Camp is a funny, engaging and extremely important read that tackles toxic masculinity within the lgbtq+ community. A highly recommended read.

Thank you thank you thank you to Penguin Random House and NetGalley for the ARC of Camp by LC Rosen. Camp is based at Camp Outland, a camp for queer teens, and every summer for 4 weeks, Randy has the time of his life there. Apart from one small detail and that is the love of his life just doesn't seem to know he exists. Which is where Del comes into play. Del you see, is like Randy but a different character and a whole lot more masc. And Hudson seems to quite like Del, sparks fly and the romcom of of Randy/Del's life is played out in perfection. Until it isn't. Only once both Randy and Hudson really come to terms with themselves and break down the barriers of toxic masculinity does this romcom finish in a blaze of something a bit more musical theatre. What I absolutely loved about this book is that it so thoroughly explores a culture that often isn't portrayed in such length, breadth and depth, it busts so many stereotypes straight out of the park and is just supremely queer in every aspect. There is also a lot of support for the many issues that LGBTQ+ (and really any teens) can come across and each of the characters has their own story line that only improves the book. Really, it all boils down to creating a fictional community that I'm maybe a bit jealous of and I really hope that every queer teen manages to find a clan like it, somewhere. Would recommend this to anyone that enjoys books where teenagers get to be teenagers, musical theatre and the good old American sleepaway camps (seriously, Britain, what happened?).

This is a book I wish someone had handed me at 16! Despite being a white, bisexual cis-girl, Randy and Hudson's worries of identity and self-acceptance felt like stepping back into my younger brain. I think most Queer teens will 100% identify with the debate between stereotype, individuality and fitting into a heternormative society, that L C Rosen so beautifully plays out in this book. So rarely do you see on paper the true battling thoughts that can take place for years! Also I have to fully applaud this book for the honest and completely unashamed way in which it depicts m/m sex (and frankly any anal sex). There is no glorifying, no skipping over the awkward parts, no fast forwarding to penile penetration, and there is LOADS AND LOADS OF LUBE!!! Basically this is a fantastic book that I will happily throw at teens- queer and straight, but I think the Queer Kids might need it more

Camp was an entertaining, colourful and important book about pride, love and toxic masculinity in the gay community. It was a story of making mistakes and learning from them to become better people, it was full of teenagers who were proudly gay, who didn’t let it define them, who found romance and friendship and acceptance at Camp Outland. Camp was part pure queer fun, part angst and part important discussion. Camp was fun and easy to read, with a casual writing style. I loved the atmosphere of Camp Outland, and I would love to go there. The Camp was a really great backdrop for the story that allowed all of the characters to be LGBTQ+. Not a cishet in for 95% of the book, and it was wonderful. There was a diverse range of LGBTQ+ characters which was great as even if they’re small, it’s always great for every reader to have someone they can emphasise and relate to! The Camp was just so colourful, enjoyable and lighthearted, adding a lot of fun to the story. Randy was a layered and real character, with flaws and traits that made him relatable and 3d. He did annoy me just a little at first, I could emphasise with him but he was also frustrating. However, this was part of his character arc and by the end of the book I really liked him and so this wasn’t a problem. I really liked the secondary characters, especially my girl Ashleigh, probably just cause she’s a sapphic :). They were all full of personality and supportive of Randy and his endeavours, though not afraid to tell him when he went too far. I think his friends really contributed to his positive character arc. 
A central topic in Camp is that of toxic masculinity in the gay community. The love interest, Hudson, often projects toxic masculinity and Randy must change himself to win his attention. At first, this aspect was quite uncomfortable, and I was just glad I knew it would get deconstructed. I didn’t love Hudson but really hoped he got better - when he was vulnerable he seemed really nice and his affection for Randy was clear. I really liked both Randy and Hudson’s character arcs and the theme of learning from your mistakes - they both made them, Randy by lying to Hudson and Hudson in his toxic masculinity, but they both acknowledged and explained this and became better people for it. The storyline was full of tension and I was kept on the edge of my seat as I waited for the truth to come out! Camp was a story of romance and learning from our mistakes, against a backdrop of fierce and unapologetic queerness and friendship full of laughs, angst and fun. I thoroughly enjoyed this book and loved everything it stood for, as well as how it allowed gay people to be the centre of the story, with their own romance, drama and flaws.

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.