we are the daughters of the witches you burnt - something wicked this way comes |
Published: 15th Sep 2020 Reviewed: 2nd March 2020 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. |
5/5
So first things first, I was provided an arc of this book by the publisher on NetGalley. Never say wishes don’t come true haha. Now, if I’m being honest the first thing that drew me to this book is the yellow front cover. Not only is yellow one of my favourite colours, it’s also severely underused in the cover art world and my bookcase is crying out for it, so I will definitely be purchasing a copy of this as well. I was also very nervous to read this book, because of the topic of conversion camps, but I'm so glad that I pushed past that.
Surrender Your Sons is an absolute roller coaster of a book and while I usually try to avoid including spoilers in my reviews I just can’t do that here. This book made me feel SO MUCH that I need to discuss is at length, so please be aware there will be some minor spoilers but nothing plot breaking.
When I was ¼ in it was maybe 3 stars. I found Connor to be frustrating, he’d go backwards and forwards between being obsessed with his current boyfriend and getting back to him, and then flirting with Marcos, one of the other campers, and so it kind of made any feelings he had for Ario seem a bit?? Fake?? I guess? The further in to the plot we got however, the higher the star rating rose.
Connor and the rest of the campers are scared, they’re children. They’re in a place where they’re being told all sorts of lies about themselves. But oh my god are they resilient. From the ones who try their best to protect the younger kids, to the ones gathering evidence since they arrived in an attempt to bring Nightlight down, every single one of the campers was so, so strong.
For Connor, Ario was the only queer person he was aware that he knew, and he provided a safe space despite the fact that he pressured Connor to come out before he was ready. And Ario was also pulling away, which made Connor paranoid and possessive. Marcos, on the other hand, was protective and attentive and we all know that trauma bonds people. While Ario’s parents were accepting, both Connor and Marcos had been sent to Nightlight by their family. They experienced the horror of it together, and if that isn’t shared trauma I don’t know what is.
Surrender Your Sons is about generational queer trauma. It’s about the way that inflicting this kind of damage to even just a handful of people can resonate outwards like a small rock thrown into a river creates larger ripples. From the younger members of the group, to 17 year old Connor, to some of the camp workers themselves who were returning campers so caught up in the lie and the Reverend’s power that they came back to work for him. And underlying all that is the story of Ricky, an older gay man who Connor had served meals on wheels to before Ricky passed away.
Generations of trauma squeezed into one book. It packs a hell of a punch, lemme tell you.
I read it in a day. If it had stretched over into day two I would have had to sleep not knowing what happened to the group. I would have had to go to work and sneak tense 15 min reads into my breaks and lunch. This was not a situation I was prepared to deal with and so I stayed up until 1am or so, with a belting headache, intermittently screaming at a group chat about how intense it all was.
By the time I was at the last few pages I was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally but oh my god was it worth it. This book was a masterpiece of character growth and complexity. It had so many twists and turns in it that I almost got car sick without going anywhere. Some chapters were very hard to read, and I cried several times but I also laughed. And after that teaser of an ending if we don’t get a sequel where 5 years down the line Connor is leading an elite team of ex campers to track down Miss Manners I will cry (I doubt we will actually get that, but if you think i'm not going to run fake scenarios through my head of this exact thing then you are WRONG).
I recommend this wholeheartedly. But please do go into it with open eyes. Due to the nature of the plot there is discussion of suicide and self harm, of murder and religion and hate crime. It isn’t a book for the faint-hearted, but if you’re willing to give it a chance it’ll wow you.
Surrender Your Sons is an absolute roller coaster of a book and while I usually try to avoid including spoilers in my reviews I just can’t do that here. This book made me feel SO MUCH that I need to discuss is at length, so please be aware there will be some minor spoilers but nothing plot breaking.
When I was ¼ in it was maybe 3 stars. I found Connor to be frustrating, he’d go backwards and forwards between being obsessed with his current boyfriend and getting back to him, and then flirting with Marcos, one of the other campers, and so it kind of made any feelings he had for Ario seem a bit?? Fake?? I guess? The further in to the plot we got however, the higher the star rating rose.
Connor and the rest of the campers are scared, they’re children. They’re in a place where they’re being told all sorts of lies about themselves. But oh my god are they resilient. From the ones who try their best to protect the younger kids, to the ones gathering evidence since they arrived in an attempt to bring Nightlight down, every single one of the campers was so, so strong.
For Connor, Ario was the only queer person he was aware that he knew, and he provided a safe space despite the fact that he pressured Connor to come out before he was ready. And Ario was also pulling away, which made Connor paranoid and possessive. Marcos, on the other hand, was protective and attentive and we all know that trauma bonds people. While Ario’s parents were accepting, both Connor and Marcos had been sent to Nightlight by their family. They experienced the horror of it together, and if that isn’t shared trauma I don’t know what is.
Surrender Your Sons is about generational queer trauma. It’s about the way that inflicting this kind of damage to even just a handful of people can resonate outwards like a small rock thrown into a river creates larger ripples. From the younger members of the group, to 17 year old Connor, to some of the camp workers themselves who were returning campers so caught up in the lie and the Reverend’s power that they came back to work for him. And underlying all that is the story of Ricky, an older gay man who Connor had served meals on wheels to before Ricky passed away.
Generations of trauma squeezed into one book. It packs a hell of a punch, lemme tell you.
I read it in a day. If it had stretched over into day two I would have had to sleep not knowing what happened to the group. I would have had to go to work and sneak tense 15 min reads into my breaks and lunch. This was not a situation I was prepared to deal with and so I stayed up until 1am or so, with a belting headache, intermittently screaming at a group chat about how intense it all was.
By the time I was at the last few pages I was exhausted mentally, physically and emotionally but oh my god was it worth it. This book was a masterpiece of character growth and complexity. It had so many twists and turns in it that I almost got car sick without going anywhere. Some chapters were very hard to read, and I cried several times but I also laughed. And after that teaser of an ending if we don’t get a sequel where 5 years down the line Connor is leading an elite team of ex campers to track down Miss Manners I will cry (I doubt we will actually get that, but if you think i'm not going to run fake scenarios through my head of this exact thing then you are WRONG).
I recommend this wholeheartedly. But please do go into it with open eyes. Due to the nature of the plot there is discussion of suicide and self harm, of murder and religion and hate crime. It isn’t a book for the faint-hearted, but if you’re willing to give it a chance it’ll wow you.
Published: 6th Feb 2020 Reviewed: 1st March 2020 In a post-apocalyptic America, a community survives in a national park, surrounded by water that keeps the Dead at bay. But when winter comes, there's nothing to stop them from crossing the ice. Then homebody Peter puts the camp in danger by naively allowing a stranger to come ashore and he's forced to leave the community of Wranglestone. Now he must help rancher Cooper, the boy he's always watched from afar, herd the Dead from their shores before the lake freezes over. |
4/5
I absolutely love zombie books. It's weird, because they're also my worst nightmare. Like, if the world was ever going to end holy crap let it not be with zombies because there is absolutely no way I'll survive. It doesn't matter if they're slow or if they're fast, I'd be dead. Despite this, I can't get enough of books written about them. This is Not a Test and The Forest of Hands and Feet were both two of my favourite books when I was younger, and so when I saw that we could expect a YA zombie book with a gay main character I was super excited, and honestly? Wranglestone doesn't disappoint, even if it wasn't exactly what I expected.
Peter is so sweet, and Cooper is adorable, and together they make a lovely couple. It was a little too fast moving for my tastes, in the sense of it felt a little insta love, but when we start the novel they've already known each other all their lives, so it doesn't read as eye rollingly annoying as it might do. You get to see them dance around each other for a little while, before anything official happens, but I love a good slow burn romance so I would have liked a little more lead up.
The setting of Wranglestone is so spooky. Like, I loved the idea that for a chunk of the year they're safe and they can live their best lives, but behind all that they're slaves to the ice and as soon as it starts to form, they're in danger. It gives you a sense of panic, of a build up in tension.
Another thing I liked is that the plot is a different take on the usual zombie type genre. It's a mix of a few different tropes that we've seen before in media, but I can't really go into much detail on them because it would be incredibly spoiler heavy, but things happen at the start of the book that seem so dangerous, but by the time you've read to the end and realised some of the key elements of this world you're like ohhhhhh that makes so much more sense! And the way that the author goes about revealing the secrets of Wranglestone to both Peter and the reader, is great.
Overall, a nice, creepy zombie filled read. It's atmospheric, it's intriguing, while at the same time having a very cute love story at the centre, and apparently there's going to be a sequel, which, honestly I can't wait to get my hands on.
Peter is so sweet, and Cooper is adorable, and together they make a lovely couple. It was a little too fast moving for my tastes, in the sense of it felt a little insta love, but when we start the novel they've already known each other all their lives, so it doesn't read as eye rollingly annoying as it might do. You get to see them dance around each other for a little while, before anything official happens, but I love a good slow burn romance so I would have liked a little more lead up.
The setting of Wranglestone is so spooky. Like, I loved the idea that for a chunk of the year they're safe and they can live their best lives, but behind all that they're slaves to the ice and as soon as it starts to form, they're in danger. It gives you a sense of panic, of a build up in tension.
Another thing I liked is that the plot is a different take on the usual zombie type genre. It's a mix of a few different tropes that we've seen before in media, but I can't really go into much detail on them because it would be incredibly spoiler heavy, but things happen at the start of the book that seem so dangerous, but by the time you've read to the end and realised some of the key elements of this world you're like ohhhhhh that makes so much more sense! And the way that the author goes about revealing the secrets of Wranglestone to both Peter and the reader, is great.
Overall, a nice, creepy zombie filled read. It's atmospheric, it's intriguing, while at the same time having a very cute love story at the centre, and apparently there's going to be a sequel, which, honestly I can't wait to get my hands on.
Published: 11th Feb 2017 Reviewed: 1st March 2020 Vie Eliot has survived a new high school, an abusive father, and the murderous Mr. Big Empty. Now, as Vie searches for Mr. Big Empty, he also finds himself facing an unexpected complication: how to be a good boyfriend. When a mysterious drifter named River disappears, though, Vie finds himself dragged into finding the missing boy. Vie’s psychic abilities have proved useful in the past, and once again they set him on the trail of a gruesome murderer. |
4/5
I really, really like this series and the cover art for this one is about 100 times better than the first one, so we're off to a good start.
I finished the first book (FULL REVIEW HERE) in 24 hours and I seem to be attempting to continue that trend for the rest of the series too. Poor Vie is not having a great time of it, yet again. I feel like this is also going to be a trend that I see continued.
So here we are with the second book in this series. Once again, between avoiding and/or confronting everyone out to get him, Vie attempts to solve a murder. Only, things may not be as they seem and as we move through the investigation with Vie, it turns out there's a lot more going on that was first apparent. Added to that, the ending itself throws a big "wait WHAT?" spanner into the works too.
I loved the part that Becca played, getting to see more of her and the friendship between her and Vie. It was nice to have him interacting with a positive influence who doesn't have a chance of sleeping with him. I love Austin, and to a slightly lesser extent Emmett too, but this boy needs some platonic friends too! On that same note, I love Sara. Honestly such a kind character who is just trying her best to look out for Vie. The way that story line played out was so perfect and I can't wait to see how it progresses in the third and fourth books. I think one of the focal strong points of this series is definitely the characters, so I was relieved to see that I loved them all just as much, if not more in some cases, as I did in the first book.
The plot itself was interesting. It never really got boring, although there were a few points near the beginning that I had to force myself to read through and not skim to get to the action. You could just as easily chalk that up to me being desperate to find out what happens to everyone though, because I AM very impatient.
I'm getting progressively more and more concerned about this brewing love triangle however. From past experience with books that include love triangles I've got a feeling I know how it's going to end up, and I don't think I'm going to like it haha, but I'll reserve judgement until I actually see a conclusion. I'll hold out for the polyamory we so clearly deserve!
As I mentioned in my review of the first book this cast of characters does not read as the age they are so clearly meant to read as. They just don't. And every time it's mentioned how old they actually are I'm just like...
I finished the first book (FULL REVIEW HERE) in 24 hours and I seem to be attempting to continue that trend for the rest of the series too. Poor Vie is not having a great time of it, yet again. I feel like this is also going to be a trend that I see continued.
So here we are with the second book in this series. Once again, between avoiding and/or confronting everyone out to get him, Vie attempts to solve a murder. Only, things may not be as they seem and as we move through the investigation with Vie, it turns out there's a lot more going on that was first apparent. Added to that, the ending itself throws a big "wait WHAT?" spanner into the works too.
I loved the part that Becca played, getting to see more of her and the friendship between her and Vie. It was nice to have him interacting with a positive influence who doesn't have a chance of sleeping with him. I love Austin, and to a slightly lesser extent Emmett too, but this boy needs some platonic friends too! On that same note, I love Sara. Honestly such a kind character who is just trying her best to look out for Vie. The way that story line played out was so perfect and I can't wait to see how it progresses in the third and fourth books. I think one of the focal strong points of this series is definitely the characters, so I was relieved to see that I loved them all just as much, if not more in some cases, as I did in the first book.
The plot itself was interesting. It never really got boring, although there were a few points near the beginning that I had to force myself to read through and not skim to get to the action. You could just as easily chalk that up to me being desperate to find out what happens to everyone though, because I AM very impatient.
I'm getting progressively more and more concerned about this brewing love triangle however. From past experience with books that include love triangles I've got a feeling I know how it's going to end up, and I don't think I'm going to like it haha, but I'll reserve judgement until I actually see a conclusion. I'll hold out for the polyamory we so clearly deserve!
As I mentioned in my review of the first book this cast of characters does not read as the age they are so clearly meant to read as. They just don't. And every time it's mentioned how old they actually are I'm just like...
But, as with the previous book, it wasn't such an issue for me that it stopped me enjoying it. I'm excited to see where the third book takes us. I do think it'll need to do something new, because the whole "Vie continues to get beat up," angle is getting very slightly old. As much as I love some good hurt/comfort I feel like there at least needs to be some extra comfort to balance the hurt otherwise it just gets a bit stale for me.
Reviewer
26. Capricorn. INFP. Hufflepuff.
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