A review by izzyvb023
Summer Sons by Lee Mandelo

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Summer Sons was absolutely haunting in every aspect. As a Nashville native and a big fan of Gothic literature, I was really excited for this one.

At first, the pacing felt slow for me and I struggled to care about the characters. Mandelo’s prose was also difficult to get into. 

But once I got through a few chapters, I was ravenous for the story and couldn’t put it down. Mandelo does a fantastic job of immersing the reader into the sticky, humid atmosphere of a southern summer. The way that the ghost story intertwined with discussions on racism, queerness, academia, and gender was really well done as well. 

Read if you like:

• Queer slow burns
• Southern Gothics
• Dark academia
• Drugs and related shenanigans