Tag: teen suicide

REVIEW: Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

REVIEW: Surrender Your Sons by Adam Sass

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

Connor and his mom have been in a stalemate for weeks. Connor’s boyfriend, Ario, insisted his life would be better if he came out to his mom. But it’s only made things worse. She took his phone, his laptop, his Switch. She’s not speaking to him, and she’s cut him off from Ario who is going to be leaving for college soon.

Connor’s mom is convinced he’s the father of his best friend’s baby. She’d much rather he be a teen father than be gay. She thinks she is doing him a favor by setting “boundaries” like refusing to acknowledge any boyfriend he might have or refusing to have anything to do with any future family Connor might have with another man. It’s so bad, Connor starts to wonder if he needs to find somewhere else to live for his senior year. But where could he possibly go?

Before Connor can even cobble together a plan, though, a group of men dressed all in black come into Connor’s home and physically remove him and toss him in a van. His mom watches this happen, but does nothing to stop it. The men say his mom has paid for him to take a “vacation.” In Costa Rica. But that’s not even close to what is happening. Connor is taken to a conversion camp called Nightlight where he finds other teens. Sent there by their own parents so the camp can “reprogram” their gay children.

Review

Wow! The first time I read the plot for this book, I was immediately captivated. A “Christian” conversion camp for gay teens where there’s more going on than meets the eye? I was intrigued. There’s no way I wasn’t reading this. I had to know what the secrets were.

And this story was a doozy! The author uses some carefully constructed time jumps to set up the larger questions of the book early on. Those questions carried Connor to Nightlight. I expected Connor to discover the mystery once he got there and started working on a way out. But this was so much better than the set up I was expecting. The suspense here and all the weird little puzzle pieces that had to fit together were so well constructed.

The subject matter makes this a hard book to like in some ways. I was heart-broken for Connor and the other kids at Nightlight for how they were treated, both at home and at the “camp.” The hate, the manipulation, the “conversion” techniques were all awful. There are dark moments here.

At the same time there are these awesome, resilient teens at the center of this story. I loved them. And I was rooting for them from the start. The ending is satisfying yet realistic. The kids have varying responses after their trauma. This was honest, but also sad in some cases.

Suspense fans should not miss this one. The hook will draw you in, and the characters will keep you turning pages until you get to the end. Readers should be aware of the trauma that could be triggered by things in the story. The author includes a note at the start of the book that should be helpful. (Language, sex, violence, LGBTQ+, TW: Suicide, hate crimes and trauma around sexuality and gender identity)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥♥= Great!

REVIEW: Victor and Nora by Lauren Myracle

REVIEW: Victor and Nora by Lauren Myracle

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and DC Entertainment in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

Victor is at the cemetery, visiting his brother’s grave when he meets Nora. She’s visiting her mother’s. But she’s also contemplating her own mortality. Her disease will progress until she’s not herself anymore. But she doesn’t tell Victor any of that.

Painfully shy, Victor slowly warms up to the vivacious Nora. When he’s not with her, he’s at his lab working on his freezing tech. Little does he know that his Nora could be in need of the very thing he is creating.

Review

This is an origin story for Victor Fries, aka Mr. Freeze, a villain from the Batman/Gotham universe. Here we see both his early work in cryogenics as well as his whirlwind romance with Nora (who, in other versions of the story, is his wife).

This is a dark story. Between the scenes with Nora and a bird attacking her like her disease eventually will, and her talk of ways to die with Victor when they first meet, there’s a lot of death hanging over this story. There are also hints at Victor’s tendency toward obsession and controlling behavior.

The Gotham universe has a lot of darkness to it anyway, and this graphic novel falls more on that side of things. And it’s darker than my usual preference. If I was rating this just on my enjoyment, I would give it two stars. It’s just not a great fit for me. But the story is well-written and the art well done, so I feel like I can recommend this to others who are more comfortable with the darkness of the story with a rating based on the story’s merits rather than my enjoyment. (Some language, talk of death, off page sex, TW: Suicide, grief and loss) You can read about other graphic novels from the DC universe here.

DC Entertainment has graciously shared some of the internal art with us. Here are some sample pages:

 

Rating: ♥♥♥*

*♥♥♥=Good/solid/fine

REVIEW: Break in Case of Emergency by Brian Francis

REVIEW: Break in Case of Emergency by Brian Francis

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Inkyard Press in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

When Toby was a kid, growing up with her mom, she was fascinated hearing her mom talk about her absent father. It didn’t happen often. She showed Toby one picture of them together, and she talked about his singing. She said he was “magic.”

Toby’s mom cycled through dark moments and neutral ones. The voices would become incessant and drive her to the quiet of her locked bedroom. When Toby was 10, she came home from school and found her mother dead by suicide.

Now, at 15, Toby lives with her grandparents. Her grandparents rarely speak about Toby’s mother. And her father is a non-factor in her life. Toby fights her own darkness. She has to force herself out of bed in the morning. She’s convinced everyone will be better off when she is gone. She’s almost ready for her plan.

Then, out of the blue, her father calls. He’s going to be in the area. He wants to meet Toby.

Her grandparents don’t want him to come. Toby’s not sure she wants him to visit either. Where has he been all this time? He didn’t even come for her mom’s funeral. And when she hears more about him – that he’s gay and a drag performer – she’s even more confused than ever. Her plan is postponed for the moment – she’ll wait to check out this “father” who wants to meet her. But the darkness still stalks her.

Review

This is heartbreaking. The early chapters were dark and sad. Toby’s depression and her struggles are so well described it was almost hard to read.

Really, the whole story has a dark edge to it, but the heart develops alongside the darker pieces, and I was captivated by the story. There’s so much pain here. Toby’s loss is tragic, and she’s never been able to talk to anyone about it. Her father never felt at home in the community. His family turned him away. Toby’s grandparents carry their own grief. The pain of it all was raw and conveyed so well.

The mental illness pieces of this are well-written. I do wish there was more therapeutic follow up for Toby. Her needs were not going to just magically clear up. But I did enjoy the ways Toby starts to grow from her experiences – the new ways she sees her mom, her dad, her friends, and her experiences.

This needs an intense trigger warning for suicide and depression. I would caution readers to be in a good, safe, and healthy emotional place before reading this one. This left me in tears multiple times. Toby’s emotional state and her suicidal plans are well described and sensitively handled. But this could be triggering for some readers. (Language, sex, LGBTQ+)

Rating: ♥♥♥♥

REVIEW: So Glad to Meet You by Lisa Super

REVIEW: So Glad to Meet You by Lisa Super

Posted on by Jaymie

[I received an electronic review copy of this book from Netgalley and Diversion Books in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.]

Summary

After Emily’s suicide with her boyfriend Jason, her family has not fared well. Her mom went back to work and threw herself into trying to protect other families from  her experience. Her dad lost himself in alcohol. And her sister Daphne tries to tiptoe through her life without her big sister while her parents barely acknowledge she exists.

Jason’s family took a different path, idealizing everything about him after his death. It drives his younger brother Oliver crazy. They try to have Oliver do the exact opposite of what Jason did, hoping that will be enough to keep him from the same fate.

Daphne stumbles onto a bucket list Emily and Jason created. It dredges up questions and memories and feelings no one else really understands. Except maybe Oliver. They’ve never met, but Daphne gathers her courage to track him down. Nothing can bring Emily and Jason back, but maybe if Oliver and Daphne work on the list together they can find some of the things they have lost.

Review

This is a story of two families still reeling from a loss that happened seven years ago. And the two teens are living in the shadow of that loss, full of questions for which there are no good answers.

My heart broke for Oliver and Daphne. They are getting ready to graduate from high school and head off to college, but this loss still hangs over them along with questions of their own mental health (Daphne) and complicated rituals for relationships (Oliver) showing how this loss still impacts them. Oliver’s relationship strategies seem especially unhealthy to me. They complicate his relationships with the women around him in ways that seems especially unfair to the women.

It was hard to “enjoy” this one. While I understood and empathized with the characters, this is a sad story. There are no great revelations to find out about Emily and Jason. And no quick fixes for the troubled families.

I prefer my entertainment a little lighter than this. I think this will be a better fit for readers who enjoy stories with somewhat “tortured” characters trying to find their way through tragedy. (Mature content including suicide and sex)

Rating: ♥♥♥

REVIEW: The Gatekeepers by Jen Lancaster

REVIEW: The Gatekeepers by Jen Lancaster

Posted on by Jaymie

Summary

In the Chicago suburb of North Shore, excellence is the status quo. In the Breakfast Club era of their parents, kids fit into one of many stereotypes. But in North Shore, the teens meet them all. It’s not sufficient to be smart OR athletic. You must be both. And you have to be the best. Best on the team. Super involved in extracurriculars. And planning and prepping for an Ivy League college all through high school.

The kids of North Shore deliver on all of these expectations. Their test scores and rates of college admission are among the best. This in turn draws in more (wealthy) families who can give their kids everything money can buy.

But North Shore has a hidden dark side. These kids who seem to have every advantage can’t always keep up with the pressure. Two kids committed suicide this summer alone. How does North Shore respond? A couple days for grieving and then back to the grind.

How long can they keep this up? What will it take to stop the cycle?

Review

Wow. I was drawn to this story about high-achieving, uber-pressured kids who step up to help one another when they lose one of their own. But it took awhile to get to that part of the story. While part of me wondered when the story would really kick into gear, another part was okay with the wait because the characters were interesting. The slow build gave me time to get to know them and care about them.

By the final third of the story, I had a hard time setting the book down. I kept thinking about the characters and wondering how everything would shake out. The ending was perfect. I would go back and read the last few chapters again. Once some of the main characters owned and shared their true thoughts and feelings about their losses, I was entranced.

This book talks about difficult subjects – teen suicide, drug use, abuse, mental health – honestly and authentically. There’s a LOT here that would be great for group discussion with teens. I read this right after As You Wish which made for an interesting pairing. There are many stark differences between the books, but the pressure on teens is a consistent theme in both. I highly recommend this book for older teens, young adults and adults, especially those who work with and care about teens.

Rating: ♥♥♥♥½