REVIEW: Camp by L. C. Rosen

Sign me up for a summer at Camp Outland

CAMP by L. C. Rosen Published 28th May by Penguin

As a gay reader, I've long found YA fiction to be the most reliable and satisfying place to find entertaining, heartfelt and diverse queer tales, from Adam Silvera to Becky Albertalli, Rainbow Rowell to Jandy Nelson, David Levithan to Patrick Ness, and many, many more. But last year, I read a book which felt utterly fresh and different, even amongst a genre that covers this area so well. That book was Jack of Hearts by L. C. Rosen, which took a Sex Education approach to gay romance and featured extensive discussion of gay sex, from safety to pleasure. It wasn't something I'd ever seen in fiction before, and I loved the honesty that it bought, whilst never detracting from a hilarious, heartwarming romance.

So when I was alerted to a new book by L. C. Rosen publishing this year, I was instantly intrigued, and my interest only multiplied when I heard the concept. It's a probing look at masc4masc culture set at an American queer summer camp - Camp Outland - following 16-year old Randy, a theatre-loving, nail varnish-wearing gay teen, who falls in love with Hudson, the camp's resident heartthrob. But Hudson is only in to 'masc' guys, turning his nose up at any hint of 'camp', so Randy reinvents himself as 'Del', a sports-playing, short-haired, muscled 'new kid' at camp.

It's a great concept (and I confess part of my loves this from the get go because I just want to go to Camp Outland myself) and one that builds on what Rosen started with the first book - a confident, yet immensely readable exploration of many of the issues facing queer teenagers in the modern day.

One of my favourite elements of the story is the diversity of the cast, both in terms of sexuality and background. The cast encompasses characters who identify as gay, lesbian, bisexual, non-binary, asexual, demi and more. I don't think I've ever read a book with such a broad exploration of experiences, and even more impressive if that it never feels tokenistic. Each fits into the story in their own way, and while many of them are more peripheral characters, their own journeys are sprinkled throughout in a clever way that will give representation and inspire an incredibly broad range of queer teens.

The book also prompts some debates. There's been widespread criticism of masc4masc culture and the lack of diversity in many gay circles, and rightfully so, but the book doesn't barrel through this deriding the entire concept, but instead takes a thoughtful approach that tries to understand all areas of the issue, articulating many of the arguments that I've heard in queer culture or between my own friends, and delivering a nuance that might not be expected from the book's description as 'criticising masc4masc culture.'

Praise should also be given for the impassioned argument that is made around gay dating, and when 'preferences' or 'types' become problematic. Everyone, of course, has preferences in the type of people that they're attracted to, but it's so common to see incredibly discriminatory phrases like 'no fatties' or 'white guys only' on gay dating profiles, and hiding behind 'it's my type' is a cowardly and stupid approach. There's a few impassioned discussions of this in the book that made me want to fist bump the air. These issues should be discussed with teenagers, early in their journeys, to make sure that it's not perpetuated forever.

Whilst there's a lot of 'important' subjects and issues tackled in the book, I want to stress that it's also just a damn good read. It's campy, it's fun, it's light and it's an absolute joy to read. There's oodles of pop culture references - my personal favourite being a reference to the absolute masterpiece that is Pitch Perfect - and lots of references to important parts of queer culture like drag, queer history and more.

Overall, I think this is a fantastic progression from Jack of Hearts, continuing to explore queer identity and issues with confidence and fire, while never detracting from a good story. I genuinely feel like there is no better way to raise awareness of issues than discussing them in fiction, as it will both attract readers who wouldn't read non-fiction, and also allows readers to interact with the ideas in a different way. Camp wraps these important conversations in a suitably campy frolic that I can't wait to discuss with others when it releases later this year.

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I received a review copy from Penguin in exchange for an honest, unbiased review. Many thanks to Simon Armstrong for sending.