I received an ARC from the publisher via NetGalley and am voluntarily posting a review. All opinions are my own.
I wasn’t a huge fan of Julia Lynn Rubin’s prior book, although in retrospect, it was more forgettable than anything else. Primal Animals is much the opposite. It’s dark, disturbing, compelling, and appeals to an idea similar to one I had in the form of a twisted “feminist” secret society. The atmosphere exudes bitchiness and callousness, and isn’t afraid to really go there. It’s a creepy summer camp, which has become an archetypal setting of the horror genre, and that is also conveyed super well.
The characterizations are a bit intense and over-the-top, and it would be tempting to write some of them off as “unrealistic.” But Rubin captures the extremes of what people could be pushed to under specific conditions, when their emotions get the better of them.
Arlee is pretty likable, and makes for a pretty interesting protagonist. Her fear of various types of bugs leads to incredibly visceral descriptions of these, which contribute to the creep factor. The anxiety about this connected to a past incident also makes her compelling as she is sent to camp by her mother as a result of this and the way she isolated herself afterward. And there’s also these layers of secrets Arlee finds herself faced with upon arrival, due to other campers’ concern of who her mother is. All of this, along with the invitation to the secret society contribute to a complex arc that ties in well with the surrounding mysteries and horrors.
And while this is a “rich kid” camp, I like that an effort was made to diversify the cast in terms of race, sexuality, and gender. It also doesn’t fall into stereotypes of these various groups, with the focus being on being both inclusive and portraying a well-rounded, flawed cast of characters and the sometimes toxic relationships that can form among teens, and even between teens and those with authority. I did struggle with the rather large cast of characters, so it does take time to get to know everyone, but you get a sense of who’s most relevant to the story as it progresses.
It does take a few chapters, but the book took a dark turn pretty quickly, and remained pretty punchy throughout. The ending is a bit anticlimactic, although I can understand that closure isn’t always going to be possible after a massive event like what took place over the course of the book.
I was really impressed by this book, and would recommend it to anyone who enjoys YA horror.

Primal Animals is a young adult horror book. It's also very queer in a casual way which I was happy to see. The main character is in a sapphic relationship and there's lots of other LGBT+ side characters. This follows Arlee as she starts at a summer camp her mother went too. She gets sucked into a cult there. This book is face-paced, I read it in one sitting. Arlee is a good representation of a 16 year old who is self-conscious and struggling from anxiety. I love how despite this, her character was also strong and fiery. I knew I'd love this book when Arlee's fear of bugs is shown from the first page. I don't think I've ever actually seen my own fear represented in a book this way and I immediately connected with Arlee because of it. However, huge TW for bugs, panic attacks, blackmail, murder, and gore.

A horror story set at a summer camp? Tell me that doesn’t make you think of classic 80s movies in the same genre. I’m always up for a twisty scary tale.

Arlee is spending the summer at a college prep camp in hopes it will help her achieve her academic goals, a place her mother also attended several years previously. Unsure of herself, slightly paranoid, and dealing with troubling issues, Arlee is thrilled to find herself making new friends and fitting in. Until she discovers college prep classes are just a small part of what really goes on at Camp Rockaway.

From the minute Arlee arrives at camp it’s an ominous vibe, and you know the world inside the camp sits off kilter. She receives sinister warnings and overhears hurtful comments about herself and her mother, but tries to ignore them. After she joins a secret society as a legacy in the hopes of having lifelong “sisters”, what unfolds is dark, dangerous, and …..just plain bizarre. Several scenes are disturbing, so this novel isn’t for the faint of heart. I was repulsed and shocked at times – but also couldn’t look away.

The story moves as a brisk pace, but I’d hoped for more closure at the end. If you enjoy horror/thriller books that venture into the land of weirdness, I’d recommend checking out Primal Animals.

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley. Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Arlee’s mother convinces her to attend summer camp. A glittering spa adventure in the woods attended by the children of senators, actresses and rockstars. But something sinister lurks in paradise. Arlee carries a lot of her own anxiety. So, when strange things start happening, she believes it is only in her head. She needs to act normal and not draw attention to herself. Can she fit in and make friends? Arlee has secrets; the camp has secrets; everyone has secrets. How many of them are deadly.

This creepy, dangerous girl drama set at summer camp is the escapist thriller your summer TBR pines for. Tense from page one. This decidedly feminist retelling of Lord of the Flies features LGBTQ representation and strong female characters. Readers who enjoyed the unsettling vibe of White Smoke and the dangerous, feminist approach of Grace Year will find lots to love in Primal Animals. A lot is revealed rapidly and at the end. This is a book readers will want to discuss, especially the end.

Thanks to Netgalley for the opportunity to preview this title out 5/24/2022.

Cw: drug use / drinking / abuse / misogyny

I had high hopes for Julia Lynn Rubin's sophomore novel, both as a fan of her debut, Trouble Girls, and based on the premise. Horse girls gone terribly wrong, deadly secrets at summer camp, a murderous sorority/cult?? Hello, yes, I'm interested. Unfortunately, the execution of the intriguing premise was such a mess. I could never get a handle on what I was supposed to be getting from protagonist Arlee, but more than that, the actual plot was so lacking in internal consistency or basic logical coherency, while virtually none of the emotional beats felt earned or built up to. And frankly, the horse connection seemed specious. It's vibes over plot, but the vibes are too shallow to make up for the sheer sloppiness of the story's construction.

CWs: Entomophobia, murder, gore & general violence, animal death, sexual assault (off-page).

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for the advance copy in exchange for an honest review.

Primal Animals by Julia Lynn Rubin

Published: May 24, 2022
Wednesday Books
Pages: 298
Genre: YA Fiction
KKECReads Rating: 5/5
I received a copy of this book for free, and I leave my review voluntarily.

Julia Lynn Rubin lives the writer's life in Brooklyn, where she finished an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults at The New School in 2017. For three years, she served as a writing mentor for Girls Write Now, New York City's premiere writing program for high school girls. Julia has been writing books, poems, and stories since first grade and loves reading about everything from film analysis to psychology. Julia is passionate about realism and diversity in teen literature. She hopes to one day own a French bulldog, pug, Boston terrier, or perhaps a mix of all three. She loves indie films, drag shows, and spending as much time as possible at the beach.

“It’s like we’re entering a different world.”

Arlee is spending her summer at a prestigious summer camp that is supposed to help her prepare for college. She is coming in as a legacy since her mother attended the camp as a teen. Between the courses and activities, Arlee meets a girl she has feelings for and joins a secret society. Suddenly, Arlee finds herself doing things that go against human nature… and staying silent at night costs her soul.

This was a wild ride. The twists and turns were so well executed. The writing was fantastic, and the characters were deeply defined.

Arlee was struggling with a lot of internal chaos. Her parents divorced. Her pressure to get into a good college. Making her mom happy. She was an interesting character, trapped between doing what was and what was morally right.

The characters were all fleshed out in ways that brought them to life. The scenery was described so vividly that you almost felt the bugs and humidity.

The twists were delivered in such a nonchalant way that you find yourself glued to the pages. I could not put this book down. I was captivated by the madness and internal struggles Arlee faced.

Everything about this novel is excellent. This is described as a young adult thriller, but I enjoyed it. The twists were unpredictable, and I loved that. Not knowing who to trust or what would happen next, it kept me glued to the pages.

The ending was deliciously devious. This would make an excellent series if done correctly. The deceit and old money of it all. The chaos and confusion. Brilliant writing, beautiful use of emotional themes, and the eternal struggle of wanting to fit in. This book leaves you pondering, what would I do?

3 stars

Primal Animals contains several elements that tend to make a good horror novel - disturbing imagery, an isolated setting, secret societies, and feminine rage. However, for me, Rubin's pacing and scope ultimately leave this book feeling incomplete and the promise of an amazing concept unfulfilled.

Rubin is taking on a lot with this story, which ends up being a double-edged sword. On one hand, she touches on important topics for young girls like homophobia, sexual harassment, emotional abuse, and the danger of groupthink. On the other hand, she oversaturates the story with so many characters that it was often difficult to remember who everyone was and how they were related. That, then, precipitated another issue in that Rubin spent the majority of the book trying to develop all of these relationships at the expense of the pacing. We got to the last chapter in the book, which felt like it was going to lead to a big climax, and then got a coda that wrapped things up via a newspaper article without actually showing us how our protagonist defeated her demons. While the relationships between the girls was well written and the idea of a female secret society getting slowly corrupted over time was exciting, I felt like the book ultimately didn't succeed in connecting all of its disparate pieces.

Thank you to NetGalley and Wednesday Books for an ARC of this book in exchange for a fair and honest review!

Um. What the fuck. I thought this was a fantasy and it was a fucking YA horror???

Why do I not pay attention to book synopses? Why? When I got this book on Netgalley my only reaction was “Oh my God, I’ve been looking forward to this one so much!” without knowing why.

As a matter of fact, I did actually enjoy this book. The plot was so engaging and I literally sped through the whole thing. I was interested because I was told it would give me “dark secrets, summer camp, lesbians and an ominous atmosphere”, and that was what I got.

I could not put this book down for the two days (yes, two days) that I spent reading it. I literally abandoned my homework in favor of reading for a few hours. Which honestly is not that rare, but still.

The whole time, I was questioning everything that happened. I had no idea what was going to happen next or what each character was doing, and that anticipation was amazing. I felt like I was being dragged along by the twisted lines of this story.

The atmosphere was very bitchy, very dark, very ominous and a little bit grossly terrifying. But also addicting.

I loved how all-encompassing the setting felt. It was like as soon as Arlee entered Camp Rockaway, that was the whole world, and that was what it was like reading it. This book was an experience, and a lot of that experience came from the dark atmosphere.

“I’m so cozy under my blankets, and all I want to do is close my eyes and sleep forever. Maybe if I sleep long enough, I can wake up and pretend that none of this was ever real. That it never happened. That there isn’t a horrible, animal part of me that’s clawed free once again.”

This book was actually disturbing. A lot of the time I was reading, my brain kept going “is this actually what people are like” and it scared me because, under the right circumstances, things like this could actually happen in real life??? Which I find very twisted???

And yet it managed to be so alluring at the same time.

Arlee was a very interesting main character. I loved how her narrative changed so much to show her development and how her character was just so unexpected. When I started the book, I was worried she would just be another basic white-girl protagonist, but she actually made the book so good.

Honestly, all of the characters felt like they were going to be one-sided at first, which made me think this was going to be a very bitchy, flat book. They were not. Things got so complicated and there were so many secrets and I was both relieved and horrified.

There was actually a lot of diversity in terms of sexuality, gender and race, even though they weren’t touched upon that much. Most of it was mentioned in passing, like how Ginger was trans or the color of Lisha’s skin, but it was consistent and inclusive, and I appreciated that.

The writing conveyed the book so beautifully and in a way that scared me. Arlee’s narration was the right touch of naive, anxious, angry and scared for a teenage girl with dark secrets, and the tone made everything seem suspicious but also glorified. I don’t know how to describe Camp Rockaway, because nothing could ever do it the way this book did.

Arlee’s fear of bugs was something that deeply disgusted me, because I am also an arachnophobe and the way the book described things was just so…perfectly eerie.

I also loved the way this book portrayed self-image and toxic relationships. It was so raw and furious and honest in a way that I did not expect. From how Arlee feels about the way she looks and her self-consciousness to the things we think we hear people say, this book really just went into a lot of psychology without being too probing or philosophical. It was just real.

It brought up how authority figures like parents and teachers can affect our mindsets, and peer pressure and group activities can change our behaviors. Maybe it’s because I was also going through my old psych notes at the time, but I just loved that.

“Mom insisted that Miss Teresa’s methods, though harsh, came from a place of love. I never felt that love.
Not really from Mom, either.
All I ever did was attempt to please her. How is that love?”

Overall, this book was just…trippy. I was amazed, horrified, and generally just enthralled. I don’t know how or why but this book had me in its clutches by the halfway mark.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publishers for this advanced ebook in exchange for an honest review.
I think this author nailed the horror aspects of this book. Definitely do not read this if you have any sort of issues with bugs. And while I liked the summer camp setting, I really wish the plot had gone a different way. I think the story would have been way better had the plot leaned into Arlee’s phobia of bugs. Things just escalated very quickly plot wise. Also, I could really relate to Arlee, but I actually didn’t like her very much.
Overall, definitely an atmospheric horror novel that involves a fear of bugs. The rich kid summer camp was a really engaging setting. I just wasn’t very compelled by the plot sadly. I also absolutely hated the ending. It had an ending similar to Wilder Girls by Rory Power or Horrid by Katrina Leno which is my least favorite kind of endings for books. I definitely think some people will really love this, but I’m not one of them.

Primal Animals is a slow-burn horror that will leave you thinking about it long after the last page. Arlee Gold is a legacy at her new summer camp. A summer camp where she will have to face bugs- a fear that sends her into a paralyzing panic. But after a tough year, Arlee is determined to conquer her anxieties and connect with the camp that meant so much to her mother. Her mother is infamous at the camp, yet no one will tell Arlee why. As the tension builds, Arlee begins to search the shadows and discover the haunting secrets of the camp. Arlee must confront her fear of insects, her anxiety, and the brutal truth about the girls of Camp Rockaway. What does it mean to really protect the girls?

I read this in close to one sitting, because I had to know what happens next! I loved how the beautiful cover made even more sense as the story went on. I enjoyed Rubin’s Trouble Girls and this book left me with a similar feeling- contemplative and disturbed. Rubin’s goal isn’t to leave her characters with a happy ending or a joyful ride off into the sunset. Instead, she takes the risk of unreliable narrators, morally gray choices, and deeply twisted secrets. She nails it and as the story unravels, it becomes impossible to look away.

You’ll never think of summer camp the same way again! Readers looking for a mesmerizing and eerie contemporary horror would enjoy Primal Animals. I would also recommend Primal Animals for fans of These Deadly Games and She’s Too Pretty to Burn. Primal Animals releases on May 24, 2022. Thank you to Julia Lynn Rubin, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.

For publisher: My review will be posted on Instagram, Goodreads, Amazon, Storygraph, Wordpress blog, and Barnes & Noble etc

I read this ARC via Netgalley.

When Arlee is sent to the camp her mother attended as a teen, Arlee is more than a little anxious about it. First off, the bugs. Second, there's definitely a weird vibe to the camp, and the other campers act strange when they realize who Arlee's mother is. Then Arlee is invited to join a secret sorority within the camp, one that promotes protecting the sisters at all costs. Soon Arlee is spiraling into a nightmare and unsure which is more dangerous: her sorority sisters, or herself.

This is the second book I've read in quick succession that involves a summer camp and murder (the first was Dig Two Graves). Arlee's mental state made her seem like an unreliable narrator as she second-guessed everyone's motives, but the camp definitely had some very creepy undertones that could not be explained away by a little anxiety and paranoia. I'm not entirely sure why anyone would want to attend this camp if they were legacies like Arlee was (fun fact: in the other summer camp book I just read, the main character was also a legacy). The unnerving vibe of the story really pulled me in and I finished this so fast. Things felt surreal and the author does not shy away from describing gore. The romance between Arlee and Winnie was slow enough to be realistic, although I wanted more of Winnie's reactions in the ending. The ending felt a little bit rushed, with the fallout from the narrator's decision being described in a news article - it was like being led up to a cliff and pushed off and that's it, that's the end. But overall this story had a powerful, primal feel to it that made it a gripping read.

I love the comparisons to Midsommer and Yellowjackets.

I don’t want to go into too much detail because I feel like it will give too much away. This is such an unsettling story. I was on the edge of my seat the entire time. The one thing that stressed me out the most were the bugs!!

I really got sucked into the story and before I knew it, I finished it in a day. Pick this one up, you will not regret it.

Primal Animal is about a girl, Arlee, who goes to a summer cramp that boast many lavish activities such as swimming, horseback riding, archery, ect. along with daily tutoring to boost academic standing. Camp Rockaway is what changed her mother’s life - giving her lifelong friends and an amazing livelihood. Arlee desires to have the same experience but also chose to go to this camp to get over her fears of bugs. Already at the start of the story, there is eerie and sinister feel to the story. Rubin’s prose has this haunting calling. There is always something suspenseful throughout the plot. Vivid in imagination, this story is downright creepy. **Possible trigger of rape and murder**

The cover reels you in with it’s gorgeous cool colors and soften illustration but little did you know you are entering in the Killers woods. Definitely not for the faint of mind but a gem for a suspense/horror collector.

Not applicable;
I could not finish this book. It was not for me; too dark and a lot of trigger warnings.
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CREEPY! The author did not pull punche with the graphic descriptions- bugs, horses, teen girls oh my! Overall really great read and I know I will be checking out more books by author (this was my first) but I do think the ending left me not quite satisfied - would have liked a little more. But for a good classic but more intense camp horror - it knocked it out of the park! I especially liked the dynamics that were explored between the many different characters.

Thanks to Net Galley and the publisher for a review copy.

A quite frankly messed up story about a cult-like sisterhood that creeps in the shadows of a prestigious summer camp. I was horrified reading this book and disgusted, honestly some of the plot points were just disturbing. The author used sensational writing that had me grossed out and horrified, but wasted all of those reactions as they added nothing to the plot, only served as gag-worthy distractions. Everything about this book turned out to be deeply disturbing and left me feeling like I needed to shower. Not an enjoyable read. The only positive thing about it was the LGBTQIA+ representation.

Book: Primal Animals
Author: Julia Lynn Rubin
Rating: 3 Out of 5 Stars

I would like to thank the publisher, Wednesday Books, for sending me an ARC.

I found this one to be very difficult to rate. On the one hand, I did have a great time with it, but on the other, I was kind of turned off by it. In the first part of the book, I kept waiting for the horror elements to come out. Let me start there. At first, this seems like a book about a girl who is going to summer camp. She is nervous and has anxiety. Her mom went to this same summer camp when she was her age and had a great time there. When Arlee arrives there, people turn away from her because of her mother. She has no idea why and starts to ask questions without really getting any answers. Then, things start to get strange and once we get to this strangeness, the book will leave you with an almost sick feeling in your stomach.

I felt that the horror elements may be a little too much for a young adult title. We have a multination of dead animals and people. There are secret societies, which I did enjoy this touch. However, again, some of the things that the societies did were, in my opinion, a bit too much for a young adult novel. Now, I do understand why these people were selected to be killed-they was rapists. However, I think that the overall situation could have been handled differently. I know it may sound like I am defending the boys for what they did. However, what the camp did was also wrong. I just don’t’ know. All of this is discussed in graphic detail in the book. I know that other YA books have graphic content, but I think that this one may be pushing the limit. I can’t help but wonder if it is too much for the YA genre.

The characters were pretty solid, I thought. I did enjoy Arlee’s character and her development. At first, she starts as this meek character, who we think isn’t going to amount to anything great. As we go throughout the story, we start to see just how much of an impact the camp has on her. She starts to form friendships and bonds with the people around her. She also starts to pick up on the fact that everything may not be what it appears. This starts an internal battle with herself as she starts to think about what is right and what is wrong. You can see this toll weigh on her as she struggles to make the right choices. While she does want to belong, you can’t help but get a sense that she feels that people are crossing the line. You can sense this overall dread building upon her as she struggles to protect those she cares about, all while uncovering the truth.

I did almost give this one a four-star rating. However, again, I felt that horror elements just went a little bit too far in a YA novel. I think that readers need to keep in mind that this book does have a lot of trigger warnings-rape, sexual assault, body and animal horror.
This book comes out on May 24, 2022.

I’m trying to be better at DNFing books that don’t hook me in the first 50 pages, and this was one of them. I really loved the concept, but the writing didn’t click for me, and the pacing was awkward.

Okay, I have a lot of feelings about this book ... some good and some not-so-good. First off, GORGEOUS cover. Literally the reason I picked it up was because I was caught by the art. I started reading based on the promise of secret societies, dangerous sleep-away camps, and the LGBTQIA representation that other reviews mentioned.
Arlee was an interesting character. As a reader I liked that there was some darkness to her. I also enjoyed the changes in her character during the middle of the book. Her meekness at the beginning was responsible for a lot of her decisions throughout the novel, which of course led us to the main conflict so I thought that was a solid character arch -- moving from meek to a bit more empowered. Emphasis on "a bit". However, the fear of bugs (which I really liked exploring) was a bit too much for me. It is a constant issue for Arlee, clearly because she is terrified of bugs at a sleep away camp, but she's also terrified of bugs at a sleep-away camp. Even if this is a ritzy camp, it's a CAMP so yeah, bugs are going to be everywhere. It interrupted the flow of the story a lot in the beginning, but then I feel like the author found her rhythm of incorporating these buggy encounters and they made more sense later on.
That being said: I still don't understand her fear of the bugs based on what happened to her in the past "in the woods" and I feel like there was so deeply disturbing things going on in Arlee's mind at that time that we don't ever truly address.
The murder was predictable and the person who did it also not surprising. The creep-factor was there, the insta-love/slow burn romance was okay (instant because Arlee falls in love quickly, but the actual interaction between the characters takes a lot of time); and I appreciated the diverse characters that we saw in Arlee's friend group. I kept seeing commentary that this is a feminist, female solidarity kind of novel and to be completely honest I think it was the TOTAL opposite. Instead, this was a very dark novel about those in power pressuring those beneath them to engage in negligent, dangerous, and deadly activities. I enjoyed this, but I think it is a poor representation of the novel to consider it "feminist fiction".
The pacing was all over the place; most of the book taking place in two or three days, and then the rest of the book over the course of a month or two? I was honestly lost in where we were in time for a lot of the novel. Also, for a secret society -- everyone sure knew that Arlee's mom was a psycho of some sort and yet, no one knew of anyone else ever going "missing" from the camp... so there were some awkward plot holes there.
Anyway, book also comes with a lot of trigger warnings - so if you dive into it, please check those out first. Overall, it was intriguing, a little gory (though I think they could have really gored it up). Not my favorite book of 2022, but definitely not the worst.

I was really drawn into this book because the cover is so incredibly neat! However, I had a really hard time getting into this book and it was a bit of a let down. The idea behind the story was really cool and I liked the camp in the woods setting. I felt like there were a lot of drawn out details about little things I didn't find myself interested in and it definitely took away from the story when there was action/intensity going on. I also had a really hard time relating or enjoying any of the characters. Thank you for the opportunity, unfortunately this book just wasn't for me.