"Rose" is a newly recruited member of the Blooms, escorts hired by the struggling visionary Meyer to serve his camp in the snowy wasteland that was once the oil fields of Canada. Don't imagine a camp with tents and a campfire- while the domes of the future are still just a hole in the ground, everyone lives in an abandoned shopping mall guarded by a fence and dogs. The laborers digging said hole are relegated to cots in a warehouse. In this eco-dystopian world, 2050 means disasters strike regularly, temperatures make for blistering summers, wildlife dwindles, and fresh food is for the rich. The ultrawealthy live in the Floating City off the coast of Boston, but their utopia only functions by bringing in laborers from the mainland who don't reap the same benefits.

We learn that Rose is in the North at the behest of a client in the Floating City. She's to get close to Meyer and spy for the man who invented the Flick, an implant that brings the internet right to your brain with disastrous results that no one sees or knows. Readers also follow another newcomer to camp. Grant was born to enormous privilege that he is now trying to escape. He accepted a job at what he was led to believe was a cutting-edge new university campus that is really just that hole in the ground. When Grant arrives, confused by the stark reality in front of him, Meyer cheerfully assures him the campus will be ready soon and assigns him the work of teaching the diggers in a writing class.

We also get strange flashbacks to an American military installation of all women that was once sent to an isolated research station in the North called White Alice, where they gathered climate data and formed vibrant bonds with one another while cut off from society. We see how their purpose shifted and grew as secrets came to light. Though near the current camp on the map, the connection isn't immediately obvious between the two timelines. It adds an aspect of mystery to the story.

This is a harsh book about a harsh possible future that's not as difficult to imagine as I would wish. It tackles intertwined questions of survival, morality, what we owe to others, and the idea of utopia. What held me back from enjoying this one fully is the book's literary nature. With a cast of largely unlikeable characters, ill-advised relationships, and big issues that can't be addressed with any level of closure, it's a hard read. That doesn't mean I was unable to gain anything from reading it; I just wouldn't reread it or necessarily seek out something similar in the future. I think readers who like dystopian reads or who can read for the message above the plot and characters will have a much better time. I think this is just a mismatch between me and what types of books I enjoy best. Thanks to Atria for my copy to read and review!

Michelle Min Sterling's Camp Zero takes place in the near future when climate change is already wreaking havoc on the world. Storms are far more powerful and fossil fuels are extremely hard to come by. The areas of the world with an actual winter are shrinking rapidly. The rich are moving to floating cities (they are all called Floating City) off the coasts of several countries, including one just off from Boston. These cities are self-contained using solar and wave power and are set up with areas for various levels of wealth and power.

Rose's Korean immigrant mother maintained a small cluster of cabins for an absentee owner. When Rose was considering leaving for greener pastures she applied for and got hired to work in Floating City. She was asked by the founder of the city to take a job undercover to spy on a building project he had in Canada and report on the health and mental fitness of the architect. In return, he would see that her mother got a place of her own in the city.

That's the basic plot but there are chapters about a group of women assigned to work and live in a very remote weather station in northern Canada. They were to required to send data reports back and keep up the facilities and greenhouse while maintaining combat readiness. Over time the delivery of supplies dwindled and the women had to adapt. We learn of their hardships and relationships as they struggle to survive.

That's the setup for the story. However, the chapters following this camp of women are interspersed with chapters dealing with Rose and another character, Grant, who just showed up and we learn about him and his place in this via his flashbacks and chapters concurrent with Rose at the project in Canada.

There's also far more going on as characters are never quite what they seem; everyone is hiding something. Everyone wants something from someone and some are willing to kill to get what they want. The story would be getting interesting and suddenly you are reading another storyline that doesn't even seem to be related and then back to the main story again.

This moving from one storyline to another and back and then adding another to the mix, to me, made the story drag. I'm glad I stuck with it as all of the storylines were compelling in their own right. Eventually, things come together in a very unexpected way, leaving enough room for a sequel if the author wishes, but still tying up all the loose ends of all the storylines.

It's a good story with a lot of interesting ideas, but you need to be willing to accept that, at first, it will seem very disjointed. It will make sense later and be worth the effort.

DNF @ 45%

The multiple perspectives made it hard to build momentum in this cli-fi novel. Some characters were more interesting than others, and it sucked to leave their story and be dragged into someone else’s. I also felt like some parts of this novel could’ve been a separate book, where there wasn’t much relevance to the main storyline. Of course, this could be solved at the end of the book, but I can’t make myself continue when I want to skim over sections just to get back to a character I like.

This book is a bit out of my comfort zone as it’s got a sci fi vibe with floating cities and Flicks, which all the characters have implanted in their head to experience things. But I’ve enjoyed other dystopian novels and I usually enjoy read with Jenna picks so I gave this one a go.

It also falls into the genre of climate fiction since the story centers around a settlement to the north as people move there as the south becomes more unlivable due to climate change. They are running out of resources on the settlement and perhaps everyone isn’t who they say they are. Rose is the main character. She is there as a Bloom, which is essentially a prostitute for the males in the camp. She is assigned as the Bloom for Meyer who is the architect for Camp Zero.

At the start of this one I was intrigued. I loved the perfectly seasonal cold settlement It had a really good vibe and I felt like I could picture this futuristic place. The Flick seemed like a statement on society’s phone addiction and unfortunately it seems fairly accurate and scary. But as the book went on it got a little too wacky for me and I started to lose interest. There’s themes of gender, technology and climate change but despite all the great topics by the end I was glad it was done.

Pick this up if you’re a sci fi fan who likes a character driven story.

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling started off captivating me but lost me at the end of it. But I am still interested in checking more from this author.

DNF @18%

This book is all vibes at this point, and isn’t really for me. This is more of a “Severance” by Ling Ma or “1984” style dystopian, and I’m more of a “The Hunger Games” style dystopian reader. When I requested this book, I saw that it was compared to “The Power,” which I found to have a pretty fast paced plot as well as social commentary.

Intriguing concept, may be of interest to someone who really wants to explore how the climate crisis could worsen in the (near!) future, and how it would affect society. I found the brain implant to be the most interesting aspect of the world building, it reminded me of the YA book “Feed,” which I loved.

This is a clever and intriguing idea, but the book didn't work for me. The characters didn't seem fully developed and I thought the race issue also needed more (there isn't exploration of different race types and their histories besides that of Rose). While the plot was interesting at times, there are parts that aren't well explained. The novel tries to do a lot and is quite ambitious. I think it has a lot of unrealized potential. Although I liked some parts, it just didn't quite work and the ending left me disappointed.

The themes of racism, climate change, misogyny, and dystopia genre were compelling - but the execution was disappointing. There was a lack of a protagonist and instead several minor characters which makes it difficult to connect to the story, invest emotionally, and see any growth throughout the story. Disappointing.

This was an interesting read. It mixed sci-fi with end of the world vibes. Although not my normal genre, it was very well written and makes you think. I loved how the author pulled from different cultures and set an atmospheric stage throughout

TW// animal death/murder, mentions of death (including fathers, sons/babies, girlfriends, grandfathers), murder, attempted rape, misogyny, racism, mentions of drowning, hurricane, climate change, brief mention of suicide, mentions of fatal car crash

This book was almost a one star rating for that terrible ending, but I think two stars better reflects the fact that 75% of this book was truly decent. The author just decided to go and ruin the story at the end with some truly awful plot twists.

Camp Zero has three points of view. One is the point of view of a sex worker who is working in a remote camp in Canada. Another is a professor who is trying to teach a group of laborers at the camp. The third is a group of female scientists who are isolated even farther North in Canada. The world is currently devastated by climate change and there’s a mystery throughout the whole story as to how these three points of view all connect to each other.

I really liked the climate change part of the story. It was interesting to see Michelle Min Sterling’s perspective on climate change and how she thinks people will react to the world nearing its end for humanity.

It was really unique to read the scientists in a “we” perspective instead of naming each scientist and giving them their own personalities. It made the scientists feel more like one entity and one community without any one scientist standing out from the rest. I’ve never read a book that’s ever done anything like that.

I also was really intrigued by the mystery. While the pacing of the book was slow and I didn’t vibe with the writing style, I was still interested enough to keep reading in order to solve the mystery of how these three points of view were going to connect with each other.

I wish I wouldn’t have stuck around to find the answer to the mystery because it ruined the entire book for me. For the majority of this book, I felt a need to root for these characters. The scientists are these empowered women who are trying to survive, Grant is a man struggling with loss who’s trying to make his own place in the world, and Rose is a girl who is doing everything she can to make her mom’s life better… Then the plot twists are revealed. Most of the characters end up being horrible human beings who made me physically sick whenever I even think about the actions that they took. The only two decent characters in the book are Nari and Aurora. I’m purposefully not using their most used names in the book to hide spoilers of who they are, but these two characters can only be viewed as ‘not that terrible’ because they were groomed to do terrible things. The rest of the characters are horrid and all the respect I built for them over the course of the book was shred to pieces in just a few short chapters. I honestly cannot fathom why an author would write such compelling characters only to reveal that they’re all pieces of crap at the very end of the book. It made me mad that I’d ever thought this book might be good.

Save yourself from the pain, anger, and frustration by not reading this book. If this book hadn’t taken the drastic turn that it did, it could’ve been noteworthy and worthwhile, but instead Camp Zero turns into a huge mess that will leave a sour taste in everyone’s mouth by the end of the book.

Michelle Min Sterling's Camp Zero is this mind-bending sci-fi story set in Canada, way up north, where things are not going great thanks to climate change. Sterling does this amazing world-building thing, sucking you right into this crazy future, and the characters are all so messed up in a way that makes them totally real.

I ripped through this book because I had to find out what happened next, but there were a few parts where it felt like the story hit the brakes a bit. Still, totally worth the read, especially if you're into dystopian stuff and fiction that makes you think about the world we actually live in.

"Camp Zero" by Michelle Min Sterling presents readers with a vividly constructed world that immerses them into a dystopian landscape, rich in detail of an Earth devastated by climate change and where the richest oligarchs live in luxury insulated from the worst of the dying Earth while everyone else suffers. The author demonstrates a skillful hand at crafting realistic settings and scenarios, drawing readers into a world that feels terrifyingly plausible.

However, where the novel excels in worldbuilding, it falls short in character development. Despite the elaborate backdrop, and a clear protagonist in Rose, the characters fail to evoke strong emotional connections from the reader. They all feel flat, like an accumulation of tropes rather than living, breathing people. They seem disconnected from their own lives and lacking in depth, leaving readers feeling indifferent towards their fates. Even the women of White Alice. This may be part of the detached narrative style, but I just couldn't bring myself to care, despite being TOLD that I should.

While the novel offers a real-feeling premise and a plausible plot, ultimately, its success is hampered by the inability to create characters that resonate with the reader. Despite its flaws, "Camp Zero" may still appeal to readers who prioritize immersive worldbuilding and commitment to an idea over character-driven narratives.

It's a competent, workmanlike book.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for an electronic copy to read in exchange for an honest review.

Oh this evokes the same feelings as Patricia Wants to Cuddle and The Power. Set in the near future of Northern Canada the climate crisis has peaked. A group of women will do what ever it takes to protect their lives and each other. A powerful novel that is impossible to put down.

Strange. Confusing. Atmospheric. Thought Provoking.

Camp Zero is an interesting new piece of climate fiction. It handles lot's of thorny issues--climate displacement, technology, environmental degradation, economic stratification, health inequities, sex work.

The prose is beautiful, but the plot is quite hard to follow. It jumps POVs, settings, and timelines frequently. I found myself less interested in the White Alive POV--a collective of women working at a remote research facility--than I was in Rose's story working as a sex worker at a mysterious base camp in Canada run by a billionaire.

The premise of the book sounds really interesting, but I couldn't get into it. I think I struggled a bit with the world-building, and I think that's partially due to reading it digitally. Perhaps a hard copy would be easier to read so it would be possible to go back and forth to try to make sense of the rules of the world in the book. That being said, the part I did read was interesting and I can see why people would enjoy it. I think I would recommend it but with the caveat that I didn't get into it enough to finish it. Thank you to Atria Books and NetGalley for this ARC.

I got duped by a Station Eleven comp for this book and I am not happy about it. This was boring and lacked originality. The big "twist" could be spotted a mile away and there was little to no plot or character development. Jenna Bush Hager strikes again.
Thank you to NetGalley for an eGalley of this novel.

- thank you to netgalley and the publisher for an arc to review!

- i unfortunately did not finish this arc, and it was because i felt this was a lackluster execution at what could've been a strong debut that focused on a post apocalyptic setting. the parts that were supposed to be a thriller (i think?) did not show up, and i didn't feel engaged in the world or the characters.

- if you enjoy post apocalyptic stories, you might enjoy this! i love post apocalyptic stories, but this one was sadly a miss.

I think this had an interesting concept but I was really thrown off by the dual-timeline perspectives. Dual timelines don’t typically work for me, and this one definitely didn’t. I dnf-ed after a couple chapters, but I could see this working for other readers!

Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for an advanced readers copy.

Didn't really keep my attention.

I thought Camp Zero was a very intriguing, post apocalyptic read. Harrowing and thought provoking. I enjoyed it for the most part. Admittedly having finished it a little while ago, it’s not a book that has stayed with me very long. The plot is memorable, but characters are somewhat forgettable. I remember really liking the writing style and how fast of a read it was, which makes me excited to try this author’s future work!