Camp Zero: A Novel
Written by Michelle Min Sterling
Narrated by Graham Halstead, Greta Jung and Emily Tremaine
3.5/5
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About this audiobook
A Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick
In a near-future northern settlement, the fates of a young woman, a professor, and a mysterious collective of researchers collide in this mesmerizing and transportive debut that “delivers its big ideas with suspense, endlessly surprising twists, and abundant heart” (Jessamine Chan, New York Times bestselling author).
In remote northern Canada, a team led by a visionary American architect is breaking ground on a building project called Camp Zero, intended to be the beginning of a new way of life. A clever and determined young woman code-named Rose is offered a chance to join the Blooms, a group hired to entertain the men in camp—but her real mission is to secretly monitor the mercurial architect in charge. In return, she’ll receive a home for her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother and herself.
Rose quickly secures the trust of her target, only to discover that everyone has a hidden agenda, and nothing is as it seems. Through skillfully braided perspectives, including those of a young professor longing to escape his wealthy family and an all-woman military research unit struggling for survival at a climate station, the fate of Camp Zero’s inhabitants reaches a stunning crescendo.
Atmospheric, fiercely original, and utterly gripping, Camp Zero is an electrifying page-turner and a masterful exploration of who and what will survive in a warming world, and how falling in love and building community can be the most daring acts of all.
Editor's Note
‘Annihilation’ meets ‘The Handmaid's Tale’…
“Annihilation” meets “The Handmaid's Tale” when Rose, a Korean American sex worker determined to provide for her mother, and Grant, a teacher trying to escape his family’s reputation, arrive at a climate refugee settlement in remote Canada. Sterling’s thrilling plot moves quickly between Rose, Grant, and an all-women society called White Alice. Tensions build in each storyline as it becomes apparent that nothing is as it seems.
Michelle Min Sterling
Michelle Min Sterling is the New York Times bestselling author of Camp Zero, which was also a Today Show #ReadwithJenna Book Club Pick. Michelle was born in British Columbia, Canada, and now lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. She teaches literature and writing at Berklee College of Music, and has held fellowships at Akademie Schloss Solitude, Banff Centre for Arts and Creativity, Vermont Studio Center, and the Virginia Center for the Creative Arts. Her writing has appeared in The Baffler and Joyland. Find out more at MichelleMinSterling.com.
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Reviews for Camp Zero
123 ratings7 reviews
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Interesting story although a fairy unsatisfying ending.
I enjoy how natural it seems sexuality is in the book.
Narrators do it well - Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5In the not-so-distant future, climate change has wreaked havoc on most of the United States. The wealthy have created a safe haven in the form of the Floating City, protected from the heat of the sun, rising sea levels, and the ravages of hurricanes.
Enter Rose, a sex worker from the Floating City, who has made a comfortable life for herself, but is still without the means to save her mother from the devastation on the mainland. When a client offers Rose a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to become a citizen of the Floating City, allowing her mother to move there too, she can't resist the chance. Now, she finds herself in the Canadian wilderness, seducing an idealistic architect and discovering the secrets of those at his camp.
Enter Grant, a privileged recent college graduate, who has accepted a position to teach at a university being founded by said idealistic architect in the Canadian wilderness. He's looking to leave behind a family who has amassed a fortune through the decades by exploiting the Earth and its inhabitants, but as he starts his work, he discovers not all is as it seems.
And then there's White Alice, a military mission, a climate change study, and probably much more. A group of women who are determined to not only survive, but thrive in the Canadian wilderness.
How these three storylines intertwine creates a speculative work of fiction that is atmospheric and thrilling. Some of the world-building could have been stronger as we meet a lot of characters, but only get to know a small number of them well. Technological advances, like the Flick, a smartphone-like device that's embedded into individuals from birth, sound interesting, but the way they're dealt with feel mostly didactic. A solid read, but lacking nuance and depth. - Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Difficult to follow and seemed to lack enough character definition to create a connection to them.
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5Confusing and I didn’t connect to a single character — just ok
- Rating: 3 out of 5 stars3/5This book came highly recommended to based on its similarity to “The Handmaids Tale.” Ultimately, I didn’t see the twist coming from any angle. I was genuinely shocked at the end but it never fully satisfied me. It was an unusual plot line with an unusual situation so if you’re wanting something different in a dystopian type world with a multi timeline and character plot, this is for you.
- Rating: 2 out of 5 stars2/5Meh, another book where all men are bad and women are viewed as inferior.
- Rating: 4 out of 5 stars4/5Not my normal genre but it was quite interesting and makes you think about the future!