Camp Damascus has been one of the best surprises of the year so far. I love it when books take you in a direction you weren’t expecting, where the place you end up is even better than the destination you thought you’d signed up for. I expected to enjoy this read but nowhere near as much as I did.
Rose lives in Neverton, a God-fearing small town in Montana whose claim to fame is being home to the world’s most effective conversion therapy camp.
“A life free from sin is possible, and it’s waiting for you at Camp Damascus”
Regardless of what genre a book is marketed as, as soon as conversion therapy makes its way onto the pages, it’s always going to be labelled horror in my mind. This one was already filed in the correct genre but it gave me so much more than I’d hoped it would.
Rose is a Kingdom Kid, churched in the doctrine of the Kingdom of the Pine. Her parents are devout, making sure they abide by the Four Tenets. Coffee is not allowed in their home, which is about the biggest red flag ever.
“Perfectly normal” Rose has recently begun seeing a woman that other people don’t seem to notice. She’s also started vomiting up all manner of creepy crawlies. Yeah, nothing to see here…
“God’s plan can feel pretty crazy sometimes, huh?”
I loved Rose’s pursuit of the truth. I loved the squirmy, squishy body horror. I loved to hate everything even cultish adjacent. I couldn’t read this book fast enough and am so keen for a reread.
“Follow the rot”
Thank you so much to NetGalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this book.
Once Upon a Blurb
Camp Damascus is the world’s most effective gay conversion camp. Nestled in the Montana wilderness, parents send their children from around the world to experience the program’s 100% success rate.
But, this story isn’t about that. This story is about Rose Darling, a God-fearing young lady who can’t stop puking up flies. It’s about her parents who ignore her visions of an eerie woman with sagging, pale skin who watches from the woods. It’s about the desires deep inside Rose that don’t seem to make any sense, and her waking nightmares that are beginning to feel more like memories. And maybe, just maybe, it’s a little bit about Camp Damascus after all.
Schizanthus Nerd 