Feelings of self-harm can be upsetting to even hear about. One last thing to acknowledge is the S word. Don’t be the one who lets the others do all the work! No one likes that person! Being part of the queer community is like the ultimate group project in school. That’s why I wrote a variety of different kids into this book.

Yet there’s no universal queer experience. In Surrender Your Sons, you’ll find queer kids put through bad experiences, and then sometimes, they’ll make a joke about it. In my experience, queer people process pain in many ways, but a big one is through humor. Pain is something queers deal with regularly, even if it’s just occasional feelings of isolation and otherness. Queer pain is something we’ve seen either too much of in the media or bungled in some way. First, I want to acknowledge that you’ll find queer pain in this book. But just like with any thrill ride or roller coaster, there are some safety precautions we need to go over before we can all have a good scream. But first, he’s exposing the camp’s horrible truths for what they are-and taking this place down. Connor plans to escape and bring the other kidnapped teens with him. 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. His final destination: Nightlight Ministries, a conversion therapy camp that will be his new home until he “changes.”īut Connor’s troubles are only beginning. 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. A blend of Lost and Lord of the Flies … just with gay teenagers taking the horrors of the world head on.Ī 2020 Booklist Top 10 First Novels for Youth selectionĪ 2020 Kirkus Reviews Best Young Adult Books selectionĪ 2020 Foreword INDIES Book of the Year Awards Bronze Winner, Young Adult FictionĬonnor Major’s summer break is turning into a nightmare. Surrender Your Sons is an LGBTQ+ YA mystery / thriller that expertly blends together humor, horror, and heart, in a wholly unique read like no other.

Surrender your sons adam sass