***Join us for our Reading the Rainbow Book Group on Thursday, December 16 at 6 PM (either in person in the library’s Auditorium or virtually online!), where we will be discussing the following book this month.  We have extra copies of the book available at the Upper Customer Service desk on the library’s upper level.  Please register here!  We hope to see you there!***


Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass (2020), 417 pages.

NIGHTLIGHT.  HELP CONNOR.  This baffling message on an old Playbill is left for Connor Major by Ricky Hannigan after his death.  Teenage Connor has been delivering Meals on Wheels to Ricky, a sweet older disabled man who had difficulty communicating as long as Connor knew him.  Connor has no idea what the message means, and he has enough to worry about anyway.  Connor has just come out as gay to his mom, and since she’s been swallowed up by intense devotion to the local church and its pastor, Reverend Packard, she’s not taking it well.  With his phone taken away, Connor now has to sneak around to even see his boyfriend who is going off to college soon.  Then one night Connor hears a strange noise in his house, and before he knows it he’s being dragged out of the house and thrown into a van by men he doesn’t recognize, with no idea where he’s going.  The worst part is, Connor’s mom seems to be in on it.  Connor has no idea that he is headed toward a nightmare that will forever change him.  Is he strong enough to protect himself and those he cares about?  Is he strong enough to face the truth?

Once I got into it, I couldn’t put this book down.  It has all the surprising twists and thrilling action of popular YA fantasy or science fiction novels but with sobering real-world stakes and a premise that is unfortunately not outside the bounds of reality.  This book will appeal to those who enjoy an exciting plotline and startling revelations and also those interested in LGBTQ issues and other social justice concerns.

 

If you enjoyed this book, you may also like:

The Lake by Natasha Preston (2021), 356 pages.

The Miseducation of Cameron Post by Emily M. Danforth (2012), 470 pages. (ebook on Overdrive/Libby)

Ziggy, Stardust & Me by James Brandon (2019), 347 pages. (ebook on Overdrive/Libby)

 

Happy reading!

-Teresa Moulton