Surrender

Surrender was a pretty great book for anyone who's looking for some great plot twists. While there were parts that were Deathly Hallows-esque, lots of sitting around waiting for stuff to happen, there were some parts that were absolutely shocking. The narration itself is gorgeously done, and I adore Hartnett's writing style. It's a little unclear at first what's going on, until you realize that it's in several different points of view. The emphasis on arson was a bit much, I thought. There was a time when I was just sitting there going "Okay, he's into fires, we get it." The end revalation is a complete shock. I knew something was up, but the eventual explanation--never could have seen it coming! It'll leave your heart pounding. Rating: 4/5

Hartnett's,'Surrender' continues to delve into a world of disturbed, late-teen emotion. Not, by any means, is this her target audience. She has a brilliant aptitude for expressing the swirl of high intensity introspection accompanying hormonal ephiphanies, and the sense of cruel rejection and obssessive attraction is nowhere better bettered in the confines of fiction, anywhere. As can be found in her earlier books, canine intermediaries are crucial to the telling, for bonding, as harbingers, as base instict. 'Surrender' is the name of the dog shared by twin narrators, Gabriel and Finnigan. Hartnett's punchy prose, poetic without clutter, delivers the breathless pursuit to the pillows of Gabriel's deathbed. Is it all inside his head perhaps? Fabulous writing...the account of the conflagration by arsonist, Finnigan, at the book's centre pp102-03, says as much. The power of her descriptions of landscape and the mood invoked by weather recall the sombre, sometimes threatening atmosphere of Cormac McCarthy, particularily his earier novellas.

This book was recommended to me by one of my students, and I'm extremely impressed. This is a story about a young man's struggles to overcome an abusive life, and it is told in a narrative style that keeps you guessing until the very end. The split between Gabriel and Finnegan begins to grow wider with each passing day, and in the end, it becomes clear that Finnegan will no longer be content watching Gabriel's life from the sidelines. It is a gripping novel full of suspense and dread. A wonderful read!

On his deathbed, gasping for breath and clinging to life, Gabriel remembers his past. He recalls his childhood, when he was called Anwell. At the age of seven, entrusted with the care of his older, developmentally disabled brother while his mother rested and his father escaped, Anwell accidentally killed the older boy, an event that caused his family simultaneous trauma, embarrassment and relief. Two years later, Anwell, isolated from his peers by his overly protective parents, encounters a very different boy, named Finnigan. The two make a pact: from now on, Finnigan will do all the bad things Anwell wants to do but can't, while Anwell does only good things. The friendless boy, desperate for company, agrees to be a reflection of his newfound blood brother, a sort of angel who can earn his repentance by attaining perfection. To mark his new status, the boy renames himself after the only angel he knows: Gabriel. As Gabriel grows older, a series of arsons terrorize his small town. Gabriel knows who's committing the crimes and finds himself torn between the constable and his own father, who wants to form a kind of vigilante team to thwart the perpetrator. Gabriel also acquires a dog named Surrender, who soon leaves to roam the hills and forests with Finnigan, who is as restless and rangy as the dog itself. When Gabriel develops a fixation on a female classmate, the events of his childhood and the effects of his pact with Finnigan come to a head. As the truth of Gabriel's condition is slowly revealed, readers will begin to question how much of the story --- even the horrifically violent climax --- is real, and how much of it is contained only within the mind of a disturbed young man. Sophisticated plotting, mature vocabulary and violent themes make SURRENDER a novel suitable for older teens with the maturity to handle the book's subtle nuances and sinister themes. Sonya Hartnett doesn't write down to her audience; instead, she crafts an understated plot that grows ever more disturbing as the truth is revealed. However, readers who are ready to tackle challenging, thought-provoking fiction will relish the novel's depth and darkness. --- Reviewed by Norah Piehl

Surrender is a beautifully written book but it also has a great narrative momentum in addition to it's literary merits. I have no idea why the book is marketed for teenagers as I think people of any age would be impressed by it. It is the best novel I have read this year and the best novel I have read, written by an Australian for many years. I look forward to reading Sonya Hartnett's future books.