My Two Cents: THE CAMP by J. Rudolph

One part "The House on Haunted Hill," and one part "The Biggest Loser," the titular camp in author J. Rudolph's novel promises its guests not just weight loss, but a complete life makeover, rebuilding overweight participants into lean, mean, healthy machines. With advertisements promising Michelin-star quality dining, luxurious amenities, state-of-the-art fitness training, and a scenic, isolated setting, it sounds too good to be true. Thus when main character Alana qualifies to attend one of The Camp's 3-week sessions, she leaps at the chance. She's tired of being overweight and feels like she's lost out on opportunities both in her career and personal life because of her size. She wants to change for good, and feels she's willing to do whatever it takes to achieve this.

For better or worse, The Camp is going to demand that of her.

"The Camp" is a slow burn at first, warmly welcoming readers just as the program's director and staff greet Alana and eleven other guests to the facility. Readers get to know a little about Alana and her new friends, including Sage and Gabby, all of whom have spent years struggling with their weight. Through therapy sessions included in the Camp's regimented program, we learn about their insecurities and fears, and through their tough physical training, we come to realize that, just like Alana, everyone else at the Camp is doing their best to change themselves for the better.

Anyone who ever watched the TV reality show "The Biggest Loser" knows that things don't ever go that easily for very long. When the going gets tough, some participants want to slack off or give up. At regular weigh-in sessions, Alana and the group aren't told how much, if any weight they've managed to lose, and instead are only told if they "pass," or meet their pre-determined metrics, or "fail." Fail once, and you get a warning. Twice, and you're taken for "intensive" individual therapy. Three times, and you're terminated from the program, no refunds, no redos.

Alana's friend Gabby is the first in their bunch to fail twice. And while neither Alana nor the others are privy as to what the "intensive" therapy Gabby is forced to endure entails, the readers are. And it's horrific.

This is where the story takes a very dark turn. Without excessive gore or crossing into extreme territory, Rudolph still manages to conjure up some of the most genuinely terrifying and disturbing scenes I have ever read. And as one by one, other characters begin to fail, earning therapy sessions of their own, Rudolph ups the horror ante, creating one nightmarish hellscape after another, each customized to meet each helpless victim's specific, individualized fears.

Without giving much away, suffice it to say it becomes a race against time for Alana and her friends to not only discover the horrifying truth behind The Camp's posh facade, but also escape before they become its next victims.

"The Camp" scared the hell out of me. The creatures Rudolph has dreamed up, and the level of sadistic depravity to which her demented antagonists will stoop are absolutely chilling. Again, it's worth pointing out that she achieves these things without excessive amounts of gore. That's truly remarkable. Developing that kind of sinister, all-encompassing dread takes incredible skill, not just as a writer, but as a storyteller, and Rudolph does a phenomenal job.

What makes "The Camp" such an unsettling, difficult read is the fact that Alana and her friends are so likable and identifiable, even if you've never struggled a day in your life feeling fat or unattractive or never quite good enough. As a reader, I empathized with Alana, and rooted for her. I wanted her to not only beat the system at its own game, but come out the other side triumphant, not just surviving but filled with newfound self love and acceptance. Watching her struggle, reading about all the terrible, horrible, very bad things that happen to her and her friends is like witnessing these occurrences to people you personally know and love.

Rudolph's writing, for all its dark elements, is amazing. Her characters are all richly developed and unique. Her descriptions of The Camp itself, the technology it employs, the landscape surrounding it, and the multitude of settings within its walls are mesmerizing and immersive in their detail. You feel as if you're right there in the thick of things -- which makes it even more awful when everything starts to spiral out of control.

Rudolph has several other titles beneath her belt, which makes me happy-dance, because I love finding new-to-me authors whose backlists I can binge-read. She's definitely earned a spot on my auto-buy list. "The Camp" is the most terrifying book I've read this year, and just landed near the top of my favorite reads list.

"The Camp" is available here.