Primal Animals: A Novel

by Julia Lynn Rubin

Overview

“Like a queer version of The Wicker Man, Julia Lynn Rubin's Primal Animals is a wonderfully-creepy mystery set under sunshine and fresh air, where nothing is what it seems and no one is what you expect. Keep your eyes open, watch your back, and beware of the flies.” —Emma Berquist, author of Missing, Presumed Dead

The Female of the Species meets Midsommar for fans of Yellowjackets
At an elite summer program, a teen girl gets sucked into a secret society, with deadly consequences.

Protect the girls.

Arlee Gold has always lived in the shadow of her successful mom; even after everything Arlee’s been through, her mother still expects nothing but the best. In an effort to get her daughter back on track after a less-than-stellar few school years, she’s enrolled Arlee as a legacy at Camp Rockaway, an elite college prep summer camp deep in the North Carolina wilderness. On her own for the first time and buzzing with anxiety, Arlee is intimidated by the camp’s shiny exterior, suffocated by the relentless, thick summer heat…and tormented by the ceaseless stream of crawling, slimy, flapping bugs that seem to come straight from her nightmares.

In the midst of her brewing dread, Arlee is relieved to find a queer sanctuary in her bunkmates, and is especially drawn to Winnie, the enigmatic girl who sleeps in the bunk above her. Except Arlee starts to notice whispers in her wake, and how so many others recoil from her as if she were as creepy as the insects that terrify her. Struggling in her prep classes and feeling increasingly paranoid, Arlee can no longer suppress her panicked “glitches.” Winnie, too, seems to become wary, and Arlee’s worst fear is confirmed: even here, in the place her mother promised was “going to change everything,” she’s been found out as a freak.

Just as she’s facing a summer completely alone, another rising junior slips her a mysterious invitation, and Arlee finds herself caught up in a secret society that expects its sisterhood to protect each other from any and all who would harm them—by any means necessary. Here, finally, Arlee feels like a part of something bigger, something that matters. Guided by their cunning leader, Lisha, a rising senior with a smile sharp enough to cut bone, the sisterhood will stand against any threat, unquestioningly. But when Winnie is put in grave danger, Arlee is forced to confront just how far her sisters will go, and whether they truly protect the girls.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781250757296
Publisher:	St. Martin's Publishing Group
Publication date:	05/24/2022
Pages:	304
Sales rank:	659,239
Product dimensions:	5.50(w) x 8.40(h) x 1.20(d)
Age Range:	14 - 18 Years

About the Author

JULIA LYNN RUBIN received her MFA in Writing for Children & Young Adults from The New School in 2017. A lover of film, psychology, and literature, Julia has been writing creatively since first grade, and her short stories have appeared in publications such as the North American Review. She currently lives in Brooklyn, where she is freelancing while working on her next book. Julia is the author of Burro Hills and Trouble Girls.

Editorial Reviews

03/14/2022

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. (May)

Publishers Weekly

Buzzfeed, "New LGBTQIA+ YA Novels You Need This Spring"

“Primal Animals is a relentless thrill ride, offering a summer camp with danger at every turn, staggering twists, and a deeply human heroine.” —Courtney Gould, author of The Dead and the Dark

“Bold, fresh, remorseless, Primal Animals will sink its teeth into your throat on the first page and hang tight until the devastating finish.” —Hannah Capin, author of Golden Boys Beware

“Like a queer version of the Wicker Man, a wonderfully-creepy mystery set under sunshine and fresh air, where nothing is what it seems and no one is what you expect. Keep your eyes open, watch your back, and beware of the flies.” —Emma Berquist, author of Missing, Presumed Dead

“A spine-tingling descent into the darkness of the mind, Primal Animals is terrifying and beautiful in all the best ways.” —Sophie Gonzales, author of Only Mostly Devastated and Perfect on Paper

“Raw and unnerving, Primal Animals gets under your skin and doesn’t let you go until the very last page.” —Laurie Devore, author of How to Break a Boy and A Better Bad Idea

"Rubin shatters the heteronormative boundaries of the horror genre and creates an eerie and unsettling atmosphere of taboos without room for any bigoted notions about race, gender, class, or sexuality." - INTO

"Not for the faint of heart, Rubin crafts a tense horror story where the deepest terror lies in the truths it reveals about whose lives hold value and how far those with power will go to protect themselves." —Bulletin for the Center of Children's Books

“Wonderfully creepy…. A consistently unsettling, atmospheric read.” —Publishers Weekly

“Low-level suspense gives way to clear horror…. [A] chilling revelation…proves sufficiently terrifying.” —Kirkus

“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.” - School Library Journal

From the Publisher

06/01/2022

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

School Library Journal

2022-02-09
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)

Kirkus Reviews