Genre: Science Fiction
Length: 320 pages
First Published: 2023
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Rachael’s Review
In a world ravaged by climate change, Rose takes a job as a sex worker at Camp Zero, an American building project in the northern end of Canada. However, Rose is secretly spying on the camp architect, hoping to win a place for her and her mother in one of the elite climate change survival cities. At the same time, Grant, a newly arrived college professor, realizes the camp is not at all what was promised. Meanwhile, a group of female scientists arrive at a remote research station and begin to question their orders.
I was extremely curious when, for her April book club, Jenna Bush Hager picked this feminist dystopian novel with a f*ck the patriarchy message. I love science fiction, especially dystopian fiction, however, I wasn’t impressed with Camp Zero. Unfortunately, the narration is a step removed from the action, relying heavily on flashbacks. When combined with the slow plot, Camp Zero was difficult to get into.
Publisher’s Description
In a near-future northern settlement, a handful of climate change survivors find their fates intertwined in this mesmerizing and transportive novel in the vein of Station Eleven and The Power.
In the far north of Canada sits Camp Zero, an American building project hiding many secrets.
Desperate to help her climate-displaced Korean immigrant mother, Rose agrees to travel to Camp Zero and spy on its architect in exchange for housing. She arrives at the same time as another newcomer, a college professor named Grant who is determined to flee his wealthy family’s dark legacy. Gradually, they realize that there is more to the architect than previously thought, and a disturbing mystery lurks beneath the surface of the camp. At the same time, rumors abound of an elite group of women soldiers living and working at a nearby Cold War-era climate research station. What are they doing there? And who is leading them?
An electrifying page-turner where nothing is as it seems, Camp Zero cleverly explores how the intersection of gender, class, and migration will impact who and what will survive in a warming world.
About Michelle Min Sterling
Michelle Min Sterling is the author of Camp Zero. Born in British Columbia, Sterling currently lives in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Visit the author’s website →
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