I really wanted to like this book. I teach teenagers and young adults who are often questioning themselves and what they should or shouldn’t be comfortable with but I felt that it was quite ‘in your face’ from the beginning. I didn’t like the way the main character changed his personality to be with someone else. I can not bear this kind of message and for me it went on too long

I just didn’t enjoy reading this book and had to force myself to finish it.

Camp is a funny, engaging and extremely important read that tackles toxic masculinity within the lgbtq+ community. A highly recommended read.

This was just pure, unabashed queer joy and it was so lovely to read. Every page is full to bursting with pride and friendship and fun; a much-needed refreshing story!

The author does a fantastic job not just challenging toxic masculinity but dismantling the idea of what it means to be a gay man (or any sort of gender essentialism). There are all kinds of people represented here as well; I especially loved the transgender coach and her story.

This novel tackles some fairly heavy topics, like internalised misogyny and femme-phobia within the gay community but the author does a great job of handling them with care.

The romance started off on shaky grounds but became something incredibly sweet and wholesome; it was my favorite kind where both characters learn new things about each other through their relationship and influence each other for the better.

I also really appreciated the nuances of coming out shown here; that you should be proud of being who you are but at the same time prioritize your safety, especially if you're financially dependent on your potentially homophobic parents.

Overall, a fantastic, diverse, sex-positive queer rom com.

Thank you to Netgalley for the arc!

Camp is one of my most anticipated releases of the year, and after reading Jack Of Hearts (And Other Parts) by this author, I've been dying to see what he comes out with next. Is it really any surprise that this book has hit me in all the feels?

This book is set in a camp for all members of the LGBTQIA+ community under the age of 18, and follows our main character, Randy. Randy is out and proud, a talented theater kid who's attended the camp for years with his best friends. Camp is the one place you can feel safe wearing nail polish, dressing like your true self, and being exactly who've always been deep down - except this year, Randy's got a plan. For years, he's been in love with a butch, "masc4masc" guy named Hudson, and Randy's ready to take on the ultimate acting roll to finally make Hudson fall in love with him. As you might imagine... things don't always go to plan.

From the very first page, I knew this book would live in my heart forever. The core of this story is all about finding yourself, loving yourself, not changing who you are for anyone, and learning who you've always been deep down. The camp is the perfect setting for this kind of story - the ultimate safe space to be unapologetically you for a whole summer. And we get to experience this story with the signature complex, dramatic, and strong characters of L.C Rosen!

Randy - who goes by "Del" this year in camp - is so confident. He knows himself so well, and is willing to risk it all to make his dreams come true. What I loved most about him is that there are several times throughout this story when he's called people out for problematic things they've said or done off the bat, no hesitation. He never allows anyone to make excuses for their poor behavior, and openly accepts criticism of his own actions. He's aware that he's potentially setting himself up for failure, and although he's so sure of himself, he's only human - and everyone is blindsided by love at some point. Still, that boy has some unbreakable willpower, let me tell you. And romantic love aside, Randy is a fierce friend.

Speaking of his friends, George and Ashleigh are EVERYTHING. George is feminine and hilarious, and is so comfortable in his own skin. In another world, I like to think I was Ashleigh at her age. She's got her heart all caught up in the wrong places, but never when it comes to her friends. Randy's friend group consists of people from all spectrums of sexuality and gender, including someone with they/them pronouns. It made my heart explode to experience their little world where they all lived and thrived together without fear or judgement.
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The atmosphere of this book draws you right in completely. It was too easy to feel like you were a part of this little world and experience it all for yourself. Even the camp workers were so funny and supportive and spoke to the campers like human beings, not like kids. They knew exactly how to build each individual person up, and said exactly what they needed to hear, for good or bad.

Of course, being a teenager in a summer camp far away from your parents, there's going to be more than just kissing going on. What this author never fails to do is speak of sex and sexuality like its such normal, every day thing - because it is! The conversations, as well as the sex scenes themselves, are detailed and all about consent, and patience, and being open and honest with each other. This aspect of the story is so important, especially in YA literature, because it could make all the difference in the world to someone in the same age group or situations as these characters.

Camp tackles themes of homophobia, both open and internalised. While the camp is a safe space, everyone is still very much aware of how different things will be once they're back at home. The reality of going home to parents and friends who fully support you regardless of sexuality or gender isn't the same for everyone, and so the key message of being your true self and not changing for anyone, sadly can't apply to everyone. How this is addressed in the story is done so well, and the support between friends, partners, and the camp workers themselves brought me so much joy. Rosen's writing style has a way of capturing your heart, and his stories never fail to brighten your life. This novel is the safe space for everyone who hasn't found theirs yet.

I won't spoil anything about this plot, so all I'll say is that there are so many stories of coming out, being closeted, or partially-out in this book, and its such a beautiful reminder that no situation in your life is permanent. Even if you have to hide the brightest parts of you temporarily, you'll always shine where you're happiest. And you will find that safe space one day.

It's no surprise I'm giving this book 5 stars. Once the world has healed, I'll be ordering copies for my library, because everyone needs to read it.

A really fun, undemanding LGBTQ romance novel that also speaks some important truths about femme-phobia and associated misogyny in the gay community. As a young teen I was a massive fan of novels set at summer camps (which led to an unfortunate experiment with Christian summer camp on the north Wales coast - not quite what I'd expected from reading about American camps!) and I'm delighted that teens today have a great, diverse, sex-positive LGBTQ summer camp novel in Camp.

This is a simple and rather predictable story. Characterisation was clearly defined and each individual recognisable. Some effort was made at description of the environment, but I think it would be necessary to be familiar with this type of camp to fully understand location.

The story is largely told from the point of view of the central character who is naive and doesn't have the most likeable of personalities and yet he tries hard. The core individuals provide a wide gender balance.

Unfortunately, the book is rather preachy and this makes it less than enjoyable

Yes, Camp is a fun contemporary m/m story, but it's also a complex evaluation of queer culture and community. There are so many layers to this story, and L.C. Rosen has done an excellent job of blending identity and experience into the kind of fun rom-com that you see straight versions of constantly.

Randy (also known as Del) has attended a summer camp specifically for queer youths for the past several years, and over that time he's developed a crush on Hudson, who only ever dates very butch guys, which Randy is decidedly not. If I'm being honest, this bit was so heart-breaking for me to read, because it's so painfully true, especially how teenagers change for those around them. Randy as a character was also high-key relatable. There are many layers to his personality, but he's also got a really strong sense of self, even though he's adapting to appeal to the guy he likes.

Hudson was also a layered character, but in a different way to Randy. His experiences as a gay teen are unfortunately so common, but it was really nice to see him come out of his shell even all this time supressing himself. It was also so sweet to see his relationship developing with Randy (or Del at this point) and to see his interactions with not only Randy but his friends and the other campers, and the HAL incident was hilarious. One element of his characterisation that was notable to me was the fact that his experiences as gay and Korean weren't kept separate, because he's both at once, not just one at a time. Overall, Hudson could be a jerk at times because of all the messages that society was bombarding him with, but he's also still young, and so endearing.

There was a whole cast of other characters outside of Randy and Hudson, with an immense amount of the natural diversity of real experiences. Though Randy spends a lot of time with Hudson, as teens in a new relationship are wont to do, his friends are still a significant part of the story. George and Ashleigh especially were prominent characters, and even though they weren't the protagonists, they both still got proper arcs and weren't just cast aside. Their experiences were also valid and a part of the story, and I really loved them both. And basically all of the other campers, really.

What I especially appreciated regarding the background characters was the fact that there were so many queer adults who were there, existing and sharing their experiences and the history of the community. This is a kind of support that a lot of kids don't necessarily have, so it felt really important to me to see this in a book.

I'm a theatre kid, so Cabin Seven sounded like a dream come true to me. In fact, all of Camp Outland sounds like exactly the kind of place I would want to spend my summer. I would also absolutely love to be in the musical, it sounds like my idea of heaven to be cast in a production where gender doesn't matter the same way it so often does and to be able to interpret them in the way in this book. Camp Outland also felt like a family, where people are welcomed with open arms and can just exist.

Because the romance was still a fairly significant part of the story, it was most of the plot, but there were still other elements that made the whole thing feel so real. There was always a tense balance between wanting Randy to be himself again as he yearned to do the things he did in previous years, and seeing how much he liked Hudson and how their relationship was developing. But they were also just at camp, doing camp things and having a fun summer, which was enjoyable to read in and of itself. Even though some bits of the plot were predictable in a comforting way, I was still kept hooked the whole way through, and read the whole thing in one night because I couldn't bear to put it down.

One of the main themes that Camp deals with is the concept of being openly queer. Hudson is reluctant to associate himself with guys who are openly out and proud, because of the insidious and constant messages that he's been getting from society and his parents. Toxic masculinity has embedded itself into his self-image to the point where he's starting to project it externally, but the was that L.C. Rosen tackles this issue, which is still common, was careful and efficient. It also has the message that being out and proud is great if you're in a place where it's safe to be, but it's also entirely your decision whether you feel safe enough to. A lot of the time in queer communities, there's an idea that if you aren't proud and 100% you all the time, you're not doing it right, and it can be hard to see this message while in a place where that's not possible. These two themes are both really important messages, and I really appreciated how well they were worked into the story.

Camp is a book that queer teen readers, and those who don't read, need and deserve. To see my community like this, to see people like me going through the same experiences means so much to me. This is a book that brought tears to my eye, the good kind, and I would like to commend L.C. Rosen for writing it.

Thank you to Penguin Random House for providing me with a review copy in exchange for an honest review. The review will be posted on my blog and Goodreads on May 24th and will be promoted on and around the release date as well.

When I first read that Lev A.C. Rosen's new novel was going to be entitled "Camp", I immediately thought of extravagance, glitter, riddiculousness and pure sass.

Then I read, that the book was going to be about an actual summer camp. Now that I have read it, I am very - very - happy to report that this is the campiest camp there ever has been and that can ever be.

Camp is all about being your true queer self - and owning it. It is about queer teens getting space to find themselves and to be unapologetically themselves without judgement from classmates, straight friends who just don't understand and most of all: parents. Camp Outland is a save space to question and to change and to just be.

It's about 16-year old Randy who butches himself up because he's fallen in love with a guy in the previous years at camp and wants to match Hudson's preference for a "masc" boyfriend. He chooses sports over theatre and mismatched clothing over glitter nailpolish and a fan, much to the disappointment and confusion to the rest of his friends (read: other theatre kids).

While Randy - who is now called Del - and Hudson get closer, Randy can't help but feel sadness at not being part of the annual musical show, especially since all his friends are and starts questioning "the plan" he had to get Hudson to fall in love with him. Can Hudson even fall in love with him if he doesn't even know him? As the summer progresses, it becomes harder and harder to keep the charade up and Randy starts to figure out that there is more to Hudson than a tough and hot exterior.

I read this book in less than 24 hours because I was immediately sucked into the world of Camp Outland. I fell in love with every single of the characters and I still cannot believe how lucky I am to have gotten to read this before it's official release date. Especially because this is one of my most anticipated reads in 2020. After reading it, I can confidently say that it is already one of my absolutely favourite reads this year.

We are introduced to camp kids in every shade of queerness and I was especially excited to see a demisexual lesbian as one of the main characters. The camp program is a mixture of queer history, fun nature trips and electives such as sports and musical theatre and I loved reading about every part of it. Of course, crushes and sex are a big topic for queer teens just as much as they are for straight teens and Camp is nothing but sex positive - in a safe way.

As I already said, Camp consists of a lot of different kids and I love how every kid gets a voice about their sexuality. I have briefly mentioned demisexuality, which I loved because I feel that it is underrepresented in fiction in general and it was lovely to read about the conversations Ashleigh had with her best friends Randy and George. George is Randy's other best friend and he is as fabulous as you can be. With a fan at the ready for dramatic effects and what feels like a thousand different shades of nail polish, he is here to slay. Besides our main trio, we are also introduced to an ex-olympist trans woman who coaches the kids in their sports electives, the musical theatre director who doubles as drag queen performer and so many more characters who will worm their way into your heart and STAY THERE.

The story itself is a whirlwind of emotion because I wanted Randy to be able to be himself, wanted Hudson to see him for who he is - the coolest kid on the block! - and for him to sing his heart out at the musical performance. At the same time, it was an absolute swoon fest. I am talking underwater kisses. I am talking kisses stolen at the back of the hut shortly between lights out. I am talking Hudson calling Randy "babe". And I am talking lots and lots and lots of hand holding.

Most importantly, though, and I know that a lot of my fellow reviewers have already talked about this: But Lev A. C. Rosen manages to take apart the concept of toxic masculinity within a couple of hundred pages. The idea that a man has to behave a certain way. The idea that the stereotype of the gay man with glitter and fans and tears and - god forbid - feelings, was something to be ashamed of. Toxic masculinity is one of the things deeply wrong with this world and with the world's society at large and here it is, a book that sings "Fuck all that" in a high note while dancing pirouettes around the haters in a bow tie and a tutu.

And while this book encourages you to search for, find and be your truest self, it also proposes to only do so "in public" when you're safe. Because safety always comes first. Camp is like a best friend who says: "even if you can't be who you are with anyone else, you can be yourself with me". Camp Outland is one of those fictional places that will always be there for the people who need a safe space to call their home, even when they're physically somewhere else.

Let this be my last point: This book should be read by everyone. I need this book to be read by everyone. I don't care about your gender or age or sexuality or beliefs: READ. THIS. BOOK. And tattoo it's message onto your heart: Everyone is valid just the way they are. Be unapologetically, proudly yourself. And most importantly: Let everyone else be their best self they can be in a safe and loving environment as well.

Lev. A. C. Rosen. Damn, what a book.

This was one of the most perfect books I have ever read!

I went into it curious about the author, expecting a cute “come-out, be proud, change the world” cute little love story. This was much more than that.

The queer community is finally getting some representation in YA but in most stories, even the ones that are #ownvoices, the authors seem to tell the readers that it is always better to be out and proud, and their being their true selves will make the world a safer world by default. Rosen is more realist. Living in the closet to protect yourself is not ideal but your security comes first and when you are a teenager and depend on others for food and shelter, then when to come out is about more than being able to live honestly, it is about surviving the bad times in order to be able to enjoy what comes next. And that’s sad, but it is more honest than telling readers that you know better.

I would very happily read a book about every character in this book, including the ones that didn’t even talk. The amount of diversity alone: native American, asexual, aromantic, trans, POC, demisexual, Jewish, non-binary, gay, lesbian, bi... and all of these characters are there for more than to fill the diversity quota, their storylines and their words matter!

Instead of having a main character that was fully actualized or having an adult or the internet explaining Randy what was the right way to think or feel, Rosen took advantage of his characters and their diverse life experiences and portrayed teenagers as thinking beings (!!). Through his characters, the reader gets to learn about how the same problem is able to affect different people differently. We get discussions about the racism and discrimination inside the LGBTQ community and how not being able to pass as cis(gender) or straight is even more dangerous if you are already inside a minority to start with or how important the place in which you live is.

I’m also really happy that two of the most important characters were extremely femme boys and how that was portrayed as desirable and beautiful instead of as a joke or something lesser. But their particular hardships were not ignored either.

Now for a slight spoiler...

There is a sex scene. Between two boys. We’ve read those before. What was truly REVOLUTIONARY, was that it was not treated as a straight sex scene. Most authors would write it with few details and have the experienced character take charge while the chapter is being told by the virgin who is completely passive...but not freaking L. C. Rosen or as he shall henceforward be known as “the king”. Yeah, I think I feel comfortable with that.

Having sex with someone of the same gender or someone that is trans or non-binary or identifies differently is not the same as a cis straight couple having sex and we all know how even that is covered by most SexEd classes (there is an entire show about it people, keep up!).

Books like these are sometimes the only way teens have to learn about consensual and safe sex so writing realistic sex scenes with realistic depictions of what to expect is even more important.

Boy, I’m glad books like these are finally being written and published.

Thank you to Penguin Random House UK Children’s and NetGalley for this DRC.

I really loved this book, it was everything I wanted it to be! Del/Randy is such an interesting protagonist, and I think that a lot of queer people especially queer teenagers will be able to relate to his plight to making the boy of his dreams to fall in love with him. Although it did put me on edge the entire time I was reading because I just wanted him to tell Hudson the truth! I loved them both so much I didn’t want either of them to get hurt.

This book was so easy to read, I flew through it because I loved and enjoyed the characters so much. It felt entirely believable and I absolutely adored the huge cast of queer characters. I’ve never read a book that featured so many queer people from the LGBTQIA+ acronym and it was truly brilliant to have them all in one place in this book. ‘Camp’ is extraordinary because Rosen creates such an incredible sense of place that I was immediately pulled back to the rural camp that I worked at, so not only did I enjoy the story but it created a sense of nostalgia and love – which I think is really powerful.

I’m giving this book 4 stars because it’s so funny, honest, and has wonderful characters who I want to be my best friends. I think this is an incredible story about being yourself, and letting people love you exactly the way you are!

I loved this. Such a readable and fun book that examines toxic masculinity within the lgbtq+ community.

I was really excited to read this, an unashamedly queer summer-camp rom-com. And it pretty much lived up to expectations! I particularly loved all the characters introduced around the MC, and how it didn't shy away from the awkward and messy first loves that are so relatable. It wasn't perfect though - the MC was quite often rather irritating and self-centred even if endearing, and I would've liked a bit more definition to the side characters, particularly one who was demi-sexual; this was mentioned a few times but never explored in depth. Overall, this was a humorous and enjoyable rom-com with an uber-satisfying resolution and I would love a sequel!

A really fun, uplifting and inspiring read.

Full review to follow (including links to posts) closer to pub day!

This is a book I wish someone had handed me at 16! Despite being a white, bisexual cis-girl, Randy and Hudson's worries of identity and self-acceptance felt like stepping back into my younger brain.

I think most Queer teens will 100% identify with the debate between stereotype, individuality and fitting into a heternormative society, that L C Rosen so beautifully plays out in this book. So rarely do you see on paper the true battling thoughts that can take place for years!

Also I have to fully applaud this book for the honest and completely unashamed way in which it depicts m/m sex (and frankly any anal sex). There is no glorifying, no skipping over the awkward parts, no fast forwarding to penile penetration, and there is LOADS AND LOADS OF LUBE!!!

Basically this is a fantastic book that I will happily throw at teens- queer and straight, but I think the Queer Kids might need it more.