Thank you to Netgalley and Atria Books for providing me with a digital ARC of this book!

Camp Zero is a promising work of literary dystopian fiction that interrogates the intersection of gender, socioeconomic class, and climate change in the remote setting of the Canadian Arctic, where the motivations and reasons behind the camp’s creation are more disreputable than they first seem. The story is told from three points of view: Rose, a young woman working as an escort with the hope of securing a future for herself and her mother; Grant, a young man trying to escape his wealthy family background; and White Alice, a group of women tasked with a scientific expedition in the far north of Canada.

Set in the near-future of 2049, the worldbuilding of Camp Zero feels well-grounded both conceptually and visually in how Sterling paints a picture of Earth in the wake of global warming. It integrates a vision of how the worsening climate crisis would impact different groups, particularly from a class standpoint. The Floating City and Meyer’s idea of creating a settlement for Americans in the Canadian Arctic to escape the ravages of the climate crisis feel evocative of the proposals we’ve seen in recent years coming from the uber-rich about space exploration and colonizing the moon. We repeatedly hear and witness the wealthy elite absolve themselves of the consequences of the climate crisis, while characters like Rose and her mother live on the meager scraps left behind and lose everything in the wake of extreme weather events.

I found the worldbuilding and characters extremely compelling—they all feel fully realized and each have their own beliefs and motivations connected to their unique experience within the climate-ravaged world Sterling created. White Alice reminded me in a way of the expedition in Jeff Vandermeer’s Annihilation with the emphasis on a group of exclusively women and their isolation from the outside world. Their shift over the course of the novel into a narrative of resilience and survival—and their unwavering willingness to kill in order to maintain their home—was fascinating. I also enjoyed Rose as a kind of central protagonist. The more I learned about her backstory and her motivations, I was increasingly rooting for her… not in the sense of rooting for her to successfully complete the task Damien set out for her, but for her to find her own path to freedom.

I think the only real flaw I have with Camp Zero is its somewhat muddled third act. The way these three narratives finally weave together made me so excited, but then I realized I was already about 90% of the way through the book. Grant’s decision to leave camp, the revelation of White Alice, the destruction of the campsite, and Nari’s escape from Meyer all felt a bit rushed. I don’t mind the open ending—given the enormity of their situation and the negligible chance that killing Damien would solve their world’s problems, it’s honestly a solid decision to leave the story there instead of trying to perfectly tie everything up with a bow. I just wish that the third act had more breathing room and was a bit more fleshed out to avoid the weird sense of pacing at the end.

Overall, a great addition to the dystopian genre and I look forward to seeing more from Michelle Min Sterling!

Camp Zero
by Michelle Min Sterling
Fiction Dystopia
NetGalley ARC

Taking place in the future, the world is suffering from climate change, and Rose, along with a few other women, arrives at Camp Zero, a mall in Canada, as a Bloom, to be companions for the men who run the construction a few miles away, which was only a hole in the ground.

At the same time that Rose and the other women arrived, so does Grant, a young man running from his rich father, there to teach the men who are working at the construction site.

Then there is a group of women working at a research station studying climate change.

Seventy-five percent of this book is backstories to the characters' past. For the first few chapters I was interested, but as the flashbacks kept overtaking the present I got bored, and now I regret pushing through this story. The mystery beneath the camp was pointless because it wasn't interesting.

The descriptions are vague, as are the characters, who were flat and they all felt as if they were minor characters. Everything in the present is brushed over, as if the past is what the author wanted to write about, and what was going on in the present, what the story was supposed to be about, was a subplot that wasn't important, but more of an afterthought.

The title of this book gives away how many stars I want to give it, but to submit my review...

1 Star

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling is not at all what I was expecting but I can say that I liked it! A vision of a future that I had not yet thought of, however, it doesn't feel that far off.

Michelle Min Sterling intertwines three point of views that consolidate to one ending. The point of views are well distinguished with strong character development. I found White Alice to be my favorite of the three to read but the twists and turns is what truly had me hooked. I had no idea how the author planned to tie things together, but she did so expertly. My only complaint is that everything ended rather abruptly and I didn't understand the sense of urgency with the ending. In fact, I'm still feeling unsettled and left wondering "is that it?"

All in all, I enjoyed it and am looking forward to reading more of Michelle Min Sterling.

Camp Zero by Michelle Min Sterling is about a post-climate destroyed world where the south is unbearably hot and the north unbearably cold. Oceans have taken over coastal lands and wild natural disasters make it dangerous to live. Rose (FMC) is from the Floating City. A human-made city that is protected from climate change. When she is given a deal to protect her mother, Rose agrees to go north to Lake Dominion in hopes to distract a man named Meyer, who is an architect of creating sustainable cities (such as the floating city) and uncover his plans.

I feel like this book is hard to review. I really enjoyed the writing, dual points of view, the characters, and the idea behind the story. That being said, it was such a slow book and I really struggled to read my way through it. I can usually finish books in three or four days, but this book took me four weeks.

I really liked the characters that were living at White Alice. They were unique and everytime the story went to that point of view I got excited and was lost in the story. However, when the story flipped to Grant and sometimes Rose, I lost interest.

The post-climate ravaged world and the mystery of the north and what in the world the people are digging for and how White Alice fits into the people living at Dominion Lake ultimately kept me from not finishing this book. The premise is really, really cool and the writing style was fantastic. I also really liked when all the stories and timelines came together at the end. It just needed a little more action or revelations along the way to keep the reader turning the pages.

If you’re interested in climate change and enjoy post-apocalyptic books, this one may be for you!

Thank you @netgalley and Atria Books for the e-arc of Camp Zero. Look for this book on shelves April 4th 2023!

This book was a slog for me. The beginning was super slow and the ending was pretty abrupt. The plot was also confusing at times with relatively unlikable characters. I think the author was going for a dystopian novel with cultural commentary, but it just didn't quite work for me. Some people may love this one, but it wasn't my cup of tea. Thanks to Netgalley, the publisher, and the author for the ARC!

DNF @30%

I was interested in the premise,but I don't like anything the author chose to do with it. It's really boring and hard to care about anything happening.

Camp Zero is a very realistic picture of what the next 30 to 50 years may end up looking like. Climate change won't stop the wheel of capitalism, and those who cannot afford to move will probably be left to perish.

I can't say I enjoyed it, since it's full of unlikeable characters whose greed (in many different forms) contributes to their own destruction, but I did find a lot of value in reading it. I haven't read such a realistic take on dystopian fiction in a long time.

The three narratives in this story run on parallel lines to start, White Alice seeming especially ethereal and sacred, until everything comes crashing together in quite a unique way. Sterling also crafts some very vivid imagery that I'm sure will stick with me for a long time to come.

3.5 stars. The exact events leading up to this future Earth aren't spelled out, only given in generalities. In some books, this gives the impression that the author didn't bother to do the math, but this feels like a realistic extension of current events. Best readalikes for this may not be climate futures but instead will match to the slightly-vague world-building: [book:A Psalm for the Wild-Built|40864002] and [book:The Cybernetic Tea Shop|28421799] come to mind.

Mini-spoiler? [spoiler] It's not clear until nearly the end that one of the character groups' narration isn't taking place in real time but is up to two decades behind the contemporary timeline of the rest of the book. I'm not sure what the author was trying to achieve by keeping this hidden or confused. [/spoiler]

Realistic, plausible characters with some foibles. Try suggesting to readers who "don't read sci-fi, OnLy LiTeRaTuRe."

I loved the concept of this book and was really hoping to enjoy it. This book is told from three points of view. For me, I found the pov of White Alice (the elite group of women soldiers) the most interesting. I also liked getting to know Rose. I wish there was more backstory and explanations for certain things-especially in the beginning of the book. I found myself getting confused at times with the multiple characters and plot lines so it was hard for me to want to keep going. I know this book will be loved by some so I’m rating as a solid 3/5.

Camp Zero weaves three different narratives together to tell the story of a dystopian near future where climate change and unchecked greed have wreaked havoc on the planet. I enjoyed the braided narrative and especially loved the voice of Rose, whose determination to protect her mother and make her way in the world was very compelling. I thought this book did an excellent job of painting a vivid portrait of a world that seems very plausible. All of the small details were well thought out and interesting.

Where the novel faltered, in my opinion, was the ending. I didn’t feel like the book offered enough closure, especially with the White Alice plot. It certainly raised many important questions about survival, climate change, and responsibility, but I wasn’t ultimately sure what the author wanted us to take away. That said, it was an enjoyable read and I’ll definitely keep an eye out for any other books the author writes.


Thanks to the publisher and to NetGalley for an early copy of this book.

Oh. My. GOD.
I absolutely adored this book. This is definitely one of my favorites of all time.
The concept is incredibly interesting. I've read books about speculative climate change futures, but none were as unique and interesting as this one. It felt so different, but also real - I fully believed that this future was a possible thing.
Our main character is also incredibly interesting and I really loved the diverse conversations she had within the story: getting into the career she had, her life with her mother who was an immigrant, how the world changed right in front of her eyes. It was so truthful and felt so raw and honest with this overarching mystery and circumstance going on.
There was also some side plots that I thought were incredibly interesting and well done in integrating them well.
I cannot stop talking to my friends about this book and I HIGHLY recommend it to EVERYONE. Just read it, please.
Thank you so much NetGalley for the ARC. I can't wait to buy a physical copy.

This was a very good book on a future where climate change has wrecked havoc on the Earth. Rose has agreed to a job in a very remote northern location, he job consists of being a 'comfort' woman for workers that are building a town/city. The area has been devastated by oil extraction in the past and when oil was banned the people that lived there left. Rose and her group of comfort women life in an abandoned mall and they are visited nightly by the managers of the build, each manager takes on woman and sticks with her. Rose ends up with the designer/architect of the build, which she's happy with because Rose is there with an ulterior motive. We also get the POV of Grant, he was hired as a teacher to educate the workers, and from a group of women who inhabit an abandoned radar station and who raid oil from the dig site. The backstory of each group and why they ended up in the far north is described, Rose came from the Floating City, built for wealthy inhabitants to escape the excessive heat, Grant has also left the Floating City, his father helped build it, and the woman who inhabit the radar station are ex military there to prove they can live in an extreme environment. Bleak at times, and the ending is somewhat open, but still a very good book and I would recommend. Thanks to #Netgalley and #Atria Books for the ARC.

I will start this off with saying that I am a huge fan of dystopian novels so I was very excited for this one and it did not disappoint! When I read it was about climate change survivors in a near future, it made me anxious because that seems
so real and scary and intrigued and I’m so glad I read this one! The characters are great, the story has a lot going on and it’s reminiscent to me of the Water Wars, but polar opposite (pun intended). Great read and overall, well done by the author!

Dystopian novels are not usually my thing, but I’m so glad I took a chance on this one! I don’t want to give spoilers, so I’ll just say it was very immersive with quite a few twists. Extremely enjoyable read!

A prescient and thrilling look at class, privilege, and gender in the impending climate apocalypse – as resource wars, climate refugees, and persistent natural disasters are a reality for much of the world today.

Set during the turn of the future mid-century in Canada's far North, we follow three groups who find their fates increasingly linked to one another. Rose and her fellow escorts, who find a kind of sisterhood in their circumstances. The "Diggers", reminiscent of the "man-camps" in oil and resource extraction in present-day Canada. A group of female elite soldiers who hold the American vanguard in the far North.

In this climate-threatened world, the wealthy are shielded from fires, floods, droughts, and hurricanes. The high-tech Floating City keeps them safe, while those in search of adventure travel to sail amidst the melting ice caps. Keeping the Floating City ticking like clockwork is a rotating door of janitors, cleaners, nannies, manual labourers, and sex workers, most of whom who live on the devastated mainland.

Rose gets a chance to take on a potentially dangerous job to ensure her mother's safety and comfort. As she journeys to the far North, she is drawn into a complex web of conspiracy, government and corporate malfeasance. Part sci-fi page-turner, part climate alarm, this is a timely and ambitious novel for our world.

This ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

Climate change has completely altered the way Americans live in the near future. If one has the money to live in the floating city, life will be much easier, but most do not and regularly suffer mother nature’s wrath. Rose is raised on the mainland with her Korean immigrant mother, but eventually leaves seeking a better life in the floating city. When a devastating hurricane tears their home from its foundation, Rose’s mother is suddenly without a home and a job, as the cabins surrounding hers provided rental income. Rose’s job in the floating city is not exactly one her mother would approve of, and her new boss gives her a task to spy on an architect named Graham off site at a community he has invested in, in exchange for housing for her and her mother. This opportunity couldn’t come at a better time.

At Dominion Lake in the remote north, across the border into Canada, an Graham is building his dream community, where some wealthy Americans are hoping to lay claim to a new utopia. Grant, a recent addition, is fleeing his family and their prominent name in hopes of helping build this new paradise and live a more honest life. He hopes to educate the citizens of this new community in the ideals he learned from studying literature and poetry at Walden. Rose arrives to find very little of this community is actually built, and try’s to figure out what she will report. Rumors also float around about a group of women group living off the grid in an abandoned climate station not too far away. Nothing is quite as it seems is this deserted oil town come utopia.

Told from multiple points of view we slowly figure out what’s happening in Dominion Lake, who White Alice is, about Grant’s troubled history, and why Rose is actually sent to the site. This tale is gritty and raw, illustrating what humans will do to survive when the odds are against them. If you are hoping for an uplifting story, this is not it. Camp Zero puts human nature on full display when society is falling apart.

Thank you to Netgalley, Atria Books, and of course Michelle Min Sterling for the advanced copy of the book. Camp Zero comes out on April 4th. All opinions are my own.

The writing is tight and pointed, which I really appreciate. It's really fast paced. The cover is stunning, too!

Thank you to NetGalley and Atria for the ARC.

Camp Zero is one of those novels that presents ideas/stories that are so far from normal thought that you just get drawn into it. Especially when done well! The characters and stories are layered and weave together so seamlessly. The relevant themes grab you and don't let you go until you put some thought into them.

This was a fascinating read. A cross between Station Eleven and American War comes close to describing it. The year is 2049, the environmental apocalypse is underway. Those who can afford it are living in floating cities off major ports, using renewable energy. Those who can't are working in those cities and living the best they can outside of them.

In Canada's far north, the visionary architect who built the cities is dreaming of a new kind of community. A small support team is with him, including two of the novel's narrators: Rose, a sex worker sent to spy on the architect and Grant, a hopelessly naive English teacher, who thinks he's going to help start a new university campus.

A parallel narrative brings in the residents of White Alice, an all woman research team trying to survive in a far northern weather station. They, too, are trying to create a new sort of community, one that largely exists without men.

Eventually, the two storylines merge in surprising ways. This is masterfully written, tragic and beautiful. Rose and the women of White Alice will stay with you for a long time. The men will remain peripheral, as I think they are meant to.

4 stars from me. #AvivaAndFriendsRecos #Bookstagram
#Thanks to @netgalley and @atriabooks for the e-arc. @michelleminsterling
1d

This was a great read. The future postulated here is entirely plausible. Great storyline with wonderfully developed characters. Thank to so much for the ARC