Primal Animals

March 1, 2022
At an elite summer camp, a girl faces phobias and discovers dark family secrets. Sixteen-year-old Arlee Gold did not do well in her first two years of high school, so her high-achieving mother sends her to Camp Rockaway, where she herself made crucial upper-class connections in her own youth. Arlee is most concerned about insects, to which she has an intense aversion, but the rich, judgmental campers intimidate her too. There's a creepy vibe that only gets stronger as the summer goes on; engaging, dynamic prose establishes Arlee as a strong-willed narrator who is also deeply haunted. Hints of Arlee's troubled past--"the thing that called me to the woods years ago"--and the camp's horrific present--"they're watching you, Arlee"--never offer enough detail to serve as supplementary clues. Low-level suspense gives way to clear horror about two-thirds of the way through the story, when a gruesome crime scene pulls Arlee away from a burgeoning romance with another girl and into a silent battle with the camp's ominous secret society. While a chilling revelation about Arlee's mother proves sufficiently terrifying, the story's resolution doesn't provide satisfying enough closure for either Arlee's emotional journey or the many sinister hints scattered throughout the narrative. Physical descriptions cue Arlee and most of the cast members as defaulting to White. Possesses great promise but stops short of brilliant. (Thriller. 14-18)

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March 14, 2022
Musician Arlee Gold, 16, is spending the summer at elite Camp Rockaway, three hours away from her hometown of Raleigh. Experiencing visual and auditory hallucinations and entomophobia, and obsessed with pleasing her demanding mother, Arlee hopes for a fresh start. Despite vague but ominous rumors about her mother’s own time at Rockaway, her summer begins promisingly. She’s invited to join a secret horse-girl sisterhood, the Order of Equus, where she finds solace as well as love and support; at the same time, she starts falling for her witty bunkmate Winnie. But as the Order’s mission to “protect” the camp’s girls grows threatening, Arlee’s summer becomes a fight for her mental stability—and perhaps her life. Though the wonderfully creepy sisterhood remains underexplored, raising more questions than answers, Rubin (Trouble Girls) never sensationalizes Arlee’s mental illness, and her healthy bond with her bunkmates, including trans guitarist Ginger and Jane, a Black daughter of politicians (other major characters read as white), provides an excellent foil to the Order’s toxicity. A consistently unsettling, atmospheric read. Ages 14–up. Agent: Lauren Spieller, Triada US.

June 1, 2022

Gr 9 Up-Sixteen-year-old Arlee Gold arrives for her first summer at Camp Rockaway, a college preparatory program deep in the wilderness that sets elite young people on the path to the Ivy Leagues. Though she struggles with anxiety, intense panic, and a deep phobia of bugs, she is brave and determined to find her place and succeed there as a legacy camper in the shadow of her successful mother, a feared camp legend. Despite the stigma set upon her by her mother's mysterious reputation, Arlee finds family with her bunkmates. Their cabin is a sanctuary for an inclusive, supportive, and loving cast of characters including Ginger, a trans musician; Winnie, Arlee's sapphic love interest; and Jane, who is Black. Other campers' identities are not discussed. At long last, Arlee's found a place she can belong. However, her harmonious camp experience begins the slow descent into horror when she's invited to join the camp's secret sorority, whose aim to "protect the girls" may not be as heroic as it seems. This dark and disturbing psychological horror will keep readers turning pages to learn every answer they can about what's really going on at that camp, but it's definitely not for the squeamish. VERDICT A disturbing psychological horror for readers who like to savor a gripping yet slow-burning, sinister story, and who don't shy away from the gruesome.-Kayla Fontaine

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