea of conversion camps as a horror with certain supernatural pieces was really well done. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Biphobia, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

_readerfromtheblacklagoon_'s review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful 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: Biphobia, Bullying, Confinement, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

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

amaranth_wytch's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Torture, Violence, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Gun violence, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Bullying

m3lwar3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging emotional tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Homophobia, Forced institutionalization, Religious bigotry, and Gaslighting

Moderate: Body horror, Gore, Blood, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Drug use, and Alcohol

punk_flower_child's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

Horrifying. Riveting. So amazing. It really seems like the person who wrote it knows what being deeply involved in a church is like

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Biphobia, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

samferree's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny tense fast-paced

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

4.5

There is not a shred of doubt that Conversion Therapy advocates would do this if they could.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Deadnaming, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Slavery, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Stalking, Car accident, Murder, and Lesbophobia

vixenreader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative 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? It's complicated

5.0

A call to love in the face of self-righteousness and wilful ignorance, this book is horrifying, entertaining, and incredibly loving to those who need it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Lesbophobia, Fire/Fire injury, Outing, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, and Abandonment

Minor: Drug use, Misogyny, and Alcohol

Be aware of people vomiting bugs out of their mouths, gay conversion therapy, using religion for hate and oppression, and demon imagery.