Pick this book up if:
- You’re into whodunnit stories
- You like atmospheric and creepy writing
- You want to read a book that will actually influence your heart rate
Review:
Let me start off by saying that this was an action-packed and immersive thriller that I would bet money on that it will someday be turned into a movie. People have compared this to The Hunger Games and though I hesitate to agree with that, I do feel like the writing is one of the reasons why this would make an excellent movie.
The writing was by far my favorite part of this novel. Sass takes his time describing Connor’s hometown and the conversion camp in harrowing detail and it works so well with this story. There’s a sense of immediacy and anxiety underlying the current of the plot and at times, I had to physically put down the book because the descriptions made my heart speed up. You’re sitting on pins and needles while reading this book and even if you’re like me and guess most of the plot twists (which, by the way, has never happened before, I am epically bad at guessing correctly), the writing alone will make this an unforgettable reading experience.
I do have two caveats with the novel, though. One is the perhaps misleading foreword in which the author states that this isn’t a book about queer pain but what queer people do with that pain. This could have of course been my bad, but I was not prepared for the bleakness and the many triggers that were within this book. It’s a very sad and haunting narrative and there aren’t a lot of hopeful moments; even the ending still made my heart ache. By no means is this to say that this is a bad book, but just that if you have known triggers (physical or verbal abuse, questionable romantic entanglements, cheating, mentions of suicide and the likes) please go into this book knowing that there is a lot of harmful stuff depicted or look up the trigger warnings beforehand. Seeing as this is set at a conversion camp, these might seem obvious to people, but I confess that I was shocked by a lot of it because there was no warning beyond the queer pain remark and it haunts me still. I also really, really didn’t like that almost all of the characters who are villains (and there are many seeing as this is a novel set at a conversion camp) were closeted gays. I know what the intention behind that was, I really do, but I just thought that was unnecessary. One villain turning out to be a conversion camp counsellor because he is secretly gay and has been brainwashed would have been enough; the amount of times this happened within the novel was just…harmful.
The other caveat I have is related to the pacing. I think this might have been a bit more engaging if the entire narrative didn’t take place within a single day or two, if you count the arrival day. I always have a hard time connecting with characters in thrillers because the focus is of course more on the plot than on the personalities of the characters, but we only get a glimpse at everyone else and if this would have been drawn out more, perhaps we would have seen more interactions between everyone instead of just seeing their reactions to plot twists and more secrets. Due to that short time frame, the romance was naturally insta-lovey and not as well developed as I would have hoped, but that in part was remedied by the epilogue. Again, though, this is a personal preference and I think that lovers of YA thrillers will devour this in one sitting.
Fast-paced, overwhelming and giving the power back to the oppressed, Surrender Your Sons will compel and captivate lovers of dark thrillers and fans of murder mysteries alike!
Surrender Your Sons is available from Amazon, Book Depository, and other good book retailers, like your local bookstore, as of September 15th 2020.
Will you be picking up Surrender Your Sons? Tell us in the comments below!
Synopsis | Goodreads
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.
