Thank you to NetGalley for this ARC!

This novel was like The Miseducation of Cameron Post but on steroids! (in a good way, if that's possible)

The writing: absolutely beautiful and compels you to read on despite how tired you are. Even though the language is simple, the way the sentences are strung together is just AMAZING. Like, I can't even describe what it is about the writing that draws you in but there is just that something about it.

The story: my God. The writing cleverly combines stories of the past and stories of the now without making it feel clunky or boring.

The characters: there was quite a large cast which made it difficult to keep up at times but you still got the gist and many of them are easily distinguishable so that you get reminded again of who is who.

Overall: definitely worth a read!

"Nightlight has no TV, no running water, no basic necessities...but they've got body bags."

SURRENDER YOUR SONS drew me in with all its terror and twists. This is a horrific camp story unlike any you've read before. There is a deep emotional connection with the main character, Conner, and his relationship struggles with his mom. He can't be his true self or feel safe to be himself and that reflects throughout the story. Every chapter has a terrific hook to keep turning the pages, even though many parts of it are scary and psychological as hell. I enjoyed the deception and the layers of secrets. And the last chapter rips my heart out. My favorite line is, "This camp has a boner for freezing us inside a snow globe of detestable, old-timey America."

4/5 stars

Damn.

This book is WILD. It's so good, and I was hooked from the beginning. Some of the characters bugged me (*cough* Ario), but I didn't let that get in the way of me enjoying the flow of the story. There's quite a few trigger warnings, but the big ones would be homophobia, suicide, and abuse (physical, mental, and emotional). There are also some violent scenes as well. I am not queer, but I do consider myself an ally. There may be some other trigger warnings, subplots, or messages that might've flown over my head. So I apologize if I did miss anything that I should've noted! Honestly, this is a solid book! I would've given it 5 stars if the pacing didn't get rough about a third of the way through. It lasted in this weird limbo for around 80-100 pages, but it was enough for me to really notice it and round down my stars. This is one book to definitely check out!

But I'm a Cheerleader meets Latter Days. Except where the main characters are in denial in both of those movies, Connor knows he's queer. It's those around him in denial. 

*whistles* This. Book. Man. It was brutual. And sometimes we forget that in even modern times, where so many of us have strong support systems and can live our truths, queer pain STILL exists for so many others. Evil will always exist in different forms and prejudices so we will have to always fight for ourselves and our neighbors. Surrender Your Sons is only one of those stories out of millions. Even if it's fiction, it could easily be someone else's reality. The story in Surrender Your Sons doesn't just touch Connor's life, but spans across generations. It's a legit toxic cycle of 'because that's how it's always been done' that exists now, more relevant than ever. 

People don't like things they don't understand. They don't like being uncomfortable. They don't like change. They want others to conform to their world views so they can keep living in their boundaries. Their denial. Even if it means hurting those you claim you love. Connor's mom is so deep in denial about her son, it's devastatingly blinding. She will do or say anything that makes her son make sense to her instead of finding her way out of her own darkness. She goes to the extreme measures of having him violently kidnapped and hauled off to a secret island to fix him. Unfortunately for the island, he's not going down without a fight. 

Surrender Your Sons is a fast-paced intense thriller that doesn't shy away from the ugliness of the world. The uncomfortable parts. Adam weaves a universe by fleshing out the characters and plot so well, that by the end of the book, I was personally shocked it had only been a few days and not actual months. It takes a lot to shock me. 

From the moment I heard about Surrender Your Sons, it called to me and I did everything I could to get my hands on it. I don't usually like reading the tough stories but I'm so glad I picked this one up. I can't wait to read more of Adam's work in the future.

(Quote)Nightlight tried to snuff it out, but love grew. Love found its way to the island.(Quote) #LoveIsLouder

TRIGGERS: [Paranoia, Homophobia, Religious Bigotry, Family Bigotry, Hate Crime, Gay Bashing, Conversion Therapy, Death, Suicide, Anxiety, Panic Attacks, Psychological Trauma, Physical Trauma.]

***Thank you so incredibly much to Adam Sass, North Star Editions, Flux, and Netgalley for providing a platform for reviews and allowing me the privilege to review Surrender Your Sons.***

WOW.

Surrender Your Sons was a completely messed up book. Just wow. I had no idea what I was walking into but I also couldn't look away from it either. Oh lord, this book was so sad that I felt my heart strings being pulled and twisted throughout the entire book.

First off, no idea if these places actually exist to this day, but shame on parents who do this. I don't know how many times I wished I could reach into a book just to knock some sense into a person. Especially when it came to Connors' mom. She really needed a reality check and maybe a visit from baby Jesus every now and then.

Second, love is love. No parent should ever try to change their kid. They should always be their number one support system and to see how parents, and even the adults at this wacko camp, were acting - it broke my heart.

Third, I know this book doesn't sound like it has a lot of hope.. but it does. From the very beginning, I wanted all these kids to leave. To be rescued. Heck, to save themselves because they are bad ass to the bone. I won't say what did or didn't happen, you will just have to read it for yourself.

In the end, always have hope and a god damn amazing support system.

3.5 Stars. I was thrilled to be granted this one from Netgalley off my wishlist. I had been hearing about this book for some time. The story caught and held my attention, the premise was interesting. Connor Major a teenager who came out before he was ready, his family not happy about it. Connor is a fantastic MC, he is so direct, he nails the discomforts and insecurities of being a teen, falling for someone and sexually. The writing from his POV incredible, his candor and wit spot on. Connor is taken from his home to a conversion camp, with others in the same situation. There were many great messages within this story as well as fantastic writing that I really enjoyed.

However everything happens within the shortest time period it’s unrealistic, odd and did not give me a chance to adapt to the new setting or situation. Revelations, mysteries, instant friendships and love happened within 24 hours. I felt the story would have worked better if there was more development of that part of the story.

Thank you Negalley and publisher for granting my wish

This was so sad, but the spark of hope helped me get through. People can be prejudiced and terrible and the thought of those kids being sent to conversion therapy by their own parents breaks my heart. The really awful thing is that this still happens in today's world, even in America. The author did a good job of showing, in his words "different kinds of queer pain." The ways people process abuse and how difficult it is to stay true to yourself when you're being beaten down day after day.

The plot moved quickly and some parts were a little overly dramatic, but the story was interesting and kept me on the edge of my seat. I liked the friendships that resulted from the shared trauma and seeing the kids stick up for each other. Connor wasn't perfect and that made him more realistic and relateable. His story mostly takes place over two days, but the change in him is obvious. I'm proud of his shift to caring about others and the way he stepped up as a leader.
I'm excited for this to be released to the world so everyone can check it out!

Thanks to NetGalley and Flux for this advanced copy. My opinions are my own.

I received this book from NetGalley in exchange of an honest review.

TW: suicide, death, murder, conversion therapy, torture, hate crime, abuse (physicological and physical), homophobia.

I'll never thank enough the publisher for granting me this wish.
Surrender your sons is part thriller, part mystery, part coming of age, and it's the story of Connor, a gay seventeen years old, who, because of his religious zealot mother and their reverend, is kidnapped and brought to a conversion therapy camp on a island. The book, wonderfully and skillfully written, follows Connor trying to uncover a mystery, escaping from the island and exposing the horrible truth of the camp.

Intense, raw, painful, beautiful, reading Surrender your sons was like having my heart squeezed, my throat punched, my breath knocked out of me. It's rare and precious finding a book that hit you so hard, you KNOW it will stay with you for a very long time. I couldn't put down this book, because I was so involved in the story, so attatched to the characters I needed to know what would happen next, fearing for them, cheering them on. I cried, I raged, I smiled and squealed. I hoped.
Adam Sass's writing style was so powerful and intense I found myself feeling all kind of emotion and I was upset, angry, sad, full of rage and sorrow for this beautiful and complex characters.

They are are skillfully written and relatable. It was impossible not to love and support Connor, Marcos, Molly, Darcy and the other campers. I was impressed by the relationships they have with one other, the way they protect each other, their strength and resilience in a place where everyone wanted to change and hurt them.
Their being true to themselves and to each other is beautiful. They, like any kids or teenagers in that awful situation, feel all kind of emotions. They are angry, scared, hesitant and, at the same time, determined and furious and their complexity is well written and real.
It was possible feeling some degrees of sympathy even for the "villains" in the story, because, (though this knowledge don't justify their cruelty whatoever) they seemed trapped into a spiral of hurt and trauma, that spanned generations, pushing them in the grey area between good and bad.
Adam Sass wrote characters that are utterly flawed, real and human and it was easy being so involved in the story.

Surrender your sons deals with important themes, like the conversion therapy, homophobia, hate crimes, suicide. I was really impressed by the way the author dealt with so many important topics and how, through jokes and witty remarks, the characters showed their strength and resilience, their bond and love. The characters are brimming with life and hurt, love and sorrow.
This book deals with the concept that parents would do unspeakable things to their sons and daughter to have them be as they want. Thinking about that, about how queer people still live in fear of not be accepted and loved by those who are supposed to support and love them is appalling. And it makes my heart clenches and my blood boils realizing the cruelties people would do under religious justifications. The idea that it's possible to find a family (not necessarily a biological one) with friends was a powerful message.

I think Surrender your sons is the kind of book (and mystery) the reader needs to discover on his own, going there without a single clue. It's a book about dark themes, and, at the same time, about friendship, love, justice, fighting back and so much hope.
Hope is something that shines through the pages and it's impossible not to cling to it.

I can't wait to have this book in my hands.

The single most gripping novel I've read, around LGBT experiences and issues, ever. Period. Grapples with serious topics in a meaningful, well-researched and trauma-informed way. A novel that was confronting, yes, and exposing, but in no way did I find the novel to be re-traumatising.

The characters are layered and complex, and consistently deepen our own investment in the novel - we, the reader, strive to understand this messy, awful part of our world. We seek to empathise, understand, hate and even love all the people we journey with. I will recommend this novel to everyone I know, and all my fellow teachers, as mandatory reading. Will be buying the paperback of this when it releases. Highly recommend.

*Spoiler free*

This book had me from it's synopsis. Queer teens plotting to take down the conversion therapy camp they've been forced to attend. I found out about this book a bit after I read and loved Foul Is Fair, a book about taking down horrible boys, so I was eager for more books where the world crashes down around terrible people. And this seemed like another one. Trigger warnings: homophobia, conversion therapy, transphobia, suicide, blood, gore

This book lived up to the yearning I had for it. It fulfilled by expectations and it will proudly sit on my shelf next to Foul Is Fair when it finally comes out.

This book is about queer pain. But it's also about queer perseverance, queer strength, and how every queer person handles their identity differently. Sometimes it goes really dark, but it also makes sure that there's light in hidden places as well. I feel like this book showcases a broad number of things and it showcases them really well.

I feel like it's hard to talk about the individual aspects of this book, like the characters or their relationships, because what I felt like made this book so powerful is what lies underneath all of them. But I'm going to try to talk about both, because both made this book what it is.

I think one of my favorite parts of this book was how every queer person in this book is different. They all reacted differently and they all handled things differently. No one way is correct or better than the others. Some are more fearful, some are more angry, and some are more out and proud. All are alright. I really liked how each character was allowed to be queer in their own way. They were given the space to react and handle the horror around them in a way their brains could process. Just, I liked how many different queer experiences were in this book and how well each of them were written.

Speaking of all the queer characters, all of them have a special place in my heart. All the little kids, to the older ones. I loved all of them. I loved the ones who were scared and I loved the ones who were angry. I loved how there were the Moms of the group and I loved how even in the darkest of places, a boy with a puppy like personality could still exist. I liked Connor and his bravery and his anger and his fear and his whole journey. I liked how he came into his queerness and how real his pain felt. Nothing about his journey is shied away from. In all it's messiness and hurtfulness, it's there.

Another thing this book does really well is that is does everything above, really, really well, but it also incorporates a mystery and thriller elements. And neither take away from each other! While I felt a bit confused here and there with the mystery plot and I felt like the dramatics just weren't quite there in some aspects, I still enjoyed reading it. Though, there were some moments, particularly at the end, where chills ran down my spine. Because wow. In the end, it was able to pull the story together and it pulled the emotional elements together in a way that brought them full circle.

The ending was spectacular. It fit so incredibly well with the book as a whole and I'm so happy with what happened. It's happy and it's painful and every emotion is there so starkly. Everything that happened is at play in the ending. It was just a really great way to end it.

This is a hard book. It shows the horrors of conversion therapy plainly. It shows how every queer person experiences their identity differently. It shows how there can be light, even in a place filled with the worse things imaginable. It's a really great book and it accomplishes what it's trying to do wonderfully. Thank you for visiting me in my loneliness.

The premise of this book caught my attention. It was fast-paced, full of drama and action and... romance? This book kind of had it all. I enjoyed the realistic and complicated relationships. Even though it’s technically YA, it’s not fluffy. I wouldn’t give it to a child under 16 due to sexual content.

For fans of Boy Erased and Hunger Games.

Really intense, super messed up but sooo good.

Honestly I think I was holding my breath throughout the entirety of this book. Personally being all too familiar with religious zealot's hatred and homophobia, Connor's story is a powerful read that will impact everyone who reads it.

I've gone on about how much I enjoyed this book that it's the first book my boyfriend has started reading in over five years and so far he's loving it as well.

I received a eARC from NetGalley for a review and if I haven't already convinced you that you need to read this book I'm just going to say I can't wait for the hardcover copy I pre-ordered.

I will be very honest and say another book about a conversion therapy camp did not excite me at first. Thankfully a friend and I were both granted ARCs and he asked to read at the same time. If not it would have taken so much longer to read this masterpiece. It is the farthest thing from the assumptions I made. A thriller, where one of the primary clues is a Broadway Playbill? IM SOLD. This book hit so many weird intersections in my life that I haven’t thought about in years and tells a queer story that I haven’t seen told before. All 4 years of high school I attended a Christian Summer Camp - ON AN ISLAND(granted that camp was lovingly known as “Gay Jesus Camp” because it was attended by queer Christian youth from around the country). There are as many queer experiences as their are queer people in the world and @itsadamsass was able to construct a group of rag tag queers that really shines a light on so many different identities(catch a whole scene with they/them pronouns until the character identifies himself). I also love the conversation it started about romantic relationships and the complexity within those. Relationships that we want/relationships that we need and realizing that a relationship can not be good for us even when we think it’s what we need. This book was scary, thrilling - a true page turner. While it did so many scary things it really was a story filled with discovery of identity, chosen family, love, and loss. All this is woven into this complex and contemporary thriller. It is the gay hunger games I have been dreaming of for years!

A fast paced thriller about Queer teens fighting back against the adults who have kidnapped them and trapped them in a conversion camp located on a remote island in Costa Rica. While the novel follows the formula of a thriller, it also has some extremely moving and relevant discussions surrounding identity, acceptance, family and love. I thought Connor was a relatable main character and I feel like a lot of young people will be able to connect with him as well as the other side characters, who have their own backstories and experiences regarding their sexuality.

I read this book over a couple of days and it was definitely something that kept me hooked, I was quite invested in the story and there were some powerful moments. The author does mention in the beginning that while this book features Queer pain, it's not solely about this and in my opinion it doesn't feel exploitative or overdone, but just very sad and realistic. There is also characters dealing with the tough stuff through humour and banding together, which were some of my favourite moments. I love the family these teens create through the course of the novel and that Connor especially realises that family can be found even in the most unexpected places.

My major issue was the pacing or time frame in the book - all the action in the novel takes place over 2 days, I believe. It just felt a bit unbelievable that all of this went down in such a short space of time from Connors arrival at Nightlight to figuring out the mysteries and then eventual progression.

Overall, this is an important book and one I enjoyed reading, although some of the subject matter is quite intense and some questions are left up in the air. I feel like this is the kind of book that needs to be out there and if even one young person can read this and feel less alone, then that's an incredible thing. I have no doubt this will be big on it's release come September.

Incredibly paced thriller about the horrors of being sent to a conversion camp on a small island off of Costa Rica.

When queer teens fight back.

I was stunned into plowing through this book. 2020 is the year of queer for me. I can't get enough gay YA and Adam Sass is going to be a big part of that year. Grab this one now.

I am not even sure where to begin as there is so much to unpack in this book about acceptance, family, revenge and love. When Connor is pressured by his boyfriend to come out to his very religious mom he knows it isn’t going to go well. However, he definitely underestimated just how badly it was going to go....he never could have dreamed up Nightlight. A conversion camp on a remote island it is the site of so many horrors, all with the purpose of making young kids who were across the spectrum of the LGBTQIA no longer identify with who they were as a human. With a murder mystery subplot and a battle against nature to rival The Hunger Games this book is a force to be reckoned with. This book made me angry and sad and finally happy, although not all books have traditional happy endings, but it will remind the reader that there is good and evil in this world and we all need to support the good!

Conversion therapy is still being considered by families who believe being heterosexual is the correct "choice." This novel stresses -- love is love, love is life, and love looks differently for everyone. Overall, this novel is an interesting glimpse into a conversion camp (and the lives of its campers) that is unbelievable in many respects but its base story resonates.

Surrender your sons was quite a tough read. It really hit hard in the feels compartment. Super intense and very emotional.

Connor Major who recently came out to his not understanding mother was kidnapped and sent to conversion therapy camp on a far away island. But it turns out that this won’t be his only problem as the camp leader, the Reverend, has many dark and dirty secrets that will bring Connor and his fellow hostages in great danger. The kids plan their escape and try to expose the whole truth about that camp.

This book is really dark and painful at times but it also has its quiet and tender moments. I really enjoyed the writing style and thought it was a very well paced thriller. Impossible to put down. I did like all the kids at the camp and was so worried about the outcome. The loyalty and growing love between all the young campers was so special and important.

The ending felt like there might be a sequel which I’d definitely read.

Absolutely chilling conversion-therapy horror story that doesn’t let you go until the very last page.

Content warnings include: homophobia in all forms, parental abuse, conversion-therapy, suicide, murder, cheating, violence, emotional torture, racism, sexism, transphobia, electroshocks, abduction, non-explicit sex between teenagers.
Mentions of: islamophobia, statutory rape, teenage pregnancy, hate crime leading to death and disability.

Author Adam Sass is very upfront in the foreword about this being a story that features a lot of queer pain and suffering, with it’s focus being how queer people react to this pain. And how that reaction and coping strategy can sometimes be humor.

I didn’t find Surrender Your Sons particularly humorous. Connor, the protagonist, isn’t a guy who makes a lot of jokes, and while there were funny moments, they were mostly born out of the combination of a horrible situation and horny teenagers who don’t always have a filter (either verbally or mentally) and had a certain shock factor to them.

Related to that, the book was also messy. Or rather, Connor was. He flip flops between emotions and which actions to take, he makes mistakes, overreacts, does stupid things and says things that aren’t okay in the heat of the moment. Most of his mistakes are adressed, be it by other characters or his own realization. In my lack of experience, I found him to be a believable portrayal of a seventeen year old teenager.

Despite it not being as humorous as I thought it would be and starting from a different point I imagined, I was sucked into the plot immediately. I binged the book in a single day because I could not put it down. The horrifying events, shocking twists and chilling turns were executed in a way that kept me reading and reading towards the end.

Speaking of the ending, I liked how much of it was focused on the aftermath. Because despite escaping and unearthing the camp’s secrets, the horror is far from over. Ultimately it does have a hopeful ending and left me feeling satisfied (and I’m usually only satisfied with happy-rainbow-sparkling-everyone-loves-each-other endings.)

If there was one thing I had to complain about it would be the timeline. The vast majority of the book (safe for flashbacks) plays over the course of one or two days, and to me that felt just a little bit too tight. It was still all believable and made sense, but the choice to not let things play out over a larger timeframe surprised and baffled me a bit.

Overall, Surrender Your Sons was a fantastic reading experience. It’s brutally frank at times, and paints a stark, shocking picture of our society, and doesn’t gloss over some of the often ignored ugly details.
If you decide to read it, especially if you are queer, please mind the content warnings, take care of yourself and make sure that you’re in the right mindset for it. Reading it was like watching a horror movie for me – as such it was truly horrifying and it shocked me with it’s gruesomeness several times. Additionally, the writing style is very descriptive and often used blunt, harsh adjectives to describe everything.

Speaking of, I did like that there was quite a bit of representation. The love interest as well as several other characters are fat, and multiple characters are POC. I can however not speak about if the representation was executed well.
The queer representation also isn’t limited to gay boys, but features lesbian, bi and trans characters.

Thank you thank you thank you Flux/North Star Editions, and thank you, NetGalley, for the chance to read this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Actual rating: 3.5 (rounded down)

In the ‘Author’s Note’ we’re preempted with: This book is “...not about queer pain. It’s about what queer’s do with pain.” And if that doesn’t just fucking hit hard...

If I were to compare this to other more familiar books, I’d say it’s a mix between Boy Erased: A Memoir of Identity, Faith, and Family, Lord of the Flies, The Miseducation of Cameron Post, and a little sprinkling of The Hunger Games. You would never think a hodgepodge of those novels and genres would create anything decent, but believe me when I say that it WORKS!

The writing is exceptional! Mr. Sass has a way of getting my emotions all frayed with how he writes certain scenes. He does so, however, with care, as there are some triggering topics and dark subject matter within: TW’s for homophobia, suicide, physical and mental abuse, graphic violence, swearing, and sexual content.

From the start, I was not a fan of Ario (Connor’s boyfriend) for essentially pressuring him into coming out. That is unacceptable. If you’re not ready, you’re not ready. Don’t let anyone tell you otherwise. Parts of the story got a little too explicit, I’d say, for a YA book. Even though the characters range in age from 12-20, there is some semi-graphic sexual content, and quite a lot of swearing. I’m against censorship, though, and I feel the average teen is not going to balk at the content within this novel. But I’m no prude, either... this is just a forewarning to anyone sensitive to such things.

Let me just say: “The wolf and the calf” section GAVE. ME. CHILLS! Holy shit, what a gut punch! I must reiterate how little this happens to me as of late—there are so few books that give me such strong emotional reactions—but this one did me in. Another scene that struck me hard (and I understand the point of the symbology) was the urn in the closet.

On characters: I mean, I thought they were believable and well fleshed-out. A few of the antagonists had some questionable motives—Lots of unanswered questions, plot holes, and disbelief over some of the dramatics—but all the campers really grew on me. The rep here is pretty phenomenal, too! The trans character having proper pronouns and not once being dead-named is a plus... not many authors these days seem to have that kind of sensitivity, or know how to handle it well.

I have a few complaints, however: one is with the pacing. Don’t get me wrong, the book had me hooked from the start, but lulled a bit between 20%-40%, and then picked up again, but was unfortunately kind of clunky towards the end. It was pretty damn anticlimactic (though, I don’t think I could’ve handled it getting too violent; I don’t think it would have been appropriate given the subject matter). Still, I found lacking. My biggest issue, however, is with the time frame. Are we really supposed to believe that the entire narrative on the island happens over the course of only 2 days??? I find that absurd; the suspension of disbelief only goes so far with me. If the plot was drawn out a bit more over, say, a week even, then I would’ve been satisfied. But 48 hours is totally unbelievable for how much goes on in this book. I wanted to rate this higher, I mean, it should be rated higher, but I cannot get past the brief narrative timeline on the island.

If anything, it’s set up perfectly for a (maybe?) sequel. I’d love a continuation, in fact! These are important stories; the structuring just needs tidying up. All-in-all, I’m thrilled to have read this, and beg the author for MORE!