A review by cakehatwombat
Camp Damascus by Chuck Tingle
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? It's complicated
4.0
Gives a supernatural angle that allows for catharsis for both the characters and the audience, which I really liked. They literally exorcise the demon of 'don't be gay', it's not subtle. It is satisfying, though, having something concrete they can defeat, even if they can't fix fundamentalist Christianity more broadly. They can save themselves and others from at least one horrible thing, y'know? Also all the demons horribly maim and then kill the people running the camp, so like, very affirming.
I liked Rose a lot- I always like curious characters who, like me, would click on every single object or npc in a video game to double check if it's interactable.
OH, very important: gay kids all make it out okay in the end! No dead black guy!
I liked Rose a lot- I always like curious characters who, like me, would click on every single object or npc in a video game to double check if it's interactable.
OH, very important:
Content Warnings
Graphic: Religious bigotry and Death
Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Gaslighting, and Vomit
Minor: Medical content and Ableism
For a book that centers around a gay conversion camp, the book doesn't talk much about the day-to-day reality or go into really intense detail about the emotional and religious abuse that happens there. Like, it obviously happens, but the characters don't remember most of what happened. The part that the mc remembers clearly is being tied down and having a demon possess her, which is obviously upsetting, but the really heavy stuff is avoided. Camps like these are obviously deeply traumatizing, and the characters in the book are clearly fucked up bc of it, but the horror of this book doesn't capitalize on (exploit is too extreme, but do you get what I mean?) the reality of places like this. The horror is supernatural and beatable.
TL;DR much less intense than you would assume based on the name and premise. If you can stomach reading articles about actual gay conversion camps then this is nothing. I cannot speak to any type of response from personal experience.
For the vomit, the mc vomits up flies, and while it is described in detail the first time and she is very horrified by it, it happens often enough that she kinda becomes numb to it? She also discovers the cause of it, which helps her deal with it, I think. She vomits up flies bc she's possessed by a demon who is contracted to keep her from thinking gay thoughts, not bc she ingested or incubated any bugs.
Also, there are no tags for bugs or insects, which I'm surprised by? Anyway, there are definitely bugs in the book. If worms or flies are your nopes, then this book is not for you.