It’s 1994 in the small town of Clatskanie, Oregon. In a struggle to escape the grasp of his stepfather, a violent drunk, Beck discovers his late grandfather’s cabin abandoned in the woods and convinces his best friend, Dean – just released from a mental hospital after a failed suicide attempt – to help him repair it.
Defiant Beck has always been a daydreamer. For years, his only escape from his stepfather’s torment was a world he created for himself in his mind. But little by little the lines between the two worlds begin to blur until soon he becomes convinced that the world in which he is Beck isn’t the real world at all.
Quiet Dean never meant to get his girlfriend pregnant, but despite threats made by his former gang, the West Coast Howlers, he’s more determined than ever to create a life for himself, Emilia, and their unborn child. Dean, usually the one who doesn’t control anything, soon finds himself at the epicenter of a storm that threatens the lives of those he loves most.With explosively vivid and startlingly sharp prose, Sons of Slaughter forms a compelling narrative about the battlefield that lies both within us and around us, and what it means to fight – and bleed – for the ones we love.
If there’s one thing I love most in my books it’s being able to really invest in the characters. After all, what’s the point of reading a whole long book if you don’t really care about any of the people you’re going on this journey with? It can be the most exciting book in the world, but if I don’t love the characters, I’m going to struggle to finish it. ‘Sons of Slaughter’ doesn’t have this problem at all. Told from the perspective of Dean and Beck, two teenage boys who dream of escaping their current existence of their small town life, this book just grabs you from the first chapter, making you care for its two main characters, and drawing you through their personal journeys in a way that makes you want to read on in the hopes that they’ll get the happy endings they deserve.
‘Sons of Slaughter’ is a book with a lot of heart and soul. It’s not afraid to tackle some really dark subjects, such as suicide, teen pregnancy, mental illness, and domestic abuse. You’d think that this would make for quite a depressing read, but, though the subjects might be heavy, they’re never overwhelming. Rather than wallowing in the darkness, ‘Sons of Slaughter’ always holds onto a spark of light that gives you hope that everything is going to work out for Dean and Beck in the end. It’s raw and honest, but holds you fast with the two boys loyalty, their determination, and their courage.There’s always that ray of hope that things will improve.
If there was one thing I loved about this book more than anything else though, it was Beck. He’s the strong, confident one, who stands up for his friends and puts himself between them and danger. He’s fiercely loyal, with a sharp smile that covers up just how much he’s hurting on the inside. He’s too proud to ask for help, even though he needs it so desperately, and I just got so attached to him that it hurt watching his slow downward spiral. You so desperately want things to get better for him. He tries to hard to help everyone around him and be the strong one for them, but in the end, it’s often the strong ones with the brightest smiles who need the most help.
‘Sons of Slaughter’ is a book that grabs you by the heartstrings, makes you get invested in two characters with a fierce friendship, and then leads you through a story that is sometimes dark, often difficult, and definitely worth reading. If you want a book that will really make you care about the characters, while perfectly treading the line between dark and deeply honest, then you really need to pick up ‘Sons of Slaughter’ and read it for yourself.
Photo by Jay Mantri on Unsplash
