Surrender Your Sons--Recipe for this book: Camp plus Boy Erased plus The Most Dangerous Game with a dash of The Blue Lagoon. And just a pinch of Lord of the Flies and Clue. This post's title is much too long, isn't it?

Title: Surrender Your Sons

Author: Adam Sass


LGBTQ+ Representation: The book takes place at conversion camp, so all of the LGBTQ+ letters are represented, pretty much. The main character is gay.


Content Warnings: Violence, massive homophobia. Conversion therapy. Suicide/murder.


What it’s about: When Connor comes out to to his mother, he is kidnapped and finds himself at a place called "Nightlight Ministries," a conversion therapy camp where he must stay until he is "cured" of being gay. At first, Connor decides to play along so he could be sent home quickly. But then he discovers that the friendly town Reverend and other staff members are hiding sinister secrets. Will the campers be able to escape alive?

What I think: The following blog post is based on actual conversations I was having with my 11- and 13-year-olds while trying to write. I combined both children into one child, whom I will call C. I swear any arguing and teasing is completely (well, mostly) good-natured. Children may vary and my experiences are not to be considered normal or average. Any similarities to other children are entirely coincidental.

 

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Scene: Dining room table, Friday evening. 

Me (typing away merrily): 

Reading this book immediately after reading Camp and writing about Boy Erased was a TRIP. I--

Child: What are you doing? I need to use the computer.

Me: What? You have your own computer. Why do you need mine?

C: I need to look at your laptop so I can look at the plans to build a house in Roblox. You wouldn't understand.

Another Post in which I don't @ the authors: Books that just didn't do it for me

I read a lot of books, which means I have a huge pile of LGBTQ+-themed YA books that I've read but haven't blogged about. Some I was not impressed with; some I just could not finish; some just did not "spark joy" enough to make me want to discuss/review/write about them. 

As an attempt to whittle down my pile, here is my post about "Books that just didn't do it for me" (including links to more detailed reviews). Do not let any of my opinions stop you from reading these books! But feel free to commiserate if you also had some issues with them. 😁

Also, I take guest review submissions! Email me, send me a Facebook message, or Tweet me if you are interested. You'll find my contact information on the homepage to your right.

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I'm starting with a trilogy I really wanted to like:

Titles: The Folk of the Air Series (The Cruel Prince, The Wicked King, and The Queen of Nothing)

Boy Erased--"I wish none of his had ever happened. Sometimes I thank God it did."

Title: Boy Erased: A Memoir

Author: Garrard Conley


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character and several secondary characters are gay

Content Warning: Conversion therapy, suicidal thoughts, depression

What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Garrard is sexually assaulted and outed as gay to his conservative religious parents when he is in his freshman year of college. His parents send him to Love in Action, a now-defunct conversion "reparative" therapy center in order to "cure" Garrard of his "sin of same-sex attraction" so he would become heterosexual. Garrard's stay at Love in Action is extremely psychologically damaging.


What I think: This post has been in my drafts folder longer than anything I have ever written--I read Boy Erased over two years ago, around the time I first started blogging, and it affected me profoundly. The book--well, I am going to quote myself from Ziggy, Stardust & Me:

I used to be able to read about topics of sickness and child death, but having kids seems to have wired my brain differently; now I get upset to the point of panic attacks when reading or watching children suffering (It's embarrassing. During one memorable incident at a teacher in-service I left the room sobbing after watching a PSA about children getting injured in a meth lab explosion).

I realize that Conley is over 18 even during the events in the book, but I could not help but imagine my trans child in conversion therapy, being told that something is very wrong with him, and my heart just breaks for every single person who has had to undergo that.

Ziggy, Stardust & Me--"I wish. I wish with all my might we were up in the stars looking down on us, laughing."

Title: Ziggy, Stardust & Me

Author: James Brandon


LGBTQ+ Representation: Main character is gay and another is Two Spirit.


Content Warning: Graphic violence, physical and sexual assault, conversion therapy. Homophobia and racism.


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): In the summer of 1973, Jonathan lives with his alcoholic father. Believing that his attraction to boys is a dangerous mental illness that must be fixed, Jonathan endures aversion therapy.  Jonathan tries to avoid bullies and spends his time talking to his dead mother while listening to David Bowie's Ziggy Stardust. He feels alone, until he meets Web, a Two-Spirit Lakota boy. Can Jonathan trust the happiness and contentment he feels with Web?


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): I used to be able to read about topics of sickness and child death, but having kids seems to have wired my brain differently; now I get upset to the point of panic attacks when reading or watching children suffering (It's embarrassing. During one memorable incident at a teacher in-service I left the room sobbing after watching a PSA about children getting injured in a meth lab explosion).

If you enjoyed the suspense of Deposing Nathan, you should read All Eyes on Us OR "If you don't do what I say, blood will spill"

Title: All Eyes on Us

Author: Kit Frick


LGBTQ+ Representation: Two lesbian characters


What it’s about (in 75 words or fewer): Amanda enjoys dating Carter, while keeping her mother's alcoholism and her family's debt a secret. Amanda pretends not to know that Carter is also dating Rosalie--who is using Carter so her parents won't find out about her girlfriend and send her back to conversion therapy. One day, Amanda and Rosalie both get threatening text messages. Can they figure out who is sending the messages before the sender gets violent?


What I think (in 250 words or fewer): If I had started reading this book in the bathtub, I would have frozen because I would not have been able to get out until I was finished! As it was, I stayed up entirely too late reading it because it was impossible for me to put it down.