Disclaimer: I received this e-arc from the publisher. Thanks! All opinions are my own.
Book: Primal Animals
Author: Julia Lynn Rubin
Book Series: Standalone
Rating: 3/5
Diversity: Queen characters, Trans character, Bisexual MC, Adopted character
Recommended For…: young adult readers, thriller, mystery, LGBT, horror, summer camp
Publication Date: May 24, 2022
Genre: YA Thriller Mystery
Age Relevance: 17+ (religion, religious trauma, sexual harassment, sexual assault, medical gaslighting, anxiety, parental death, child abuse, kidnapping, transphobia, homophobia, sexism, underage alcohol consumption, drug use, language, gore, violence, death, murder, romance, animal death, animal gore)
Explanation of Above: Religion and religious trauma are mentioned briefly in this book. There are mentions of sexual harassment and one mention of a sexual assault. The book shows some medical gaslighting, anxiety, and mentions parental death. There are also some scenes of child abuse via emotional abuse and one slight mention and scene of physical abuse. Kidnapping is shown once in the book. There are mentions of transphobia and homophobia in passing of what’s going on in Texas. There is also sexism shown in the book, as well as a LOT of underage alcohol consumption and some drug use mentioned. There is some cursing in this book, as well as vomit and blood gore and a lot of violence shown and mentioned. There is death and murder in this book. There is some very slight romance in this book. There is also a lot of animal death and gore in the book, occurring to moths, foals, deer, cockroaches, and flies. The animal gore in this book is extreme and I highly advise those sensitive to it do not read this book or go into it warned.
Publisher: Wednesday Books
Pages: 304
Synopsis: Protect the girls
Arlee Gold is anxious about spending the summer at the college prep Camp Rockaway—the same camp her mother attended years ago, which her mother insists will help give Arlee a “fresh start” and will “change her life.” Little does Arlee know that, once she steps foot on the manicured grounds, this will prove to be true in horrifying ways.
Even though the girls in her cabin are awesome—and she’s developing a major crush on the girl who sleeps in the bunk above her—the other campers seem to be wary of Arlee, unwilling to talk to her or be near her, which only ramps up her paranoia. When she’s tapped to join a strange secret society, Arlee thinks this will be her shot at fitting in…until her new “sisters” ask her to do the unthinkable, putting her life, and the life of her new crush, in perilous danger.
Review: I felt like this was a good book. I immediately connected with the main character because of our shared fear of bugs and I liked the idea of the secret society. I thought the book did good in the world building and I liked the premise of it. I also liked the overall feel of the book. It did well to be a thriller and keep a mystery atmosphere rather than a horror one that sometimes thriller books fall into.
However, I didn’t like the book that well. I thought the book had a lot of characters at the beginning and that made it really hard to keep everyone sorted out. The book had a lot of twists and turns and a lot of them weren’t well plotted out. The character development wasn’t there and I just felt like the book could have been better if more expanded and more explained. It just felt like everything was way too rushed.
Verdict: It was ok, just not for me.
Book Info:
Primal Animals by Julia Lynn Rubin
Genre: Young Adult Horror
Publishing Date: May 24, 2022
Synopsis:
Protect the girls
Arlee Gold is anxious about spending the summer at the college prep Camp Rockaway—the same camp her mother attended years ago, which her mother insists will help give Arlee a “fresh start” and will “change her life.” Little does Arlee know that, once she steps foot on the manicured grounds, this will prove to be true in horrifying ways.
Even though the girls in her cabin are awesome—and she’s developing a major crush on the girl who sleeps in the bunk above her—the other campers seem to be wary of Arlee, unwilling to talk to her or be near her, which only ramps up her paranoia. When she’s tapped to join a strange secret society, Arlee thinks this will be her shot at fitting in…until her new “sisters” ask her to do the unthinkable, putting her life, and the life of her new crush, in perilous danger.
Content Warning: Blood, gore, mentions of Sexual harassment/assault
Book Links:
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/book/show/58724958-primal-animals
Barnes & Noble: https://www.barnesandnoble.com/w/primal-animals-julia-lynn-rubin/1139985579?ean=9781250757296
Book Depository: https://www.bookdepository.com/Primal-Animals-Julia-Lynn-Rubin/9781250757296?ref=grid-view&qid=1646931159558&sr=1-1
Indigo: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/primal-animals-a-novel/9781250757296-item.html?ikwid=primal+animals&ikwsec=Home&ikwidx=0#algoliaQueryId=5bf2193da2f53ae3912a84b6652a5ec7 IndieBound: https://www.indiebound.org/book/9781250757296
About the Author:
Julia Lynn Rubin lives the writer’s life in Brooklyn, where she finished an MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults at The New School in 2017. For three years she served as a writing mentor for Girls Write Now, New York City’s premiere writing program for high school girls, and she continues to facilitate pre-K literacy programs throughout Brooklyn at libraries and family shelters.Julia has been writing books, poems, and stories since first grade, and loves reading about everything from film analysis (she’s a film nerd) to psychology and philosophy. Her short stories have appeared in publications such as the North American Review, Sierra Nevada Review, and The Lascaux Review, and she has written for a variety of online publications, including BuzzFeed, The Content Strategist, Fatherly, and Wetpaint Entertainment.
Julia is passionate about realism and diversity in teen literature. She hopes to one day own a French bulldog, pug, Boston terrier, or perhaps a mix of all three. She loves indie films, drag shows, and spending as much time as possible at the beach.
She is represented by Lauren Spieller of Triada US Literary Agency
Author Links:
Website: https://www.julialynnrubin.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/julialynnrubin
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/swissbeauty/
Goodreads: https://www.goodreads.com/author/show/17071577.Julia_Lynn_Rubin
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/julialynnrubin/?fref=ts
Tour Schedule:https://tbrandbeyondtours.com/2022/04/07/tour-schedule-primal-animals-by-julia-lynn-rubin/
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