Camp – L.C Rosen

Thank you to the publisher for gifting me an early copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

Sixteen-year-old Randy Kapplenoff loves spending his summers at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens. Camp Outland is where he met his best friends, where he takes the stage in the big musical and it is where he fell for Hudson Aaronson-Lin. Hudson who is only into straight-acting guys and barely knows not-at-all-straight-acting Randy even exists.

This year it is going to be different. Randy has reinvented himself as ‘Del’ who is buff, masculine and on the market. Even if it means giving up show tunes, nail polish and his unicorn bedsheets. He is determined to get Hudson to fall for him.

But, as he and Hudson grow closer, Randy has to ask himself how much his is willing to change for love. Plus, is it really love anyway, if Hudson doesn’t know who he truly is?

Lev Rosen is an extraordinary author and his new novel Camp is an absolute delight to read. Camp is an incredibly important book all about love, pride, toxic masculinity and so much more in the LGBTQ+ community and beyond.

Camp is a novel all about making mistakes, finding love, learning from your mistakes and becoming a better person. This book is packed full of teenagers who are proud to be LGBTQ+, who don’t let it define them and who find friendship, love and acceptance at Camp Outland.

Lev has created such a fun and easy read that I absolutely adored. I could visualise Camp Outland in my mind throughout reading the book which made the book even more enjoyable for me.

This book is packed full of a diverse range of LGBTQ+ characters. All of these characters who are amazing however small of a part they play. Randy in particular is such a well-rounded and realistic character. He has his flaws and traits that make him relatable to all. I adored his entire character arc and how it was written to show his development.

All of the secondary characters are well-developed and wonderful. They are all packed full of personality and are supportive of Randy and his endeavours. They also aren’t at all shy about telling Randy when he takes things too far.

This book has a huge focus on toxic masculinity within the gay community. Hudson projects toxic masculinity throughout the book and Randy changes himself to get his attention. At first, this aspect is uncomfortable to read but let me tell you I fully support Lev Rosen’s mission to destroy toxic masculinity with this book. More books need to do this in the future and they would have my full support.

Lev Rosen has a talent when it comes to writing and it can be seen throughout this entire book. His writing is real, raw and just extraordinary and I cannot wait to read more from him in the future.

Overall, Camp is a book full of romance and learning from your mistakes all set in a world of unapologetically LGBTQ+ characters, friendship, angst and fun. I adored this book and loved everything it stands for. Lev has written a gorgeous book and I cannot recommend it enough!