Surrender Your Sons

by Adam Sass

Surrender Your Sons is an LGBTQ+ YA mystery / thriller that expertly blends together humor, horror, and heart, in a wholly unique read like no other. A blend of Lost and Lord of the Flies ... just with gay teenagers taking the horrors of the world head on. A 2020 Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth selection A 2020 Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books selection A 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Bronze Winner, Young Adult Fiction Connor Major's summer break is turning into a nightmare. His SAT scores bombed, the old man he delivers meals to died, and when he came out to his religious zealot mother, she had him kidnapped and shipped off to a secluded island. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he "changes." But Connor's troubles are only beginning. At Nightlight, everyone has something to hide--from the campers to the "converted" staff and cagey camp director--and it quickly becomes clear that no one is safe. Connor plans to escape and bring the other kidnapped teens with him. But first, he's exposing the camp's horrible truths for what they are--and taking this place down.

• ISBN13: 9781635830613
• Publish Date: 15 September 2020
• Publish Status: Active
• Publish Country: US
• Imprint: Flux
• Format: Hardcover
• Pages: 424
• Language: English

Reviews

[lessthelonely]

This book is amazing. I hadn't read a thriller like this in a minute - the last one I did read was the 4th book in the Detective Erika Foster series, written by Robert Bryndza. To think that this book started as a fantasy novel, holy shit! 

Anyways... You'll find yourself instantly sympathizing with the protagonist and hating the antagonists. I, for real, had to stop in the beginning because the mom got me too mad. There's nothing worse than a parent who thinks they know you better than yourself.

...I thought I had this figured out before the 100 page mark, and I kind of did, but this is why this book's plot is good: you're going to guess one thing and be surprised by five other things. It reminded me of my experience with the TV Show How To Get Away With Murder. That's why this is a good book and that's also why that's a good show: both have a good deck of cards and they know how to use them right.

Anyway, still on the plot: you're going to be seeing some dramatic conflict. Not the melodramatic kind of drama, but it's like an addicting Twitter thread. That's not to say it's trashy, because it isn't, but it is messy and everything except linear. If you can't tell from the synopsis alone, this book was a work of a gay author, because only a gay could conceptualize drama this juicy. I swear to God, when the first tape came I was fucking silent screaming because I had no words. It wasn't getting good, it was getting even better! You'll know it when you get there.

These reasons outshine everything else I'm going to say about this book. If you like a good mystery, some thrills and gay shit, this book is for you. No questions asked.

However, here are some of the bad things, though they are minimal!

As soon as I started reading, I understood that this was going towards conversion therapy. This is OK and it was dealt with brilliantly, but I did not like the initial moments where it felt that the main character was willingfully stupid to the whole situation. Maybe it was the explanation behind it, but really? A fitness vacation? That felt a bit shoe-horned in and I didn't buy it for a second.

I think that any less romantic person than I am will consider the romance in this book a bit insta-lovey, which I would agree it FEELS like it, but I think that considering the whole book is, chronologically, just a few days long, with one long day, the romance is super sweet and it made me feel good, to be honest.

Also, another positive, the gay kids. Holy shit. This book is hilarious at times I let my Kindle just fall into my chest to process it. Gay people are built different. Love that for me.

Anyways... Give this one a try.