Surrender Your Sons

4 stars – Great! Might re-read. Wow. This was captivating and suspenseful. I couldn\’t put it down. At the same time, it was aggravating and disturbing. The author does a fantastic job of building the larger mystery right from the start with a chapter here and there that goes back in time to fill in some gaps. I had assumed the story would focus on Connor at first and he would *discover* the larger mystery once he was taken. But that was not the case, and I thought this construction was far better than what I was expecting. I enjoyed the characters and was rooting for them from the start. But know this is a tragic and troubling story with hate, violence and murder, family secrets, betrayal, and kidnapping. The ending is satisfying, but not exactly happy. The core characters have varying degrees of fall out after the trauma of their experiences. I appreciated the truth of that ending, even though I wanted everyone to thrive right away. The author includes a note of warning at the start of the book to prepare readers for some of the content, while also explaining some of the choices he made regarding that content. Trigger warnings include suicide as well as hate and trauma regarding sexuality and gender identity. Readers who like their stories gritty and suspenseful should definitely check this out. (Language, sex, violence, LGBTQ+)

I\’m just a big ball of emotions right now. It\’s been a long time since I stayed up this late to finish a book. And I don’t regret it for a minute. Surrender Your Sons is a punch to your gut. It hooked me from the beginning, and actually hasn’t let me go yet. There were times it was extremely difficult going, as it deals with some very heavy issues (please read the Author’s Note if you’re worried). Parts of it were truly heartbreaking, and I tear up just thinking about it. But then there were these moments of sweetness and light that had my heart swelling with giddiness. This book won’t be for everyone, but I think everyone should read it. It’s hard to image there are places like Nightlife Ministries out there, but sadly I’m sure there are, and worse. And it’s even more devastating to know that there are parents like Connor’s, willing to send their children to these nightmare places, hoping it will change them- when they are perfect just as they are. Thrilling, haunting, heart-wrenching yet hopeful, Surrender Your Sons has left a lasting imprint on me. I don’t know why I have such a hard time when it comes to writing reviews for books that really impact me, but such is the case with SYS. I have all these thoughts running through my head, but they’d never transfer to words the way I’d hope. So I’ll just end with this- read this book, please!

Five Senses Review (detailed review below) Looks Like: palm fronds, sweaty tees, over-bitten nails, and hair in your eyes Smells Like: rotted wood, cheap coffee, mouthwash, musky pheromones and boy sweat (y\’ all know y\’all just sweat differently), and charred burned skin Tastes Like: salty timid kisses, stale bread, and the inside of your mouth when you\’re dehydrated Sounds Like: waves crashing, thundering skies, cicadas screeching, a pendulum swinging, a rope snapping, and first love Feels Like: fumbling hands, assured confident kisses, quaking-with-fear-knees knocking, and blood soaring through your veins Surrender Your Sons humbly offers you a tale woven together by threads of suspense, wit, drama, and the critical and literal dangers of coming out. Connor Major is afraid. Afraid of losing his boyfriend, Ario. Afraid of not being \”out enough\” to be anyone\’s boyfriend, and terribly, terribly afraid that once he comes out to his religious zealot of a mother, that he\’ll lose her love, too. Surrender Your Sons is the pinnacle story of Queer resistance and vibrancy in a time that still prefers The Community to hide itself. In the author\’s note preceding chapter 1, Adam Sass informs readers that SYS is \”[…]not about queer pain. It\’s about what queers do with pain\” and is a valiant triumph celebrating Queer renegades as they navigate the turbulent, abusive, dangers of immovable obstacles and unstoppable forces. The Kirkus starred review perfectly captures SYS by describing the novel as a \”Hard-to-read story, hard-to-stop-reading writing,\” and I couldn\’t agree more. While this book is so, so difficult to stomach (the metaphorical rape scene between The Reverend and Connor is INTENSELY reminiscent of Lord of the Flies [sow and double-edged spears, if you will]), this narrative is REQUIRED READING. The motifs are well executed, the pacing is extraordinary, and the character development are all *Italian chef\’s kiss* Congrats, Mr. Sass. You\’re written an exceptional novel that will bring joy and help navigate through sorrow, in equal measure, to every kid looking for themselves between the pages of a book. Bravo.

Sass brings to light an aspect of culture that many tend to ignore, the fear-mongered response to having a gay child. This novel illuminates the challenges Connor faces with his family as well as the deeper, more heavily entrenched drama that surrounds those in his life who struggle with aspects of who they are. I was particularly entranced by the realness of what the characters endure, and the repercussions that they experience at the conclusion. The idea of gay conversion camps is abhorrent, and as an LGBTQ person, I am glad to see this topic brought to light in a way that is simultaneously hard to read but so necessary. Tremendous debut novel from an author I look forward to seeing more great things from.

This book made me angry. Angry that conversion therapy still exists and is still legal in a lot of places. Angry that there are so many evil people in the world, that would gladly cause pain and suffering just because of peoples sexual orientation and gender. Surrender Your Sons follows Connor who has been forced into a conversion camp, a secluded island off the coast of Costa Rica, by his mother and their Reverend. Run by radical christians, we see how a group of queer kids aged from 13-20 try to survive both mental and physical attacks. It\’s a story of survival, of not letting others change who you are. Conner knows he\’s gay but has struggled with it long before arriving on the island. Being forced to hide his sexuality because of a hateful and neglectful mother has scarred Connor. The island may seem like an unlikely place, but it is there that he has to face the fact that just like his mother has been brainwashed by the Reverend and the church, he has been brainwashed by his need to be accepted by his mother. However, not everything on the island is what it seems. The motives of the Reverend and the others in charge are unclear. And a hidden message given to Connor from someone he knew pre-island life hints at something sinister. I have Surrender Your Sons preordered, so I can\’t wait to get my hands on the finished hardback, which looks gorgeous!, and give it a re-read. Arc provided by NetGalley in exchange for an honest review

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