Reviewed by Valerie
TITLE: Camp
AUTHOR: L.C. Rosen
PUBLISHER: Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
LENGTH: 384 pages
RELEASE DATE: May 26, 2020
BLURB:
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?
REVIEW:
Camp is a delightful story of self-discovery – after years of suppressing one’s true self – with cute, multi-dimensional main characters, teenage crushes, amusing antics, and Randy’s elaborate strategy to get the boy of his dreams. This is Camp Outland, dedicated to LGBTQ+ youth, where they can be “unashamedly queer” with a “who-cares-if-your-wrists-are-loose freedom.”
I’ve never been to camp. Most of the kids in my hometown went, it seems, but I spent my summers at home. So right there I found the blurb – heck, just the title and cover – compelling. Considering LGBTQ+ young adult is one of my favorite genres, this was a must-read for me. I just had to know, are all the stories of hijinks in the Catskills I heard about on the first day back to school real? What is real is that Camp is a refreshing novel, a perfect summer read and a welcome break from the heavy themes of coming out, bullying, disownment, and homelessness that I’ve been reading lately. There’s still plenty of angst, just balanced with a plethora of humor.
In an effort to attract the attention of fellow camper Hudson, his crush of four years, Randy undergoes a year-long transformation. It encompasses everything from losing twenty pounds, cutting his hair, changing his affectations and body movements, practicing sports, and even changing his name at camp to Del – everything to be more straight-acting and masc like Hudson – a marked departure from his nail polish wearing, theater loving, femme self. I cringed waiting for Randy’s trainwreck of a plan to play out, but he’s been pining for so long, so desperate measures and all that. But would it work? I couldn’t see how this level of deceit was going to end positively and I honestly didn’t see until the very end how the story would conclude. YA novels don’t always culminate in a happy ending, after all. The glaring problem with Randy’s plan is that he wants a long-term relationship, not just a camp hook-up, but at what point does he revert to his true self and how does Hudson react after falling for Del, not Randy?
At its core, the theme of the book is about “daring to be yourself, even when the world is telling you to be something else.” While the book starts out with Randy’s metamorphosis as the impetus of the plotline, in the end, it’s Hudson who undergoes the more important, internal transformation. Hudson is confused by his self identity due to outside influences, grapples with the ideas of masc versus femme and fights the idea of gay stereotypes.
I sometimes feel like I’m sort of split down the middle – like there’s normal world and there’s gay world, and here is the only time I get to experience gay world, and I love it – but I also feel like maybe I don’t fit in it? And I wish it were more like my kind of gay world? I don’t know, I’m not making sense.
Randy, who also learns he needs to be himself, helps guide Hudson to be his authentic self in what is a very satisfying happy-for-now ending.
My camp-deprived youth left me lapping up L.C. Rosen’s evocative world building. I can visualize every corner of the camp, from the bunks to the Peanut Butter Pit to the clifftop view. I can imagine the mannerisms, clothing choices, and physicality of Randy’s colorful friends. And I can hear the music in my head to the many musical soundtracks counselor Mark has the cabin singing and dancing to. The book is chock full of rich secondary characters who cover the queer spectrum, including non-binary, asexual, aromantic, demisexual, one heteroflexible woman, and numerous ethnicities. Vivacious George is a faithful friend, one-hundred percent in support of Randy. Ashleigh is a loyal but skeptical bunkmate. There are a handful of other important characters including friends of both Randy and Hudson and various counselors.
I appreciate that this is a sex positive book with adults who understand the realities of teenage hormones and make condoms and lube freely available to the campers. I also appreciate that the one sex scene is detailed, sprinkled with a bit of humor, and doesn’t fade to black like in many YA novels.
Camp hooked me with its alluring cover and title and didn’t let go, leading me on a sweet and humorous exploration of young love and identity. It’s the most fun I’ve had all summer – mind you, it’s only the second week of June. It’s a fabulous book (in more ways than one) that I adore and give my highest recommendation.
RATING: 
BUY LINKS: