Conversion Camp Kids Gang Up on their Homophobic Guards - now that is a story I NEED in my life.

Hold my gin, cause I cannot do that while writing this. Also know that I'm slightly buzzed so I do not guarantee that this review will make any sense.

It is no surprise that I have been hyping this book since I first learnt of its existence. That also means my hopes were mile high and my fears of it not being able to deliver had my knees shaking. Luckily, my fears were completely unnecessary because deliver it did. Be warned though, this book is dark. It does not shy away from showing the ugly with all its open wounds and oozing sores. There will be blood, graphic violence, murder, abuse, slurs and more.

I loved this book for many reasons. I like a good, dark, ruthless thriller. I love it even more when it's gay and this book is admittedly rather gay. Plenty gay. It is very very gay, friends. Hence the conversion camp, I suppose. And that's where the trouble starts. So imagine a handful (or two handsful? It's probably "handful", but it's plural and I like making up my own rules so) of queer children and teenagers on a lonely island surrounded my water and a mobster of cruel, definitely not well-meaning and actually super evil adults pretending to "re-straighten" them while really they just enjoy oppressing and manipulation people that have less power than they do. These kids need to find a way to escape, otherwise they'll be spending months, if not years on that island. Some of them have already been there for a long time. I'm glad that this book only spans a few days cause I don't think I could have handled any more than that. In order to escape, they will have to uncover a lot of abhorrent secrets that will make the mobster want to keep them hidden away on the island until their last breath, be that in thirty years or, well, tomorrow.

I don't want to to take too much away, plot wise. So let me just say that this was an incredibly well-plotted, super fast-paced and intense story. The characters had depth and while there were quite a lot of them, it wasn't difficult to keep them apart. I personally prefer well-written characters over a well-constructed plot, but luckily this book had both, so why choose.
I loved that it discusses coming-out, and that the privilege of having a supportive and loving family often makes people forget that not everyone is in a safe enough environment to guarantee that it will accept them. So don't let anyone, not even yourself, pressurise you to come out. Dean Atta wrote a fantastic poem about this that you can find in both, the Proud anthology and his novel The Black Flamingo. Both come highly recommended.

I found the romance very insta-lovey but considering these kids are under so much pressure, I honestly cannot blame them for falling in love with a friendly, muscular, bespectacled dude with great hair. The use of the word amoeba made me giggle once or twice, cause suddenly I was thinking of bacteria rather than teenagers but then, where's the difference, really.

Now I'm hoping you could make some sense of this review which, I agree, is all over the place. So if there's one thing you should take away from this it's: Read, This. Book.

Anyhow, Adam, if you're reading this, you better give us a sequel otherwise I will be M A D.

This was such a heavy and difficult read, but it ends beautifully with hope. I knew just from the description of this book that it would bring about a lot of emotion, and it certainly did just that. This was a book that I just couldn't put down for anything. It was such a page turner that kept me going back for more.

Thank you to the Publisher and NetGalley for an advanced copy.

This book has it all—suspense, mystery, adventure, revenge, and romance. It’s gristly and dark, which could be triggering for some readers, but I found the revenge satisfaction more than made up for it. It’s damn hard to be a queer kid and to see queer kids take down the establishment was freaking awesome.

It’s fast-paced enough to hold my attention during our current stress-overload, and that is saying a lot. It reads like a great movie, without any dull spots that can make my mind wander. Sass’s previous experience interviewing conversion therapy survivors really made the ending ring true. Unlike the movies, life doesn’t end neatly, and it’s often a hard road to happily-ever-after. Kudos to Sass for not giving in to the “wrap it up with a big bow” easy ending. This book made me cry both happy and sad tears, and I can’t wait for it to come into the world.

A book that I've been longing to read for a pretty long time. Namely a YA thriller, finally daring to do something new.
I was allowed to read the debut of Adam Sass: Surrender your Sons.
This book is about Connor, who is kidnapped and dragged to a conversion camp up on an island in Croatia.  We witness the whole event through Connor's eyes and get to know and feel what’s going on at this camp and discover how brutal some of the methods are.
For all of you, who know Umbridge (Harry Potter): She was like an angle in comparison to the methods used on this screwed up island. And reading this book hurt - like really hurt, but it was worth all the pain.  Adam Sass has a fresh, youthful writing style which perfectly suits his targeted audience.  The author creates - step by step - a tremendous amount of tension and I don’t see any reason to put this book down.  That’s how captivating it was. I really couldn't stop reading.
I suffered with Connor, Jack, Marcos and Lacrisha and all the others, but I also felt the hope burning in them.  Like, even in the deepest darkness there was a glimmer of hope.  A beacon to hold on to.
Sass great ability is to show human abysses - and it’s absolutely spot on. The most frightening thing is: In many nowadays countries it just could happen like described in the book.

This book is not a book you just read in between. It’s a book you will never forget.  It’s gonna make you happy, only to push you into sadness and than again it’s gonna make you mad.  Don’t miss out on it.  Rarely have I read such a good YA thriller.  Starting on September 15th you can read it yourself and I’m gonna tell you once more: This is one of the best books of the year so far.

I finished this moving, terrifying, quirky, heart-breaking novel by Adam Sass a week ago, but needed to get my head around what I'd read before writing my review. It really wasn't an easy read for so many reasons. But so worth it.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for my eARC of Surrender Your Sons, I loved the cover art, and then the blurb just sucked me in.

Honestly, I actually can't believe that these 'conversion camps' are still happening and the whole premise was a complete eye-opener for me. Horrifying. The writing was sublime - the author totally captured the heart and soul of these children, teens and young adults in such a way that you could almost feel their pain and horror and fear. But also their strength and friendship and love and triumph.

There are some really bad people in this book, and also some good people who do bad things, but the message coming through loud and clear is of hope and acceptance and love, despite all the bad stuff.

Do yourself a favour and pre-order this one 🧡💛💚💙💜💗

4.5 ✨✨✨✨

#NetGalley #SurrenderYourSons

Surrender Your Sons takes the difficult, painfully heartbreaking and disgusting topic of conversion therapy and creates a story from it. While addressing all of the horror and baggage that comes with such a topic, there were scenes in this book that were almost satirical. Right after a vivid description of abuse, the narrator, Connor, would make a comedic anecdote or the other characters in the book would say something that was funny. It was a weird disconnect, being able to laugh seconds after reading something that made my stomach hurt. The story started off slow and it wasn’t until Connor’s arrival on the island that the plot took off. After that point, it was constant action all the way to the end. The majority of the story only occurs over the span of two days, and I kept on forgetting that everything that was happening was happening over the span of minutes, where in most other books it’s days or months. While this story brings up a lot of gross feelings and pure disgust over the way that people are treated, it does give attention to something that people avoid talking about and fail to acknowledge. Surrender Your Sons is not a book to read for a good time, but a book to make one think about what they take for granted and how society isn’t as progressive as it pretends to be. It is informative, agonizing, and still manages to create wonderfully complex characters. Read Surrender Your Sons because no matter how old or experienced or fortunate you are, it is always important to remember that bad things continue to happen behind the curtain of acceptance.

Wow. Adam Sass really hit the nail on the head for this one (in my opinion anyway). Surrender Your sons is about a teenager, Connor, who is shipped off to a conversion therapy camp. This story is full of suspense, mystery, friendships and love.

As soon as I heard about this book I knew I had to read it. Not only because it had LGBT themes but it sounded like a really interesting read. And indeed it was. From the first page I couldn't put the book down, it was written in such a raw way and I resonated with it a lot. The writing showcases the characters emotions; you feel as though you are experiencing what they are. Some of the themes within this book are distressing as it touches on ( trigger warning ) suicide, abuse, violence, mental health issues, homophobia etc.).

I loved the characters. I felt as though they were all developed well and I loved how ALL the characters had so much depth to them.
The only thing I didn't like was the ending. This is because it seemed a little bit rushed and very anticlimactic compared to the rest of the book.

I'm not a fan of those reviews that basically tell you what happens so I just urge you all to read it. It was intense but amazing. Probably my favourite read in a long time.

Thank you Netgalley for this book in exchange for an honest review!
So, this was a DNF for me.
First, let me say - I may have DNFed this book for right now, but I believe that has more to do with what is going on in the world right now, and I may finish it later. With the anxiety currently swirling around, reading anything that is emotionally taxing is a bit more difficult, and this fits the bill. I read exactly half of the book before I had to put it down. Sass has a brilliant and timely premise for this book which involves a camp for "conversion therapy" - an appalling pseudoscientific way the church believes they can "turn a gay person straight". "As if it's a choice?!" I know you're screaming. I'm right there with you. The story also has a mystery weaved throughout which is primarily what kept me reading - and what will probably lead be back to finishing it. Though the main character was a bit much for me, the surrounding characters were well written, and some I became very invested in - another reason I will probably finish it. I'm also a sucker for camp/boarding school settings in books so, really this is up my alley, just not right this moment. When I do complete it, I will write another review with a proper rating, but since it was a DNF for now, I wanted to explain why.

I’m sure there’s much to enjoy here, but this one wasn’t really for me. The concept and premise were very interesting, but the language seemed to be directed at quite a young audience in a way that felt prohibitive to me as a reader of more literary fiction than young adult fiction.
I will say that I think the author deserves credit for such a strong concept, and tackling such difficult subject matter in way that was both humorous and engaging. Ultimately, it was the very adolescent choice of language, tone, and style, that made this book less enjoyable for me.

Jesus christ. I don't read as many thrillers as I used to and this one had me on the edge of my seat and holding my breath at every turn. This book is raw and rough and terrifying. It's definitely scarier to read as a queer person if only because the sheer fact that we see examples of the villains in this story every day on the news and in power. It truly is a scary book. I don't know what else to say that you should preorder it immediately (it comes out on my birthday 😅😬 Sept 15).

While there is some humor, this is a story about queer pain and trauma. It's an unpleasant but essential story.

The one downside to this for me was the pacing. It was only a couple days but that sounded unrealistic and perhaps if it had even been a week it would've worked just a tad bit better for me.

I was also left staring in horror at the pages as all of the kids went back to the very same homes that had sent them to a freaking conversion camp in the first place. surely that wouldn't be the case! Gah it broke my heart to see how many people STILL think gayness and queerness is something to be cured of. I was in awe of how well all the kids came together though. The queer community is fantastic and the vast majority of the time we all put our differences aside and come together as a big ole group of queers and we love every minute of it.

So thankful to be provided an ARC of this book! However, I wanted to love this so much more than I did. I'm the first person to root for a queer story, and this one promised the queer content I wanted, but the narrator's voice grated on me throughout the entire book. It was hard to take painful and scary moments of the story seriously when the tone was so off.

Still, I highly enjoyed the creative approach to a YA thriller! The amount of representation in this book is incredible, and it was so refreshing to see a large group of queer youths coming together to battle homophobic and transphobic leadership. I treasured the idea of "found family" as it was embraced throughout the book. I also appreciated that Sass dove into darker topics that do plague queer youth. It was much appreciated to see that he didn't skirt the tougher topics.

All in all, a fast-paced and intriguing story, but the tone missed the mark for me. Very fun read nonetheless.

A parent's love can take different forms, which sometimes comes in a form of pain as conveyed in Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass. 

After coming out to his very religious mother at the insistence of his boyfriend Ario that he'd feel better, Connor has found that his summer has been anything but the fun, loving, and relaxing environment he fantasized about. Without his phone and with his time dedicated to helping deliver meals to people around his town, Connor finds that he's become disconnected from Ario but still has a strong desire to be with him before college separates them. Shortly after the meal recipient, Ricky, specially included on Connor's route by his town's reverend dies, Connor is kidnapped, at the behest of his mother, and taken to a remote island to attend Nightlight Ministries's conversion therapy camp until he changes his ways. While at Nightlight Connor investigates the odd note he got from Ricky that relates to Nightlight and plans an escape with his fellow campers. Everyone at Nightlight has secrets they're keeping, but some secrets and truths are more dangerous than others. 

This is a swiftly moving and heartfelt story that captivates attention with the snarky, clever bits of conversation and a bit of mystery. The topics broached throughout the narrative are emotionally dense and well addressed, portraying the good with the bad and the myriad of imperfections in between; much of what's explored includes heavier topics that may be triggering for a variety of readers, but the way they're portrayed is handled with care as it conveys the very real emotional component associated with them while ensuring to depict a sliver of hope within the darkness. While the narrative was compelling as it developed and the various pieces fell into place, I did find myself struggling to believe that the events at Nightlight took place over the course of a [long] single day after arrival - there was so much going on that it was jarring to be repeatedly reminded through Connor's thoughts or other campers' comments that this was his first day there when the events would be more realistic spread out over the course of a week.

Overall, I'd give it a 4 out of 5 stars.

Sass has burst onto the scene with an incredibly engaging, twisty story that completely blew me away. 

This is at times a horrendous, hard to read story, but the issues discussed need to be shouted about. While this particular story is fiction, Connor's tale is real for so many people in society and other aspects of the plot are still prevalent today. Sass' writing is brutal, unafraid of shying away from the horrific realities of queer pain without ever feeling exploitative, something which discusses brilliantly in his author's note which prefaces the story. That note also contains some content warnings, which I thought was a brilliant addition. 

However, ultimately, Sass shows how there is hope even in the most awful situations, with a brilliant cast of characters who band together. From the first page, I connected with Connor, feeling that cloying atmosphere of abusive control and homophobia he's trapped in. His realisation of the similarities between Nightlight and his own home are heartbreaking to read. Sass gives us time with most of the other characters, so they are never as simple as they seem. We explore their stories and even get insights into the villain's psyches, showing the constant cycle of abuse without excusing their atrocious actions. 

There is an excellent mystery thread to the plot, which kept me on my toes throughout. It's utterly compelling, showing Sass' skill as it takes unexpected twists and turns. Thrillers are often some of my favourite books and here is a high-stakes, compulsively readable example, brimming over with tension. 

It is so hard to write this review, as this is really a book that the less you know before you start, the better. All I can say is Surrender Your Sons holds a jagged mirror up to our society in an unputdownable thriller that I implore you to read.

"It was so kind of you to visit me in my loneliness"


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

This a tough book to review. I can't say I "liked it" in the traditional sense but I definitely give it all of 5 stars - more if I could - and think that everyone should read it. It's impossible to review the actual story without giving too much away and I don't want to spoil the surprise. I will say this - I am difficult to catch off guard when it comes to plot twists and this book got me more than once.

Everything that is wrong about conversion therapy is exposed in this book. Everything that is wrong with pressuring someone to come out of the closet or deal with their sexuality according to your timeline is addressed in this book. The need for unconditional, unbreakable love between parent and child is clearly expressed in this book.

It will not make you feel good, It might make you cry. You might have to put it down and walk away for a bit to regain some emotional stability. But in the end, you will have been forced to think deeply and carefully about the importance of seeing every human being you encounter as being in need of love and compassion.

An action-packed debut from Adam Sass! Surrender Your Sons keeps you on the edge of your seat, with unexpected twists I didn't see coming. In Connor, the book's main character, Sass nails the internal struggles of a queer kid raised in an unsupportive religious environment.

This is one of those books I really wish I enjoyed more. The premise is fantastic - part Lord of the Flies and part The Miseducation of Cameron Post - but it didn't quite work for me.

Connor lives in a small rural town with his religious zealot mother. He's gay and has a boyfriend for the first time. His boyfriend comes from a very supportive family who embraced his coming out without reservation. Connor is pretty sure his own mother won't be so accepting, but Ario encourages him to stop sneaking around and to tell his mother.

As Connor predicted, it doesn't go well and Connor finds himself on lockdown, allowed out of the house only to help the Reverend deliver meals on wheels. And there's something weird about the Reverend, and not just the thrall he seems to have the entire town under, especially Conner's mother. It seems to have something to do with one of the meals on wheels customers, a severely handicapped guy called Ricky.

Then Ricky dies and Connor is dragged from his home by burly guys who claim to be taking him to a summer camp. The only clue is a note Ricky left in the pages of an old theatre program.

The summer camp turns out to be a conversion camp on a remote island in Costa Rica. And it's run by none other than the Reverend. Connor needs to figure out why Ricky wrote the name of this camp on the program he left and what his link is to both the camp and the Reverend before it's too late.

There was lots to like about this story about kids taking justice into their own hands in order to escape a horrendous experience. There were moments of high adventure and excitement and moments of quite tender romance. But overall, I felt like there was a little too much going on. It was difficult to understand why Connor was so invested in Ricky's past when he didn't seem to know him very well, and cared about him less.

The writing itself was often overblown which drew me out of the story because the language didn't feel like Connor's language, the descriptions unlike something a teenage boy would observe.

The other campers were not well-drawn and were defined almost exclusively through the way they looked. Female campers were given particularly little definition apart from feisty Molly, the girl Connor arrives on the island with.

If you're a fan of action and adventure and kids taking the law into their own hands, this might be a book for you.

Thanks to NetGalley for letting me read it in advance.

"Surrender Your Sons" is a book with a rather interesting synopsis. The beginning of it was rather boring for me but as I read further in, it got more and more interesting. It's a certainly entertaining read.

Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass


I want to begin this review by saying that I have followed Adam Sass on Twitter for quite awhile and when I saw Surrender Your Sons pop up on NetGalley, I immediately “wished” for it. When my wish was granted a couple of months, I literally shrieked out loud.

Connor Major trusted his boyfriend when he suggested that Connor come out to his family, but it turns out to be an utter disaster. Connor’s religious mother strongly objects to the revelation, confiscates his phone, and ultimately has him shipped off to a conversion camp on a secluded island near Costa Rica.

In theory, if Connor follows all the directions, he can leave after a week.

But no one ever leaves after only a week.

Connor and his fellow campers quickly realize that they have no way to get off the island and no one even knows where they are, so their only solution is to band together and make an escape plan.

This was an amazing book. It’s a queer version of Lord of the Flies, but it’s so much more than that. There’s also a mystery component related to someone Connor knows from his hometown, and from the very beginning, it’s clear that (much like the island from Lost), this island holds many secrets (but without the polar bears). Finding out the truth is almost as important to Connor as getting off the island.

The plot unfolds via Connor’s first-person narration and he rarely holds back. He’s definitely out of his element, and while he’s on the island, he begins to question everything about his life back home. He doesn’t know who he can trust when it comes to the campers, but he doesn’t have much choice but to take a chance with his new friends.

I would be remiss if I didn’t mention the political elements of this book. The concept of conversion camps is inherently political, and while the practice has been outlawed in many states, it is still legal in certain parts of the country. Multiple studies and scientific evidence points to the detrimental effect of conversion camps on queer people, but the programs are still permitted to operate. Sass tackles the subject with unflinching grace; this account is fictionalized, but it’s based on fact—this, or something like this, has been (and still is) the reality for queer teens across the country.

I would absolutely recommend Surrender Your Sons. This is a monumentally important book and I think that everybody should read it. I was riveted from the very beginning, as I watched Connor and his friends face insurmountable odds. I hope this book wins all the awards and I can’t wait to find out what Sass is working on next.



I received a copy of this book from NetGalley/the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

The beginning of this book was a bit like whiplash, but once it introduced more of the mystery I got hooked very fast. Very psychologically intense with some deep commentary about the LGBT+ community and its relationship with religion. The scenes are rather confronting, but that is to be expected with a conversion therapy story. I really liked the characters and their survival story. It felt real, despite everything, and I really enjoyed the story.