Camp Damascus was excellent! I really didn't expect to love this book so much, but here we are. Chuck Tingle did a fantastic job at exploring religion and religious trauma while establishing that religion in itself wasn't the problem--shitty human beings who twisted it for their own bigoted purposes were.

The body horror bits were also very well written and I very much enjoyed how that tied into the world-building and the setting. It was such a thought-provoking and intriguing take on the ex-gay movement and how much harm it caused and continues to cause. The horror elements in general here and the big horror trope used to turn everything on its head were amaaaaazing and my favorite part of the book!

The characters' journeys in relation to that were heartbreaking to get through, but also hopeful in a way? Rose went through so much as she started questioning what was happening around her and her relationship with religion/God. I really appreciated the conversations she had with Saul about that and how Tingle showed that it was okay to still have faith/be religious, but that it was also okay to leave that behind.

I did wish we had a little more of the aftermath regarding the final chapter, but I understand why we didn't. I still loved every bit of this book and how much it was about love and accepting yourself as you are. <3

And! I would also like to rec Fundie Friday's Conversion "therapy" and the ex gay movement video if you need extra context or would just like to know more about the subject.