How to Survive A Summer follows Will, a grad student who due to past trauma finds it hard to connect with people and maintain relationships. After hearing about a new horror film based on a memoir of someone from his past, Will can't escape the memories of a summer he spent at a gay conversion camp. In order to move on from what happened that summer, he travels back home and reconnects with those involved to try and confront what happened to him and others.

Simply put, this book was just not for me. Books about conversion therapy and how harmful it is is a tough topic for LGBTQ+ people and this was no exception. The abuse that was detailed was really tough to read but this was expected going into the book. I'm glad that there was a somewhat happy ending, but I think the journey to getting there could have been a little tighter, as at times the author inserted parts that weren't really relevant to the main plot and didn't add much (such as details regarding Will's mother). Some of the present day elements could've been explored further as well such as Will's personal and romantic relationships.

I think there is a good story here somewhere and I'm sure that other people out there would enjoy it more than I did but the plot didn't overly work for me.

Recollections of a past trauma force the protagonist to travel back to his home state of Mississippi. He must confront his difficult past. Specifically his time at a gay conversion camp. The books shifts from present to past. The memories are often traumatic with a few fond times sprinkled in.

It's a shame as I think this is a case of "it is me, not you" the blurb sounds right up my street and Nick White does a good job of moving between the present and past time as we travel with Will.
It was interesting to read about the camp experiences but my mind kept wondering, it at times was a little overwritten. Mysteries are uncovered and pieces of puzzles found as the story unravels it just I wasent enamoured by this. I DNF after the 40% mark. I got pulled into another book.

Id likes to give this another go or read more by this author but just not for now.

This book made me very sad because I wanted to love it and I just..... couldnt. Sadly.
The writing and I didnt co-exist well together so I just couldn't finish it.

Alas.

So....... this was an odd, weird book. And that' ok. I like to read odd, weird books. They break up my usual reading cycle of horror, murder, serial killer, paranormal books.

I live in the deep South and have worked most of my adult life in Mississippi, not far from the towns mentioned in this book. This book being set in Mississippi caught my attention and the book's description drew me in. I seek out and enjoy reading books that are set in the South because we can be such quirky people if left to our own devices and imaginations.

The author does a pretty good job describing the locations and towns in the story and enables the reader to see images of these places in their mind. The books characters are also well defined and the author breathed life into these characters. The only difficulty I had with the book was the time period. I kept thinking the time period of the camp should have occurred several decades earlier.

All that being said, the book was extremely s.l.o.w. paced. It took chapter after chapter to go no where. The entire book just seemed to lack and excitement or drama – and that's not like any real life LGBT I know. I am trying not to stereotype but..... With LGBT it's usually all about the excitement, the vibrancy – the drama, if you will.

I still keep envisioning the excitement and thrilling suspense that “could have” been added in to this story. Instead, it kind of fell flat and left me disappointed. I will look forward to future books by this author, a native of MS. I hope in future books author, Nick White, will let that Southern quirky person shine through.

It served the purpose for me, of being something different, odd and/or unusual to read in between my usual genre of books.

Thank you to the author, publisher and netgalley for allowing me to read this ebook in exchange for my honest review. My review will be posted on amazon, goodreads, netgalley and moonshineartspot.blogspot

I could not become engaged in this book. I thought the pacing was too slow and the narrative uninteresting despite the intriguing synopsis. I chose not to finish this book.

This was a hard read. It was slow and you felt like you were walking through sludge. It took me three months to finish this book. I refuse to give up on a book but I nearly did with this one.

The author does has promise as there are some paragraphs offering powerful messages. But, the majority of the book was hard going.

The book is about camps people sent their children too, to Pray Away The Gay. Are they serious? These Gay conversion camps DON'T WORK. You know that, I know that. Ok I admit its a worthy topic. But I can't say that this author was the right person to tell this story. Don't ask! I really don't know its just the way I feel.

I tried to like this book. I really did try. If these camps actually happen and from what I've read they do. All I can do is shake my head and swear A LOT!

Would I recommend this book? I really don't know how I can. It was just so slow. I gave it 1.5 stars rounded up to 2 but I even think thats generous.


*ARC provided by publisher via NetGalley*

https://www.goodreads.com/review/show/2020883004

https://www.amazon.co.uk/review/R32Z26IOZPHZVX/ref=pe_1572281_66412651_cm_rv_eml_rv0_rv

Reviews by the Wicked Reads Review Team

Angela – ☆☆☆☆☆
I don’t read a lot of literary fiction. I tend to stick to romance, having eclectic tastes when it comes to the many romance sub-genres. However, one of my co-reviewers on the blog asked me to request How to Survive a Summer via NetGalley and I was in the mood for something different over the Memorial Day weekend, so I queued it up on my Kindle and dove right in. Suffice it to say, I’m glad I did because I was enthralled with the poignant story that White has penned.

While How to Survive a Summer is fiction, White’s writing style reminds me of the autobiographies I read during my sociology and criminal justice courses in college. The book is written from Will’s point of view and the manner in which he moves from the present to the past and back again, the way flashbacks and memories are integrated in the story, it gives the book such an autobiographical feel that I had to remind myself more than once that it was indeed fiction. I found myself caught up in Will’s anxiety when confronted by ghosts from his past, his awkwardness as he attempts to embark upon a new relationship, and the rollercoaster ride of emotions he experienced as he returns to Mississippi to lay his ghosts to rest once and for all, only to discover that not all of them were willing to be buried… or should be.

Despite being a fan of romance, the relationship that Will and Zeus begin to develop was probably my least favorite part of the story. I actually tended to read and dump those scenes as they didn’t feel crucial to Will’s current journey. So much so that when my co-reviewer pointed out details about Zeus’s transgender status that seemed implausible, I actually had no recollection of them and upon re-reading those scenes, I had to agree with her that they didn’t match what I knew of transgender individuals and their sexuality – while I don’t pretend to be an expert, it may be a sticking point for some readers. Ultimately, I was too caught up in Will’s tale of how he survived that traumatic summer of his teens, how it impacted his life, the journey he took to reconcile his memories, what he learned about himself and the others who were at the camp that summer, and the outcome of his road trip home to Mississippi. I apologize for the vagueness of my review, but I’m trying not to spoil anything for potential readers. I’m not really sure who to recommend How to Survive a Summer to because of the autobiographical feel of the writing style and the past-to-present flow of the storyline will be a turn-off for many of those within my circle, but if these are not sticking points for you and the subject matter is one that interests you, I suggest downloading the sample and giving it a read because by the time you reach the end of it, you’ll know whether or not you want to continue on Will’s journey with him – I know I did.

This isn’t a review because I actually ended up DNFing this one. However, since it’s a book that I received for review, I wanted to at least explain my feelings a little bit and also share the book with you all in case you’re interested. This wasn’t a badly written book by any means. Perhaps I would have been able to really enjoy it at a different period in time. However, while reading, I just found it a bit too slow for my liking and it wasn’t quite what I expected. I was very much interested in the mystery of Will’s childhood at the camp, but I felt like there was too much detail about other aspects of his life – and his relationship with his mom, for example – that made continuing the book a bit of a chore for me. I’m sure it would have gotten more intriguing as it went on, and it’s definitely a bit of a literary book, so those are often written in a certain style and slower in pace. Basically, if this sounds good to you, give it a shot. I’m definitely not telling people not to read it. It just wasn’t a good fit for me, at least at this time.

I really enjoyed this book. The book had a bit of a meta feel to it, which really worked to its benefit I think, and made it a more compelling read for me. It was hard and sad, but it felt so genuine and raw that I could not help but feel for Will Dillard. We meet Will right when he finds out that very dark part of his adolescence has been made into a horror movie. Literally one of the worst times of his life was now a slasher flick, and it sends him into a tailspin. That secret and pain he has been pushing down and ignoring for ten years has finally come for him.

Will has been barely living for the last decade, he was in doctoral program he had no desire to see through, he barely had any friends, he was like a ghost. Living life in a fog of apathy and disdain. He was careless with the few people in his life that cared for him, and the rest he had pushed away.

His father, that was a no-go. Being the gay son of a Baptist preacher, was going to have its complications, and the wound that had opened when the camp his dad sent him to “rehabilitate” him of his unnatural desires had ended in tragedy never healed. Amends where never made, he just shut his dad out, had not time to look back, until the movie. He can’t escape it, no matter what he does he is drawn to watch it, to relive memories he has worked so hard to bury.

On a whim he gets on the road back to Mississippi to visit the old ghosts of his past, and there are many. He has to make peace with the memory of this mother, the love he had for her and the pain of her loss. He wanted to see the other boys who had endured those horrible four weeks in Delta. He wanted to go back to the place and finally put it all to rest. What ensues I a strange and painful journey that allows Will to finally be free.

I found the story not only compelling, incredibly thoughtful and deep. The inner struggle in Will, of needing to be the son his father wanted, even when he knew it was impossible. The pain and guilt he carried for the things he did to try and be that boy he just could never be. Were heartbreaking.

Also I think the author does a really amazing job of portraying the effects of trauma. The fog that Will existed in, how every ounce of his energy was spent in keeping all the monsters of his past at bay. How forcing himself not to remember the powerlessness of the camp experience robbed him of the ability to feel anything at all.
To reclaim his life he had finally face what was taken from him, and he had to try and see the people who had lived through that summer with him for what they were, fellow survivors. I liked that the author was not trying to create heroes or villains in this story, he was just trying to save Will from himself and give him a shot at a fuller life. The messed up things and the bad choices would always be there, but the ability to live a life with meaning was all there for him.

The storytelling is also dynamic and blends in lots of elements I really loved, a strong sense of place, an almost fairy tale feeling for the parts when Will talked about the stories his mom told him as child, and even the horror scenes were rendered with a lot of skill.

I look forward to more from Nick White.

Disclaimer: I received an advanced copy of this book from the publisher and Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.


Will Dillard is struggling. Today, he is a graduate student working on his dissertation, but he is barely living. He goes through the motions, but he is haunted by his past. When he was a teenager, he spent one awful summer at Camp Levi, a conversion camp designed to "cure" teenage boys of their homosexual "affliction". It is only when a slasher film based on that nightmare summer is released that Will is forced to confront his demons head-on.

Reading the description of this book made me SO excited to read it, especially during pride month. This book did not quite live up to the hype. It was a good enough read that I got through the book, but at no point did I feel any kind of investment in the characters. Will is a boring, bland human who does things that just made zero sense to me.

This is also one of the slowest moving books I've ever read. It isn't until 56% of the way through the book (yes, read it on a Kindle) that you even get any kind of details about what went on at the camp. The build up just seemed to be way too in-depth and the movement was at a snail's pace. It was exhausting. I (as I assume other readers will) picked up this book because I wanted to hear the story of the camp. The horror flick was an interesting plot device to force Will to bring up those memories, but the pages upon pages of information about his mother and his expedition to see his father just did nothing for me.

I think that this was an interesting story, but I'm not sure that this author was the best person to tell it.

Five boys went in, but only four came out.

Ten years ago, Will Dillard’s preacher father put him in a “homosexual rehabilitation” camp which ended tragically. Now, Will is distanced from his family, but firm in his identity. Life seems to be falling into place as a film student when suddenly a new movie comes out which seems eerily familiar.

A new horror release becomes an instant cult classic, but when the horror movie twists the narrative he knows, Will goes in search of the past of the camp, his fellow campers, and his family.

This book, White’s debut, weaves together a tight but chronologically varied narrative. White ekes out the details in the present and past so skillfully that I felt him answering questions as they came to mind. Like another literary debut this year, Kea Wilson’s We Eat Our Own, the elements of violence and suspense are only heightened by the literary language.

Briefly paging through early reviews on Goodreads of the novel, I found myself cringing at the criticism of Will’s character as “unlikable.” Will’s character isn’t always likable, but that’s not the point of a narrator. He is the narrator because he moves the story– and Will does. He makes decisions, whether the reader wants to peek through their fingers to watch the outcomes or not. Often painful, but always believable, Will is a narrator I will remember.

A review on this book would be amiss not to mention the cast of majority LGBT characters. Zeus and Will’s love story was unlike one I’ve ever read, and watching the changes in the campers from past to present was one of my favorite connections in the book.

Recommended! Pick up a copy of this and/or recommend it for your local library.

<b>Release Date: 06.11.17</b>

2.5 stars rounded up

In essence, this is a paint-by-numbers "hometown boy returns" literary release. It just isn't special in any way. Don't get me wrong; this author obviously has talent and some passages have power, but on the whole I was bored out of my skull. The premise of this one is very intriguing (hence my requesting an ARC from Netgalley), but the plot meanders and is just so sloooooow.

Things this book does right: it adequately shows the horror of gay conversion therapy, without feeling too gimmicky or cheap. In fact, Will's flashbacks to the summer of '99 — the time he spent at that camp — were great, and I only wish the entire novel (except for the beginning and end, I suppose) took place then. Will as a teenager is fascinating to read about, and the writing feels really electric in those chapters.

Things this book does wrong: almost everything else. Adult Will is totally unbearable, as are the people he surrounds himself with. I found myself skimming the parts concerned with Will's journey back home just to get to the flashbacks.

Overall, this is a very 'meh' novel. It had so much potential, and it's unfortunate the author doesn't really take advantage of it. Ah, well. I don't regret reading it, but I will never revisit this one.

<i>Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC, which was given in exchange for an honest review.</i>

Thank you for the opportunity to review this book as an ARC. Unfortunately, it really just wasn't for me. I had high hopes, based on the description, but it never pulled together in a way that made the book compelling. :-(

Well, this was a disappointment. I was looking forward to a new voice in the LGBTQ genre, but this really wasn’t for me.
I struggled with this book, I really did. I don’t like leaving books unfinished, even more so if it is an ARC. How am I to judge a book when I haven’t read it? So I made myself pick this up again and get through with it, in the hope that it might get better. That there would be a turning point. But sadly there wasn’t.

The two things that bothered me the most were the main character and the bland and slow-paced plot.
Will is not a likeable main character. Not that he is a mean guy, not at all. But he’s a coward. He always comes late, doesn’t call back or answer his phone his phone in the first place. He chickens out and doesn’t confront anyone with anything, least of all himself. This behaviour is maddening and the result is a story that doesn’t move forward.
The side characters aren’t much better. Bevy is the only character that feels alive. Everybody else seems distant, cold or simply weird.
The things Will and the other boys from the gay reversion camp went through were terrible, yes, but since the whole story is uncomfortable and wearisome, it didn’t make me feel anything.

This could have been a great novel, if the story had been more intriguing and the characters more sympathetic. Personally, I can’t recommend this book. It was grey, slow and painful to read.

My response will go live on Friday May 5.

I wanted to like this so much more than I did. And this says a lot about both myself and the book/writer. Even though my response isn't that friendly to the book there were some occasional one liners that made me smile.

When I requested a copy of this book from the publisher,* I wanted to identify with the characters, I wanted to revel in our shared experiences of growing up in the south during a certain time, but I just couldn't.

Perhaps this is because I didn't grow up in the deep south (I grew up in a military town in NC) or maybe because my family wasn't too religious, (we went to church some times, but we were Episcopalian and compared to other southern denominations, they're pretty damn liberal), or perhaps it's just because of the writing or the non-shared experiences of the book that i just couldn't click with it.

In essence this book focuses on the tragedy of one summer at a gay conversion "therapy" camp. The main character carried the burden of that summer his entire life and it has come back to haunt him through a slasher movie that is based no a book about the camp written by a counselor and the character/slasher is an amalgamation of him and the other campers. Maybe it's this burden that drove me crazy and kept me from identifying with/enjoying the book/character.

The book was a slog mostly because of the clunky use of flashbacks. I get that White was trying to make the flashbacks appear as all of a sudden something triggered the flashback and then the memory came, but it just didn't work for me. They were either too subtle and it took me a minute to realize there was a time change or they were too blunt and I had to stop reading for a bit and come back to the book at a later time.

What got me the most, and what I probably enjoyed the least was the ending. It got way too meta (Wikipedia entry - I'm pretty sure I'm using it correctly) and way too on the nose. When the characters are talking about ending their own novels they're writing and then they use the endings to end this novel and then it's still left open on what happens, just blah and meh and ugh. It just seemed trite and wanton, there was no reason for the book not to end 15-20 pages prior to the ending or even just a couple of pages. The throwback was forced at best and honestly it just annoyed me.

Recommendation: Pass. Even though I have driven through Bucksnort, TN and found a bunch of other OMG this is hilarious that I know these things/can see these traits in people I know, I couldn't connect with this book. Part of it was style, but most of it was substance. I instinctively gave this a two star review on Goodreads on accident and went back and bumped it to three when I realized it would probably get a 2.5 star.

Nick White’s debut novel ‘How To Survive A Summer’ is a thought provoking and impressive piece of work that lifts itself from the pages and ingrains itself into the reader’s subconscious.  Written in the first person, we hear the story of Will which progresses through passages of flashback.  Working on many levels, blending genres from self discovery, horror, thriller and mystery whilst pushes this ahead of the game of most novels of this ilk.

The story starts in the present day as Will Dillard is trying to find his footing within his own world.  With a militant feminist best friend Bev and possible new friend Raphael, Will is misplaced and has no real strong convictions.  The novel starts to open up when a cheap horror film based on his experiences at a conversion camp is made leading the main character onto a road of self discovery of his past and present.  This is where things become interesting and masterly handled by Nick White.

As the story flits back and forth, there are times that the novel feels slightly untrue to the time period for which the flashbacks occur.  It really has an American Gothic panache which really captures the heart and feeling of the characters.  The decade felt more 1940/50’s with the family, camp and Mother Maude sequences which overall provides an overall warmth to the book.  This is not a complaint because this is where the book really comes alive and we are dealt with a reflective narrator that is far beyond the stilted emotional Will we are dealing with in the present day. 

The novel has a lot of depth and the characters are alive and breathing within the confines of the pages lifting themselves to a fully realised flesh and blood incarnations.  The past sequences are so fully realised that the writer takes you there and you can see, hear and smell the environment.  It has the feeling of nostalgia, that very few writers are able to capture.  Nick White has really excelled which in my personal opinion, only a handful of writers can really accomplish this.  The two authors that do come to mind are Fannie Flagg and John Irving.  This is what sets this novel above the rest.

As for the present days sections, these are very well handled and due to the character’s emotional growth occurring these sections, we feel these growing and expanding to equal the flashback segments.  This is very ingeniously handled and although I felt that Will was quite irritating from the start, this character grows on you and by the end you are totally invested in him and his journey.

The secondary characters are excellently realised and there are times where I would have liked a little more from them but this has more to do with the style of the piece than lack of writer’s talent.  As the story is seen in the first person and through the eyes of Will, we basically get Will’s version of each of the characters.  On reflection, characters such as his mother , Mother Maude, etc would have a warmer aspect  than the male characters due to the detached nature of his personality. 

This is an excellent novel of self recovery, reflection and fantastically written novel that can be read on multiple levels.  This is a truly mesmerizing piece of work that transports the reader on this road and through the multiple detours keeps its audience on track.  Emotionally invested characters, and the mystery aspects shows an author at his most talented.  Nick White has really made his mark on the world and this could be the one that looks like the start of a wondrous career.    This is a five star rating and a definite must read.

This book was hard for me to read. I tried a few times, but it just didn't hold my interest.