Camp Damascus

This is my first Chuck Tingle book and I'm definitely looking forward to reading more of their horror. If you are creeped out by bugs, you will have a very rough time with the horror elements here. I was surprised at how quickly things got freaky. I really liked the main character and the found family she made, I always prefer my horror books to feature good-hearted characters that I can get invested in. Mara Wilson did a great job narrating. A heavier spooky book if you've had any experiences with neurodivergency/autism, homophobia, and fundamentalist religion.

Content Warnings:
Graphic: Body horror, Homophobia, and Religious bigotry
Moderate: Car accident, Fire/Fire injury, and Gaslighting
Minor: Confinement, Drug use, and Gun violence

Campy in all the right ways while maintaining an eerie and terrifying atmosphere. This book presents the already disturbing act of conversion therapy and presents it in grotesque detail. Fun read with an extremely satisfying ending.

Good idea, poor execution. Did this even have an editor? At one point, MC totals her car, then in the next couple of pages has a car again, referring to it as 'my car's - uhhhh...? Legit CHAPTERS later is when the author references 'my car' and in the same sentence clarifies it by saying something like, 'technically not my car because my dad let me borrow his ' or the like. So... Why not specify that right up front?
Small things, I know, but still irritating to read on top of seeing any 'twists' coming a mile away made for a book I struggled to read despite it being short. Not worth it.

Camp Damascus is fun campy horror at its best but with a terrifying under-layer that touches on the evil of gay conversion camps and organized Christian based religions overall. Excellent representation, excellent characters and story! This one is very out there so I recommend to those that can look past logic and appreciate fun horror.

It was an interesting story but the execution could have been a bit better