Primal Animals is a slow-burn horror that will leave you thinking about it long after the last page. Arlee Gold is a legacy at her new summer camp. A summer camp where she will have to face bugs- a fear that sends her into a paralyzing panic. But after a tough year, Arlee is determined to conquer her anxieties and connect with the camp that meant so much to her mother. Her mother is infamous at the camp, yet no one will tell Arlee why. As the tension builds, Arlee begins to search the shadows and discover the haunting secrets of the camp. Arlee must confront her fear of insects, her anxiety, and the brutal truth about the girls of Camp Rockaway. What does it mean to really protect the girls?

I read this in close to one sitting, because I had to know what happens next! I loved how the beautiful cover made even more sense as the story went on. I enjoyed Rubin’s Trouble Girls and this book left me with a similar feeling- contemplative and disturbed. Rubin’s goal isn’t to leave her characters with a happy ending or a joyful ride off into the sunset. Instead, she takes the risk of unreliable narrators, morally gray choices, and deeply twisted secrets. She nails it and as the story unravels, it becomes impossible to look away.

You’ll never think of summer camp the same way again! Readers looking for a mesmerizing and eerie contemporary horror would enjoy Primal Animals. I would also recommend Primal Animals for fans of These Deadly Games and She’s Too Pretty to Burn. Thank you to Julia Lynn Rubin, Wednesday Books, and Netgalley for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.