Bunny 's Reviews > Camp Damascus

Nobody who's graduated the Camp Damascus program is ex-gay, they're just even more tormented than before. They've been frightened and threatened into submission, a tactic that's been used against queer people for centuries.

The only difference is that now these threats have been outsourced.

I am DESPERATE to know who Chuck Tingle is. I realize half the appeal is the myyyystery surrounding him, but horror authors under pseudonyms, in my experience, have other amazingly written books that I need to get my hands on, and I'm twitching to know who he really is.

That out of the way, holy SHIT, this book.

I tried going in relatively blind, but of course I snuck a peek and found out it featured a conversation camp. Take a real life horror and turn it up to 11? Yes, please.

JFC, this is so much more than what I expected. It's so damn GOOD. These pages may as well have been laced with powdered caffeine from how much anxiety is soaked into even the most innocuous of scenes. You FEEL the uneasiness Rose lives with in even the most "normal" moments, and you're constantly on edge wondering what's around the next corner.

I feel like I can't summarize anything because of how well put together this is, with each horror blooming suddenly and sharply as the chapters pass.

But quite frankly, all you need to know is:

Gay conversion camp
Cult
Heebie jeebies

4 stars instead of 5 because the writing was a little iffy in some spots and the ending leaves us on a serious cliffhanger regarding some familial moments I REALLY needed closure on.

But seriously. SO GOOD. Thank you, Darla, for this!