Summer Never Ends

by Judith Sonnet

Tanner thought church camp would be boring. That this summer would be forgettable, uneventful, and lifeless. Then, he was surprised to make two friends, both of whom share his interests and anxieties. Together, maybe the three of them have a chance of surviving this long, hot summer . . .
But all is not what it seems at Creston Camps.
Deep in the woods, there is an abandoned cabin. Inside of it lies a dark, wicked secret. A human evil that will shock Tanner and his friends to their souls . . .
Summer Never Ends this year.
It only gets worse . . .

From the author of PSYCH WARD BLUES and BEAST OF BURDEN comes a dark coming of age story . . .

PRAISE FOR SUMMER NEVER

"As someone who was forced to go to church camp (aka the weekend from hell), this reading experience was CATHARTIC" Mique Watson, author of BE MY FRIEND.

"This one has the potential to be a career defining book for the author." John Lynch, author of THE WARRIOR RETREAT.

"SUMMER NEVER ENDS messed me up some. It's a coming-of-age tale that soon goes way off the rails. . . Fans of Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, and Richard Laymon will love it. Highly recommended!" Brian Bowyer, author of FLESH REHEARSAL.

"A dark and brutal novella with themes of religious hypocrisy and the lengths a parent might go through to protect their children, which in the case of this book is way, way too far." Duncan Ralston, author of WOOM.

Genres: Horror, Splatterpunk, Fiction, Horror Thriller, Summer, Ebooks, Short Stories

145 pages, Kindle Edition

First published January 6, 2023

About the author

Used to write extreme horror but now I write WEIRD horror and I'm having a blast with it! Check out OUR SARNATH on November 22nd!

Reviews

[Peter Topside · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.5 stars. Now this takes place in 1985. What a great year. Possibly the best of all time, especially for movies. Killer Klowns came out. Rocky IV. Fright Night. And loads of others. And, of course, yours truly was born. Pretty amazing, right? So there was still a level of innocence around that time. And this book captured enough of that magic here with our lead character, Tanner. I would have liked to know a lot more about his upbringing and dynamics with his parents, and what we got felt a little too abbreviated for my taste. Now, I read the foreword and got the whole idea of religion acting as the main antagonist here, but it fell a bit short. There were some mild references, but it came across like it was a summer camp slasher with some random religious tidbits sprinkled in. I was anticipating some crazy cult following or the counselors doing sick rituals on the campers, the returning campers being in on it, and maybe a man-bear-pig creature that would try to bless people with its black blood. I dunno, just some wild and crazy stuff that were very religious in nature. Not that I thought the story was bad, but it needed to lean more heavily into that aspect, or just eliminate it altogether. Beyond all that, the violence was solid, the story was good, and both the length and overall writing quality were spot on, too. A fun summer outing, especially if you've ever been to summer camp.

[Mique Watson · Rating 5 out of 5]

As someone who was forced to go to church camp (aka the weekend from hell), this reading experience was CATHARTIC.

[John Lynch · Rating 5 out of 5]

Wow. This book was something else. If you’ve read Judith Sonnet, you have an idea what to expect but I really liked the way Judith took the beginning to flesh out the story and Tanner before bringing the world crashing down. The ending is bleak. This one has the potential to be a career defining book for the author.

[Brian Bowyer · Rating 5 out of 5]

Unforgettable!

SUMMER NEVER ENDS messed me up some. It's a coming-of-age tale that soon goes way off the rails. I haven't read everything by Sonnet, but a lot, and thus far, this one's my favorite. Fans of Jack Ketchum, Edward Lee, and Richard Laymon will love it. Highly recommended!

[Matty · Rating 3 out of 5]

That was not fun to read. ☹️

[Meghin · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book is EVERYTHING. As someone who went to a catholic school and has some religious trauma over it- this book spoke to my soul. And if you have the same trauma it will speak to your soul as well. It’s bleak, depressing, and disturbing which is everything I ever want in a book (duh).

Thank you Judith for providing me a copy to read early!

[Erica★ · Rating 3 out of 5]

A summer camp from Hell! A bible camp that takes a horrifying turn. This was a quick and gory read and I just didn’t expect that ending I was hoping for a different outcome 😂.

Tanner, who is sent to church camp and expects a boring summer. He unexpectedly makes two friends, and they discover a dark secret in an abandoned cabin deep in the woods, revealing unspeakable horrors. The story, described as extreme horror, delves into the darkness within human nature, particularly how religion can be twisted to justify harmful actions.

[Stephen Cooper · Rating 4 out of 5]

Well that escalated! Half coming of age, half religious nutball Mean Creek with sledge hammers. While not quite my favourite Judith Sonnet book, probably her strongest writing to date.

[Ghoul Von Horror · Rating 4 out of 5]

TW: bullying, gory scenes, language, drinking, toxic family relationships, death of parent

*****SPOILERS*****
About the book:Tanner thought church camp would be boring. Then, he was surprised to make two new friends!Together, the three boys decide to go for a hike in the woods beside Creston Camp.What they find in the forest is evil beyond comprehension.
Release Date: January 6th, 2023
Genre: Extreme Horror
Pages: 186
Rating: ⭐ ⭐ ⭐ ⭐

What I Liked:
1. I very much enjoy Judith Sonnet's writing style
2. Rock Lobster is a great song - so weird

What I Didn't Like:
1. Some parts slowed down
2. Ending is always the same

Overall Thoughts:
As I read along and was introduced to new items throughout the story I kept wondering if that mustard bottle or comics were going to make their rounds in some gross way. The author always keeps me guessing. I seriously never know what to expect. (They didn't)

I was confused how Mac was thrown to the wolves just because he was in the office talking about Tanner taking God's name in vain. But I guess someone had to fed to the wolves.

Soggy trench! Who doesn't describe their wives vagina as such!? 🤣

Was confused when a toddler was mentioned but then the kids said they were starting kindergarten, that's weird because a toddler stops being a toddler at 3 and you usually start kindergarten when you're 5.

Gosh, I was sad that everyone died but you got me because I did not see that coming at all.

Final Thoughts:
I love the authors afterwards. I always love reading them. They remind me of Stephen King who always put one before his story collections. This one was sad. I'm sorry camp didn't work out for you. I never got to go - we were too poor, but I can see how camps are just hiding people that can hurt children.

I liked this summer camp story a lot. Some things slowed down for me but I absolutely love the character development the author can put into such a short story.

This story reminded of a book I read last year; The Summer Is Ended and We Are Not Yet Saved by Joey Comeau

Martin is going to Bible Camp for the summer. He's going to learn archery and swimming, and he's going to make new friends. He's pretty excited, but that's probably because nobody told him that this is a horror novel.

Recommend For:
• Camp stories
• Gore lovers

IG | Blog

[Mandymorgue87 · Rating 4 out of 5]

Judith Sonnett does it again. Summer Never Ends was a shocking and disturbing read about a horrifying event that happens to a group of young boys at church camp. It’s centered on children and includes graphic violence, so it’s not for the faint of heart. I enjoyed Sonnett’s commentary about religion and how often people weaponize their faith and use it to forgive themselves for causing trauma to others. The story is shocking in a lot of ways and I enjoyed it. Can’t wait to read more from Sonnett!

[Carrie Shields · Rating 5 out of 5]

"𝐈 𝐝𝐢𝐝𝐧'𝐭 𝐤𝐧𝐨𝐰 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐚 𝐥𝐨𝐧𝐠 𝐭𝐢𝐦𝐞, 𝐛𝐮𝐭 𝐭𝐡𝐞𝐧 𝐦𝐲 𝐏𝐨𝐩𝐬 𝐞𝐱𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐢𝐧𝐞𝐝 𝐢𝐭 𝐭𝐨 𝐦𝐞. 𝐖𝐞 𝐤𝐢𝐥𝐥 𝐩𝐞𝐨𝐩𝐥𝐞 𝐛𝐞𝐜𝐚𝐮𝐬𝐞 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐦𝐚𝐝𝐞 𝐮𝐬 𝐭𝐡𝐢𝐬 𝐰𝐚𝐲...𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐆𝐨𝐝 𝐝𝐨𝐧'𝐭 𝐦𝐚𝐤𝐞 𝐦𝐢𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐤𝐞𝐬!"

Starting off as a coming-of-age story, SUMMER NEVER ENDS finds Tanner begrudgingly going to church camp. He makes a few friends, but the reader can't appreciate the lighthearted moments of bonding because this is Judith Sonnet, and she's about to make us hurt.

When Tanner and his friends decide to go on a hike, they stumble upon a cabin that holds unspeakable horrors inside, and this nostalgic story soon transitions into a visceral, blood-soaked story about the horrors people inflict on one another all in the name of religion.

The author's deeply personal note about how organized religion failed her pulled at my heartstrings. I haven't been to church in years, but I do believe in God and consider myself spiritual. She said if you are a religious person, don't allow that religion to be used as a weapon to hurt and destroy other people.

She is already an auto-buy author for me, and she is quickly becoming a favorite. SUMMER NEVER ENDS is out now.

[Amy Noelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

Made me feel uncomfortable & SO disgusted that I had to take breaks while reading it, and that’s EXACTLY how I want an extreme horror to make me feel! I loved the topics revolving around religion that this story brings up. It always excites me when an author is willing to go there. The ending 10000% took me by surprise. Great read all around!!

Thanks so much Judith for the free copy, in exchange for an honest review! 🖤

[Mike (Hail Horror Hail) · Rating 4 out of 5]

I absolutely loathe the song "Rock Lobster" by The B-52s, and that song comes up frequently during the telling of Sonnet's summer tale. Every time the song is mentioned, I could hear it in my head like the annoying ear worm it is. And like that ear worm of a song, Summer Never Ends gets into you, under you, and all over you like gushes of blood and viscera from a hammer smashed face. Have I said too much? This is one summer that ends too soon for some.

[Gemma 🖤🧸🌷 · Rating 4 out of 5]

My first read of Judith Sonnet!! I’ll definitely be reading more from her… As someone who grew up in an extremely religious household and is now an atheist, I loved this. She’s right, I forgot I was reading horror for the first half- then shit really hit the fan😲 the last quarter was pretty damn bloody and brutal. I loved that the setting was church camp

Over all- 4⭐️. The religious aspect of the book was cathartic

[Wren Lee · Rating 4 out of 5]

Quick, fun summer camp slasher.

Tanner is being sent to a religious summer camp. Right off the bat though, he’s accused by another camper that he is a blasphemer. But golly, is that the least of his worries!

This was bloody, fast paced, and easily digestible. Pick it up if you need a gory little pick me up.

[Charlene (Char)🍁☕️📚 · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Kills

This book kept me awake at night reading of the horrors that happened. this author knows how to write a good book! She spared no expense ! This book has it all a good story, graphic , gore and horrors beyond image. This book is not for the week so you have been warned.

[Renee Clydesdale · Rating 2 out of 5]

It was meh. I don’t really have much to say. So much gore but not a lot of storyline for the younger boys. I would have liked this book to not finish where it did and have two more chapters that explained what happened after… I feel like it just ended mid scene and didn’t wrap up all the loose ends

[Danielle Yvonne · Rating 5 out of 5]

“In exchange for good, Godly behavior, they were permitted to purge their devilish impulses on rare occasions.”

This was top fucking tier. It was everything I didn’t know I needed in my life at the moment. Binge read this bad Larry all in one sitting and would do it again in a heartbeat. 🤌🏼

The Queen of Extreme does it again. Judith Sonnet is another author that quite literally, never misses. She has the impeccable ability of using different writing styles in her books and this one might be a favorite of mine. 👏🏼

Per usual, it goes hard. Very hard. It’s brutal. But in a different way. This story has a very bleak vibe to it, albeit extreme. It is very dark and actually quite beautiful. Not one beat is missed throughout; between the characters, details and overall tone. 👌🏼

This coming of age story with religious themes, and quite a bit of brutality and gore sprinkled in, was an easy five star read for me and one you will see me recommending everywhere. Ebook is available now. Printed coming soon. Do yourself a favor, run and grab this asap. You will not be disappointed. 🙌🏼

[Veronica ☠️ · Rating 4 out of 5]

Tanners parents ship him off to Creston Camp for the summer. Creston Camp is a church camp. Upset, Tanner has no choice in going but is pleasantly surprised when he makes two friends right off the bat. The camp is run by Lewis Baylor, an old man of God.

Creston Camp was once a couples resort. It's since been abandoned, and Creston Camp was created. But for it being a church camp, it has some very evil things. The back of the woods is forbidden for all members, but Tanner and his friends decide to explore regardless. What they discover will make them think twice about breaking rules again.

What a fun camp slasher! 80s vibe, religious stuff, abandoned cabin, and lots of gore. This was very fast-paced and a super fun read! I've never been to camp, and stories like these make me grateful I never did. I read this for the Trans Rights Readathon, and I highly suggest!

[Sophie Ingley · Rating 5 out of 5]

As of March 2023, I’ve read 8 books by Judith Sonnet. Each one has been brilliant. Some have been nasty, some gross and twisted, but all of them have been stories I’ve recommended folk to check out for themselves.

Summer Never Ends is a book I think ALL horror fans need to own. It’s that bloody good.

This is an amazing Coming of Age tale.
I was right there with Tanner, Spitz, and Garrett.
I wanted to share their joy of reading comic books, their plans for D&D. I was alongside them as they hiked towards The Honeymoon Lodge…

Have to be honest, the book broke me. Human monsters are the worst kind, and I was sobbing as I read that last chapter. Don’t get me wrong though, I bloody LOVED it!
Summer Never Ends is heartwarming and then utterly heartbreaking, brutal and as powerful as a sledgehammer to the head.

I loved this very, and then some.

[Juan Vizcarra · Rating 5 out of 5]

Note: This book was received as an ARC by the author

As an adult you often hear the phrase "Children can be cruel"
This novel will nail down that idea for you in very uncanny ways.

After reading Chainsaw Hooker and Magick by Judith, I was already sold on reading her take on a more "human" horror, after all, one of my strong beliefs is that you can spend a lifetime reading splatterpunk and all kinds of forbidden fiction, and none of it will come a tad close to the awful things that happen in real life, without the need of demons, monsters or ghosts, we humans can do their evil deeds just fine, in meaner ways and never getting punished by doing so.

Tanner is a young kid who got embarked against his will to attend to church camp at Creston's Camp. After getting a bitter taste of what he will learn from the counselors and even other kids at this place, there's a silver lining when he gets acquainted with a pair of nerdy kids that are happy to show him the ropes and make his stay at Creston Camp less of a nightmare.
It will all go wrong in the worst way possible, and it will remind you that if there's a God, he doesn't give a shit about what happens down on earth.

A great read from Judith and one that serves as a manifest that she can write human horror as gut wrenching and powerful as her more otherwordly and over the top works.

[nico ✰ · Rating 5 out of 5]

my only complaint was that i wish it were longer, because i grew so attached to these main characters in only 119 pages. judith sonnet never disappoints, and as a big fan of coming of age stories within the genre of horror, this worked just right for me. an excellent read.

[R.J. Daly · Rating 5 out of 5]

Summer Never Ends was a fantastic read. Loved every page of this one! The characters. The setting. The exciting build up… and the carnage that followed! Excellent stuff.

[amerie ♡ · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.5 ⭐️, man i love Judith’s books, this was such a fun and brutal quick read, it took me about 2 hours just to read this whole thing & i loved every page.

[Shaun Filion · Rating 5 out of 5]

The story started off on what seemed like a charming, fun, coming of age story....... and then took quite a horrifying Sonnet-esk turn!
Everything got very brutal ,very fast! Some very interesting twists and turns and an ending I really wasn't expecting.
I ended up devouring this book in less than a day! I'd highly recommend it.

[Rockwithme · Rating 3 out of 5]

I'm a bit perplexed abt that book, I thought it'd be creepier but it was soft. Due to the summary who promised horror (no), I'm a bit disappointed. I'm maybe heartless towards children 😬

[Reader · Rating 3 out of 5]

It was... meh. A lot of potential, tho.

[Milt Theo · Rating 5 out of 5]

Gut-wrenching horror, masterfully told! Judith Sonnet has outdone herself in this book. The setting, the imagery, the raw brutal narrative - and that ending! That hurt. There's a lot of violence, but also great characterization, a sense of adventure, the discovery of young male friendship, till it all goes awry and you come face to face with hell. Highly recommended.

[The_5ft_reader · Rating 5 out of 5]

Never know what to expect when I pick up a Judith sonnet book, and this one didn't disappoint! It's a quick little read eithsummer camp, religion, and the (all be it crazy) lengths someone will go to for their children! Fab read!

[Travis · Rating 4 out of 5]

Man, what a ride! I blew through this one in about 3 hours. It was a very quick read, not just because it was short in general but it was also quite engaging.

Keeping that latter detail in mind, it was a bit of a slow start. However, once the story got tense it really took off. It dropped in pacing again around the halfway point but it was basically a whole chapter explaining very crucial details revolving around a family’s history, which turned out to be disturbing on so many levels, so it was fine because it held the tension nicely.

The standout character for me was Lewis Baylor. Not really a main protagonist but he was definitely the most interesting. Without truly spoiling anything, let me just say that as a man of deep religious faith he was…complex. I’ll leave it at that, but I’m sure you can guess where that may lead due to reading about and/or watching several types of characters with a religious trope and how things can get pretty shaken up by those types. Still, by book’s end he proved to be the most fleshed out character as all the rest sort of fell victim to stereotypical caricatures.

Speaking of, the main premise was pretty cliché: summer camp horror story. However, despite that, it didn’t make it any less fun or entertaining. Not only was this a Bible-themed camp, which is a first for me personally, but the camp idea seemed to be made as a mere smoke screen to allow the true horrific intentions of the story to come into play later. It was a welcome change in dynamic for this type of story.

Sonnet’s writing was mostly on par with her usual cleverness and quirky word usage. While the violence and gore in this one are certainly a step up from a couple of Sonnet’s books I’ve read recently such as “Kill Yer Pumpkins” and “The Shriek-A-Rama Spook Show Experience” (both VERY highly recommended and fun reads, by the way!), I still feel like even the slightest of the squeamish could handle the details. Yet, there were places where I felt the writing was a bit uneven. Certain points seemed to be rushed while others took longer to explain. But it never affected the pacing. And the author certainly made up for it with a few really shocking surprises. And an ending that only the Queen of Extreme could deliver! I totally get the title of this book now. This one will stay with me a while.

I’m giving this one a 4.5 rating. It was a great, fun story but I do like some of Sonnet’s other works better. I do recommend this story. Go check it out! If I’m not mistaken I believe there is a sequel to this one. I will undoubtedly pick it up.