Horror

Summer Sons

Summer Sons

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  • Create Date：2021-12-28 07:51:13
  • Update Date：2025-09-07
  • Status：finish
  • Author：Lee Mandelo
  • ISBN：125079028X
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Summary

Andrew and Eddie did everything together， best friends bonded more deeply than brothers， until Eddie left Andrew behind to start his graduate program at Vanderbilt。 Six months later， only days before Andrew was to join him in Nashville， Eddie dies of an apparent suicide。 He leaves Andrew a horrible inheritance: a roommate he doesn’t know， friends he never asked for， and a gruesome phantom with bleeding wrists that mutters of revenge。

As Andrew searches for the truth of Eddie’s death， he uncovers the lies and secrets left behind by the person he trusted most， discovering a family history soaked in blood and death。 Whirling between the backstabbing academic world where Eddie spent his days and the circle of hot boys， fast cars， and hard drugs that ruled Eddie’s nights， the walls Andrew has built against the world begin to crumble， letting in the phantom that hungers for him。

An NPR Best Book of 2021
A Virginia Living Favorite Book （2021）

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Reviews

Fiona R ，

Did not finish

Michelle ，

4。5 stars。 Really liked this a lot。 I got sucked in in a way that I wasn't fully expecting。 I knew there was some sort of m/m romance but didn't know who the love interest was going in， so it took me a little while before I realized who it was going to be （at first I was thinking it would be the roommate）。 I wasn't sure about Sam at first， but he really won me over。 The romance was a really great slow burn with some truly wonderful tension in the build-up。 I liked the paranormal element and foun 4。5 stars。 Really liked this a lot。 I got sucked in in a way that I wasn't fully expecting。 I knew there was some sort of m/m romance but didn't know who the love interest was going in， so it took me a little while before I realized who it was going to be （at first I was thinking it would be the roommate）。 I wasn't sure about Sam at first， but he really won me over。 The romance was a really great slow burn with some truly wonderful tension in the build-up。 I liked the paranormal element and found it generally creepy at some points。 I also found the past between Eddie and Andrew interesting， although I wish there had been some way to get more of Eddie's POV from the time when he was in Nashville without Andrew。 I did have some issues with the ending。 （view spoiler）[It felt a little bit pointless for Andrew to have that connection to Eddie's spirit just to immediately destroy it。 I get that he needed to demonstrate to Sam that he wasn't coming second to Eddie， but it still seemed a bit fast。 I also found the reveal of who was responsible for Eddie's death to be so obvious from the start， and I got incredibly frustrated that Andrew and Sam were like， "Eh， she's a weak woman， she won't be able to overpower us，" without considering the fact that if she was responsible for Eddie's death， then obviously she figured out some way to outmatch him。 Poisoning/drugging their drinks should be one of the most obvious ways she could manage that！ （hide spoiler）] Anyways， despite my complaints， this book really hooked me， and it felt specifically written to my interests （namely the gothic vibe with slow burn romance involving lots of tension）。 I would eagerly read more by this author in the future。 。。。more

Emrys Cordier ，

This book was a wonderful mix of vibes: southern gothic， M。R。 James， and a whole lot of critique of the elitism/classicism/racism trifecta of awfulness that is academia。No spoilers， but I have exactly one bone to pick with this book: there is not a single mention of getting IRB approval for the ethnographic interviews/research that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were doing。 Not one。 This is literally what led me to figure out who was responsible for [REDACTED]。 And that ending？ *Chef's kiss*I know it This book was a wonderful mix of vibes: southern gothic， M。R。 James， and a whole lot of critique of the elitism/classicism/racism trifecta of awfulness that is academia。No spoilers， but I have exactly one bone to pick with this book: there is not a single mention of getting IRB approval for the ethnographic interviews/research that [REDACTED] and [REDACTED] were doing。 Not one。 This is literally what led me to figure out who was responsible for [REDACTED]。 And that ending？ *Chef's kiss*I know it's horror， but I still feel I should say: trigger warnings for suicide and addiction （both drinking and drug use）。 。。。more

Diana ，

Clumsily staggering from one confrontation to the next … none of that had organized intention behind it。 He was acting on one impulse after another， hoping he’d find the right direction while dodging the shit that he’d rather ignore。Trigger warnings: smoking， alcohol and drug abuse， discussion of suicide， racism， transphobia， homophobia， manipulative behaviour， grief， murder， manslaughter， ghosts/spirits， blood-oaths， explicit sexThis book is filled to the brim with ghosts and hauntings， fast ca Clumsily staggering from one confrontation to the next … none of that had organized intention behind it。 He was acting on one impulse after another， hoping he’d find the right direction while dodging the shit that he’d rather ignore。Trigger warnings: smoking， alcohol and drug abuse， discussion of suicide， racism， transphobia， homophobia， manipulative behaviour， grief， murder， manslaughter， ghosts/spirits， blood-oaths， explicit sexThis book is filled to the brim with ghosts and hauntings， fast cars and dangerous encounters on a Southern gothic backdrop with real， flawed characters taking centre stage。 Lee Mandelo was able to craft something incredibly original here， but I definitely think that this will not be to everyone's taste （beware of the triggers）。 I was worried going into this book due to the couple of poor reviews I heard from people I trust， but I am so glad to say that I enjoyed this book even more than I thought。 The comparison to Maggie Stiefvater's The Raven Boys trilogy only extends as far as the general atmosphere of the book， the writing is much more to-the-point and the content is substantially darker in Summer Sons （as is to be expected from an adult book）。It took me some time to get into， but I have no complaints when it comes to the rest of the book。 I am very excited to see what Lee Mandelo puts out next！！！ 。。。more

Solomon Lee ，

When I saw this book at Barnes & Noble I had to get it。 I’ve been eyeing this book for over a month and it did not disappoint。 From the very first pages to the ending it had me hooked。 The characters were all great and had interesting and followable arcs。 I loved the blend of thriller， horror， romance， and supernatural throughout the book， all while taking place in a very real world。I would recommend this to everyone except my friend Raina because she’s homophobic :（

Susan Simpson ，

Queer Southern gothic。 Writing is strong in much of the book and the beginning is intriguing enough to draw you in。 Unfortunately， the pacing is off and it drags soon after and until well past the middle of the book。 In that period， I got bored and frustrated and nearly DNF’d。 I pushed through though， just to find out what happens。 I’m not sure where I’m landing on this one: can appreciate the writing but think there are some structural things that kept me from liking it。 Or， maybe this book jus Queer Southern gothic。 Writing is strong in much of the book and the beginning is intriguing enough to draw you in。 Unfortunately， the pacing is off and it drags soon after and until well past the middle of the book。 In that period， I got bored and frustrated and nearly DNF’d。 I pushed through though， just to find out what happens。 I’m not sure where I’m landing on this one: can appreciate the writing but think there are some structural things that kept me from liking it。 Or， maybe this book just isn’t my thing。 。。。more

n ，

3。5！ nice spooky read！

Fox ，

Queer modern gothic horror at its finest。 It will crush you under the weight of more emotions than you can imagine。

Phillip Black ，

What a surprise！ After "Come with Me" this will be my second favorite book published in 2021。 To be honest， I didn't expect too much when I bought it （this really was one of my rare "I love that cover art" purchases）， but this really is a dark and atmosheric mix of modern Southern Gothic， coming of age and ghost mystery。 Creepy but also kind of。。。hot and sweaty。 Btw: Usually I really dislike car challenges a la Fast and the Furious but the adrenaline works perfect in this story。 4，5/5 from me！ What a surprise！ After "Come with Me" this will be my second favorite book published in 2021。 To be honest， I didn't expect too much when I bought it （this really was one of my rare "I love that cover art" purchases）， but this really is a dark and atmosheric mix of modern Southern Gothic， coming of age and ghost mystery。 Creepy but also kind of。。。hot and sweaty。 Btw: Usually I really dislike car challenges a la Fast and the Furious but the adrenaline works perfect in this story。 4，5/5 from me！ 。。。more

Shelvey Swett ，

4。5 stars！ This was described to me as a darker Raven Boys and that checks out！ Veeeery well done creepy paranormal set in a swelteringly hot and humid southern summer。 Protagonist is such an intense character （a refreshing change from blank-slate MCs who are self inserts for the reader）。 Also the SLOW BURN！！！！！ When it finally happened oh my god—that moment like 3 pages before it finally culminates and you’re like “wait ok yes yes YES”

Neko~chan ，

lee mandelo: you’ve heard of the male gaze， now get ready for the himbo gaze…i don’t think this book is bad enough to merit 1 star， but it really came close at points。 the purple prose was cloying; you do not need this many descriptive prepositions and terms that do nothing except set the scene。 give the reader some imaginative freedom， please。i just couldn’t feel connected to andrew a lot of the time in the beginning。 maybe i am just too different from andrew as a person。 but i also think the a lee mandelo: you’ve heard of the male gaze， now get ready for the himbo gaze…i don’t think this book is bad enough to merit 1 star， but it really came close at points。 the purple prose was cloying; you do not need this many descriptive prepositions and terms that do nothing except set the scene。 give the reader some imaginative freedom， please。i just couldn’t feel connected to andrew a lot of the time in the beginning。 maybe i am just too different from andrew as a person。 but i also think the author wasn’t trying super hard to tap into emotional universalities — it was more a presentation of andrew’s wild， frenetic grief， with no effort in building a bridge between him and me。 which is fine in smaller doses but when we have hundreds of pages of it， it’s like we’re repeatedly getting bashed in the head with the same grief， the grief that we already know， that doesn’t develop or change much in the first half of the book — which makes it such a slog。 that brings me to the next point: the book is really slow to get into the action， which is the mystery eddie leaves andrew — the first quarter of the book is just andrew stewing and everyone else posturing and acting vaguely antagonistic。 it’s possible i was missold by the summary: i was expecting more of a fast-paced thriller， which this was not。 there’s cocaine… and car racing… and a lot of beer… i like the grittiness， and i like how that colors in andrew’s grief， but i think we can get the sense without every one of these scenes。 it would be okay if the novel was just supposed to be about andrew/riley/halse etc。 as characters， but the revenants are a huge puzzle piece！ the whole time i’m at halse’s party， i’m thinking， what about the fucking ghosts？？？？？ [though the party scene redeemed itself at the end with riley and andrew’s conversation on the way back — one of the strongest parts of the book imo， gave it a push of forward momentum。 then mandelo promptly lost it in the next chapter… oh well。]there’re also problems with pacing at the scene level — mandelo spends too long on andrew initially scrolling thru eddie’s feed， for instance。 i think this is partly because mandelo gets caught up in their own language — vivid for sure， but often unnecessary。 （the action images are great though， the car racing for instance。 sometimes the language itself — wording wise — could be clunky/distracting but ultimately not a big inhibitor。） i think meandering is the best term for the writing， i feel like we keep getting caught on distractions。 it drags down the pace， obfuscates the action arc。 （also everybody gets described at all times really sensually。 once i accepted that this was just a slutty book， with lots of fanservice， i had a lot better time。） the revenant/mechanism of haunting is also never well explained， either in context of andrew/eddie or riley。in relation to that， some other nitpicks: a lot of decisions just didn’t feel believable。 or maybe they would feel believable but for the justification andrew gives — going to party with ethan， for instance。 like partying with ethan is an excuse to do research on… what eddie was like？ ok… just talk to riley at that point。 i get that he doesn’t want to， but the reasoning feels flimsy if he’s trying to investigate eddie anyway。 the entire avoiding-riley part of this book started to feel repetitive and stupid about a third of the way through the book （and it pretty much continues until 50%， if you can believe it！）。 a fantastic waste of time on andrew’s part （and on mine， as the reader）。 not ruling out the chance that if andrew existed IRL he would be this avoidant， but even if that’s the case， as an author you have the freedom to constrict or dilate time as you wish to keep the story moving… anyway。 now that i’ve spent a good amount of space crapping on the book， some positives:the attraction — the individual scenes of sensuality and attraction were amazing， taken alone i can really sink into them。 this book is unapologetically queer and we get a lot of the complexities of being queer in the writing， in the scenes were bodies meld together。 there are some great moments， too， in riley’s questioning of andrew， in andrew’s initial denial of his attraction to eddie。 the machismo posturing （car racing， partying， fighting; and only being able to carry on real/heart-to-heart conversations when under the influence） lends another dimension to the relationships。 andrew’s repression， del confronting him about his repression， and then his awakening cut deeply。 the book also touches on issues of class and race， especially in academia， in a generally graceful manner。 exploitation in academia （often along axes of class/race） is another dimension that i thought was done quite well。 it’s something that often goes ignored in novels centering academia， but it’s an important subject to bring to light， and i applaud lee mandelo for tackling it。 finally， once i got into the meat of the novel， i did get my flow eventually。 the fight with sam was the catalyst。 the story tripped in some places， but i was carried along in andrew’s investigation， his slow bonding with riley， his professional relationship-building with troth。 the tension built quite well in the last quarter of the book， and i did feel the southern gothic influence in full force。 though predictable， it was enjoyable to read。 the scene in the barn really shines。 all in all， the book wasn’t actively horrible， just a bit of a letdown。 it picked up pace too late & after too much bullshit。 it probably needed several more rounds of editing （and/or a better editor）。 but the premise is interesting and i would read more of mandelo’s stuff as they mature。 。。。more

Elissa Wolf ，

Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars for me， but going with 5 based on how much I just could not put it down。 This was one of those books that I would find myself thinking "just one more chapter" and then suddenly it's 3 hours later and I'm still going。 Loved the spooky vibes， the exploration of grief， and the overall writing style。 Somewhere between 4 and 5 stars for me， but going with 5 based on how much I just could not put it down。 This was one of those books that I would find myself thinking "just one more chapter" and then suddenly it's 3 hours later and I'm still going。 Loved the spooky vibes， the exploration of grief， and the overall writing style。 。。。more

Jo ，

Lee Mandelo is an incredible writer。 Every page seemed crafted out of pure passion and emotion。 I could almost feel pain， grief and desire oozing from the paper。 I can't describe it any differently。 This book feels like so much more than just a story。 It feels like true understanding of what it means to lose。 It's hauntingly beautiful。 And nonetheless I want to read it again。 Lee Mandelo is an incredible writer。 Every page seemed crafted out of pure passion and emotion。 I could almost feel pain， grief and desire oozing from the paper。 I can't describe it any differently。 This book feels like so much more than just a story。 It feels like true understanding of what it means to lose。 It's hauntingly beautiful。 And nonetheless I want to read it again。 。。。more

N ，

So good。 I haven’t been this engrossed in a book for a while。

Saima ，

4。5/5 starsbuddy read with bestie allie <3I loved how wonderfully atmospheric the writing was， and all the incorporations of ghosts and legends and how much it leant into the southern gothic theme。

Amiyaa ，

I have never read a book like this before。Those last 10 chapters were absolutely delicious。 I gobbled down the entire story。I did experience some difficulty in reading the dense writing （maybe because English is not my native language） but over the time， I did start to appreciate the descriptive and dramatic writing。This is the love story I wanted between Ronan Lynch and Peter Kavinsky from the Raven Cycle， except Sam is not as crazy as Peter， THANKFULLY。THE UNIVERSE ANSWERED MY PRAYERS！！！🧎‍♀️🧎‍ I have never read a book like this before。Those last 10 chapters were absolutely delicious。 I gobbled down the entire story。I did experience some difficulty in reading the dense writing （maybe because English is not my native language） but over the time， I did start to appreciate the descriptive and dramatic writing。This is the love story I wanted between Ronan Lynch and Peter Kavinsky from the Raven Cycle， except Sam is not as crazy as Peter， THANKFULLY。THE UNIVERSE ANSWERED MY PRAYERS！！！🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️🧎‍♀️Fast cars， sexually frustrated and confused boys， cold ghosts with their chilly and bloody history and family lines steeped in an evil curse paired with the relentless search for the truth？A recipe for perfection 😉FIVE WELL-DESERVED STARS 🌟 。。。more

Mélanie D。 ，

The writing is good and I really liked the atmosphere and the themes dealt with， but the first half was so very slow。 Even though the characters were well-developed into their own thing， the similarities with a certain other book series were too many for me to stop making comparisons。

allie ，

4 stars。buddy read with Saima <3

Revy ，

Some books sizzle and simmer like scorching hot summer days， making me hear the whispers the trees give when you walk under them to cool off。 This is much like the Dreamer Trilogy/Raven Cycle's melancholic older brother， dealing so much with grief in the shape of ghosts that I had to put it down at times， to think， to wonder， to dream myself。 Grief is companion for life， after all and intimately familiar to me。 I borrowed my copy from the library but I definitely need one for my home library。 I Some books sizzle and simmer like scorching hot summer days， making me hear the whispers the trees give when you walk under them to cool off。 This is much like the Dreamer Trilogy/Raven Cycle's melancholic older brother， dealing so much with grief in the shape of ghosts that I had to put it down at times， to think， to wonder， to dream myself。 Grief is companion for life， after all and intimately familiar to me。 I borrowed my copy from the library but I definitely need one for my home library。 I have a feeling I need to come back to it， to let it unfold for me again。 。。。more

Macey Foncannon ，

~3。5

Rachel Gronbach ，

Really close to a 5-star read。 The cast was exceptionally well-written and utterly human。 The relationships were the main win for me， though it was the southern gothic vibes that initially pulled me in。 Very queer， and in such a loving way。 My only struggles were with the initial slow pace and the protagonist’s INSUFFERABLE attitude for half the book。 Low to moderate spook factor。

Lady Lauren Explorer ，

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers。 To view it， click here。 Wow I was teary-eyed towards the end of this book。 He didn’t have the ending that I would’ve wanted for Andrew but I’m content with the ending。 But that epic ending how we found out how Eddie really died was crazy。 I glad justice was served！！！

Kim ，

Perfect in every way what a book。

Amber Chance ，

This wasn’t quite what I was expecting。 I wasn’t expecting all the love stories and triangles。 The ghost story was cool， but I wish he would’ve confronted the remnant or done something other than just let scare him。 I also wish the backstory as to what happened was more scary。 I didn’t feel like the boys were actually cursed…I wanted more of those stories。 I read this via audiobook。

Kc Pines ，

Oh my goodness。 Can I give more than 5 stars？ This novel was absolutely stellar。 From its beautiful prose to its unique haunt， Summer Sons was an absolute delight。 In fact， I may even say this could be my new favorite book。 Like， ever。 Seriously。 Well beyond the （not so） simple premise of a genuinely spooky haunt is a novel about a dude in his early twenties grappling with his identity。 It read to me like a metaphor of the process of coming out not to others but to oneself。 Accepting the part of Oh my goodness。 Can I give more than 5 stars？ This novel was absolutely stellar。 From its beautiful prose to its unique haunt， Summer Sons was an absolute delight。 In fact， I may even say this could be my new favorite book。 Like， ever。 Seriously。 Well beyond the （not so） simple premise of a genuinely spooky haunt is a novel about a dude in his early twenties grappling with his identity。 It read to me like a metaphor of the process of coming out not to others but to oneself。 Accepting the part of you lost when you come out， the normalcy of it， and accepting this other side of yourself in。I dunno。 I haven't got many words for this novel aside from "Please oh please make more with similar themes because I will eat it up and never stop eating until I die。"Remarkable read， highly recommended。 。。。more

Jayda ，

finishing this book has given me another bitter occurrence of wishing i were good at describing things because this was so good and i don’t know how to explain why but it was。 the plot was honestly so-so for me but god it was okay because i’m a character driven story fiend and this gave me that paired with a perfect atmosphere and dude。 very good。

Gemma ，

5000 stars

Laura ，

Summer Sons is intended to be some sort of modern Southern Gothic， a 20th century American literary tradition- think Faulkner， Flannery O'Connor， even Harper Lee， kinda- that appears to be coming back into vogue to some extent。 In particular， I believe Mandelo was aiming for Appalachian Gothic， a less popular subgenre of Southern Gothic but can be found most famously in Cormac McCarthy's early work， and books like Deliverance （coincidentally， the author of Deliverance attended Vanderbilt， where Summer Sons is intended to be some sort of modern Southern Gothic， a 20th century American literary tradition- think Faulkner， Flannery O'Connor， even Harper Lee， kinda- that appears to be coming back into vogue to some extent。 In particular， I believe Mandelo was aiming for Appalachian Gothic， a less popular subgenre of Southern Gothic but can be found most famously in Cormac McCarthy's early work， and books like Deliverance （coincidentally， the author of Deliverance attended Vanderbilt， where this book takes place）。 Not only that， Summer Sons also claims to be "queer Southern Gothic" as if that is a new thing， as if Southern Gothic as a genre was not basically defined by 20th century queer writers- Tennessee Williams， Truman Capote， Carson McCullers， to name a few。 Certainly， I can see the parallels between Summer Sons and perhaps the most famous work of queer Southern Gothic， Cat on a Hot Tin Roof， a beautiful if emotionally exhausting play dealing with attempting to reconcile traditional masculinity with homosexuality。 In both stories， our main character is an archetypical masculine type （car-racing/football） who is in denial about the extent of his relationship with a suicided friend （Eddie/Skipper）。 That's where the similarities end， unfortunately。 For one， the writing is like night and day。 There is none of the atmosphere Southern Gothic， and Gothic in general， novels are famous for。 The descriptions of the parties in the woods and the campus itself were lifeless。 And the writing， oh God， the writing was almost comically bad。 It's difficult to describe what it is about the prose that bothers me- it feels very much like Mandelo is imitating someone else- who I can't quite tell- without understanding what makes that style work。 A choice quote for you:"I have a meeting with Troth this afternoon，" Andrew said， gesturing aimlessly with the spoon and funneling another bite of fruit paste in his mouth。 The fruit paste referred to here is applesauce， by the way。And this one， I'll put in spoilers:（view spoiler）[ After Troth had stitched Andrew's disarticulated portion of the inheritance to Eddie's haunting remains， carried within him now， he was less sure than he'd ever been of the neatness of his humanity。 （hide spoiler）]Breathtakingly bad。I've also never been so horrifically bored reading a horror novel。 It's almost impressive how every single member of the cast is the dullest person ever put to page。 Imagine being forced to haunt these people。 I'd wish I was dead again。 The monotony of the story， too， is maddening。 Of this nearly 400 page book， maybe 100 pages is dedicated to the story itself， and the rest is a Groundhog Day-esque loop of drinking-and-drugs-and-car-racing （Mandelo is so incompetent at writing he can make a goddamn car race read like a description of paint drying）。 And of course， painfully manufactured drama。 Another reviewer described this as "Gay Frat Boy Horror"， an apt title， though I'd probably actually read "Gay Frat Boy Horror" if it was scary enough。 Which this wasn't。 In fact， the revenants were so poorly described that I couldn't even follow what was happening on the page， let alone be scared by it。 Look， this is a horror novel and because of that， bad pacing is a crime。 I'm not saying a horror novel has to have a spooky moment on every page， but what I am saying is the pacing has to be tight。 I have to feel like， at any moment now， something bad could happen。 Think that slasher-film feeling of "don't you dare open that door"。 And the reveal？ Laughably bad。 Did not expect to have the villain give us a fucking exposition-dump monologue like a Nancy Drew baddie。 Half-expected to read at some point "And I would have gotten away with it， too， if it weren't for you meddling kids！"Honestly， this book had a fantastic idea behind it， and if Mandelo had trimmed the fat from the story- and his writing- he could have written a perfectly serviceable novel。 As is， it's one of the worst books I've read if not ever， then certainly all year。 If you want something with the same themes， just read Cat on a Hot Tin Roof。 It may be a tragedy， but at least you'll feel something。 。。。more

Christopher ，

A Southern Gothic horror that explores the twin energies of masculinity， a mosh pit of the violent currents of societal domination and the hidden currents of homosocial compassion。 （Also a delightful openness of queer bodies movements in physical spaces， a tactile calm hornyness shared by many characters）。 Andrew’s plan to join his closest childhood friend Eddie at college is splintered when Eddie is found dead of a supposed suicide。 Andrew picks up his late friends research into Appalachian gho A Southern Gothic horror that explores the twin energies of masculinity， a mosh pit of the violent currents of societal domination and the hidden currents of homosocial compassion。 （Also a delightful openness of queer bodies movements in physical spaces， a tactile calm hornyness shared by many characters）。 Andrew’s plan to join his closest childhood friend Eddie at college is splintered when Eddie is found dead of a supposed suicide。 Andrew picks up his late friends research into Appalachian ghost lore， convinced that this research led Eddie to his murder， that it also leads back to a youthful change that led both of them to become sensitive to the existence of revenant ghosts。 Andrew dangerously returns to drawing from this sensitivity as he is convinced that Eddie’s own revenant has been drawn to him。 Secrets of familial trees and the blood drenched history of American plantations lead Andrew to suspects that may include academic colleagues， and the found family that he finds out Eddie entrenched himself in- backroad racing agitators including Riley， Eddie’s roommate， and the charming but brutal Sam。 Andrew comes to understand that hetero-centric notions of masculinity are fluidly and tersely danced around in Sam and Riley’s circle， and that his own emotions have always been more complex。 The car races and revenant possessions/sensory become dual looks at bodies unbound by conventional pathways; flirtation with rebellion and viscousness。 Structures of patriarchy， class， race， and queer are thrashed through messed up， trauma haunted young men。 While the academic mystery becomes subsumed by the character exploration， Summer Sons brings a brash freshness to the haunted Americana queer story。 。。。more

Joel Calfee ，

I really didn’t know what to expect from this book。 The prose was a little hard to get into at the very beginning， but once it picked up， it didn’t stop until the very end。 Summer Sons was exciting， horrifying， romantic， and sexy and it’s hard for many books to balance so many things at once。 This was so fun & I can’t wait to see what Mandelo brings in the future。

Reference

google book https://www.google.com/search?tbm=bks&q=Summer Sons

hathitrust digital library https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/ls?q1=Summer Sons&field1=ocr&a=srchls&ft=ft&lmt=ft

The British Library https://bll01.primo.exlibrisgroup.com/discovery/search?query=any,contains,Summer Sons&tab=LibraryCatalog&search_scope=Not_BL_Suppress&vid=44BL_INST:BLL01&lang=en&offset=0