This coming of age ensemble features four friends who embark on completely unique summer experiences. I’m going to try to discuss them collectively because even though they go to different places, each boy learns about himself as he questions his place in the world.

The boys are accustomed to their rural lives, and to relying on each other, especially since there isn’t a sizable contingent of queer youth in their town. Going to someplace new is already a culture shock, but it’s even more challenging because each boy is on his own. Yes, they all make new friends, but after years of having enough other, being on their own is tough.

I’m sticking to talking about them collectively because I liked each of the four narratives equally, and I would have a hard time picking a favorite. They were all intriguing in their own way. I also liked that they were all so different, so it was exciting to switch perspectives and find out what was going to happen next.

Finally, I want to talk about the cover. Covers can change from hardcover to paperback, and the cover is almost always different for international editions, but I love this book's cover because I think the four pairs of sunglasses capture each boy's personality so well.

I would absolutely recommend Golden Boys. I am not in the target demographic for YA, but I am the parent of three children who are. As a parent, I appreciate how eloquently this book depicts friendship—especially male friendship, which is less common than the bond between teen girls. Having the perspective of queer youth is even more needed because kids out there need to read about kids who are like them; their stories are important and valued. This is the third Stamper book I’ve read, and the third I’ve thoroughly enjoyed. I’m already looking forward to Stamper’s next book!


I received a digital ARC of this book from Bloomsbury YA/NetGalley

To be honest, I didn't finish GOLDEN BOYS because it failed to catch my interest. The story follows four friends over the course of a summer, and I often like books with lots of POVs, but I guess I am kind of picky about them. This one just didn't work for me because all of the boys felt too similar and I just couldn't keep track of whose POV I was in. Maybe I should have given the book more of a chance, but I didn't want to force myself to keep reading something I wasn't connecting with.

Thank you to NetGalley for giving me an eARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

Thank you Netgalley and Publishers for an ARC of this novel in exchange for an honest review.

My rating of the novel reflects my level of enjoyment overall. There were great parts within this novel but then there were parts that I think fell flat.

On a personal note, I struggled to find the distinction between the characters. Since I was thoroughly enjoying it, I purchased a copy of Golden Boys to help take notes on which POV I was reading. Reading it physically helped the distinction be more obvious, but I wish the voices weren't so similar.

The main problem I had with this novel is that I didn't feel like I went on four different summer trips with the Golden Boys. Rather, I felt bored by the time I reached the midway point and I powered through the rest of the novel. While the cover is gorgeous and the premise enticed me, I finished the book wanting more than what was given. I'm still interested in reading the author's other works like Small Town Pride, but unfortunately won't be continuing with this series.

2 of 5 stars.

*3.5 stars
This is my third book from Stamper, and I'm still waiting for that 5-star book to knock it out of the park. This one's main problem for me was just that there's so many characters, so I found it difficult to relate to them. To be honest, I felt confused on who each of the characters were and what each was up to for the summer for the first ~50% of this book. There's four perspectives, and each is a queer boy headed off to another part of the country for the summer, and I thought two of them were the same perspective (and one was missing) for the first half. The confusion, I think, is where a bit of my enjoyment slipped. The romances were cute enough, though they didn't feel fully developed because there was just so much ground to cover. However, I think this is a fun summery contemporary that tackles love and friendship and change and major life decisions. I see that this is a planned series, and I will absolutely be picking up the sequel.

I loved having the multiple povs of this story. We follow four boys during a summer when they are 16. They’re each doing different things, but the reader is bound to find one of them to relate to. This book lives up to the hype of being like a sister hood of the traveling pants for gays. I would like to see this be a book that is available for students in high school libraries. It would be a good addition.
Overall, I gave it a 4/5

3.75/5⭐️ to Golden Boys by Phil Stamper. Many thanks to Bloomsbury YA and Netgalley for an egalley to review! This is the third book by Stamper that I have read, and though it wasn't my favourite of the three, it was charming and a joy to read nevertheless. We follow four best friends, Gabriel, Reece, Sal, and Heath as they all head on separate adventures the summer before senior year. Gabe heads to Boston to intern for an environmental advocacy group, Reece attends design & fashion school in Paris, Sal interns for a senator in D.C., and Health is off to sunny Daytona beach to work and stay with his aunt and cousin for the summer while his dad moves them to a new apartment. In terms of the overall plot and the way that the four friends' summers interweave, I really liked it! It worked so well in terms of telling this coming-of-age story of friendship and how that can change and grow as we grow up and tackle our own adventures apart from friends. But also it emphasizes that friendships, especially important ones, are worth fighting for and can even flourish despite huge distances in space & time. I think there are a lot of good themes in this story that a lot of older teens and young adults will be able to relate to; stress about figuring out the future, changes in friendships, tough family circumstances, navigating first jobs, and parental relationships. Some highlights for me, in particular, were Heath meeting his Aunt & cousin for the first time and finding more family relationships in the aftermath of his parents' split, Reece finding a passion and ability for designing clothes with the friendship he makes there at school, and a really sweet romantic reunion that happens near the end of the book <3 Another element I really liked about Golden Boys is how the author included texting and FaceTime conversations in between chapters to give an extra dynamic to the story. There were a couple of things that just made me a little iffy about the book and why I didn't absolutely love it. Firstly, because there were four different main perspectives I found it just a little difficult at first to keep the boys separate in my head (the audiobook has four different narrators which massively helped). The author did fairly well counteracting this by giving each friend a different location and activities to help keep them separate, though their personalities felt a bit similar. The second was a couple of near-cheating scenarios which I didn't necessarily agree with. Overall, I really had a good time reading this and Phil Stamper has definitely been cemented as an auto-buy author!

Phil Stamper is an automatic read for me and he did not disappoint with this story about 4 queer high school boys jetting off separately for a summer before their senior year. If you've been reading YA for awhile and remember Bass Ackwards and Belly Up - this is very similar in regards to structure of the book but Golden Boys is more modern and inclusive. Told in four POVs with some text chains thrown in - readers follow the four boys through internships, jobs, romance, and mental health issues.

I absolutely loved reading Golden Boys. Each character had important struggles going into their summer and made amazing growth over the course of the book. It was very much a coming of age novel and I'm stoked there is a sequel planned. Don't let the sequel scare you though - there is no cliffhanger. I just assume the story picks up with the boys going through senior year and deciding their plans for college/post grad. If I had to pick a favorite boy it would be Reese as he is in Paris at design school for the summer and quietly crushing on Heath. He just needed a hug and I wanted to give him one.

To be fair all the characters needed and deserved hugs so don't think the other 3 were lesser in my eyes. That decision was very hard to come to.

There wasn't a single piece of this book that I didn't like. If you love YA contemporary, diverse reads, and coming of age I highly recommend reading it and frankly, the rest of Phil's novels.

**Thank you to Bloomsbury YA and Netgalley for an early copy in exchange for an honest review**

well, this was fun. really fun. and sometimes fun is all you need.

let me back up by saying that i did enjoy this book, but i also didn’t find it to be as compelling as phil stamper’s other novels. this one follows four queer boys (gabe, reese, sal, & heath) living in small town ohio who are all going away for the summer before their senior year, each for different reasons. this is the first summer they’ll be apart since they became friends. each character is working thru something, whether it’s deciding what to do after high school, or finding their passion, or struggling with their parents’ divorce, or finding their own voice among a crowd. and maybe all of them are looking for love to some degree. it was cute and a quick read, and i did enjoy myself.

what this book struggled with was focus. because we shift between the pov of four characters in four different geographical locations, i felt a little disinterested at times. it felt hard to get to know these characters like we got to know them in ‘the gravity of us’. had this book focussed down on only one or two of the boys, i think it would have flowed better for me, and the story could have developed in a way that didn’t feel all at once.

i will continue to read everything phil stamper comes out with, because at the end of the day, his books show queer youth living their lives, and what’s more heartwarming than that?

The book was a slow start for me, which is understandable given how many POV characters there are. It took me a while to get everyone settled in my mind, but by about 30-40% of the way through, I'd say I had a pretty good grasp on who is who, where they're spending their summers, and their personalities.

This book has an expansive cast of characters, no joke, but I found that as I settled into the story I didn't struggle to keep everyone together. Stamper definitely did a great job with characterizing everyone, even the smallest side characters.

I loved the way this book kind of took us everywhere, and how each boy's destination was really important to who they were and what they believe in, and how they needed to grow.

Oh, this book! I absolutely loved this book.

Sal, Heath, Gabriel, and Reese are all gay, have been best friends forever, and are just entering their summer before the senior year of high school starts. For the very first time ever, the four of them are all leaving their small town in Ohio to go in very different directions for the entire summer: Sal is headed to Washington D.C. to intern for a U.S. Senator, Heath is headed to Florida to visit an aunt and cousin he’s never met before while his dad figures out their living situation post-divorce, Gabriel is headed to Boston to intern for an environmental non-profit, and Reese is headed to Paris to study graphic design at a summer program.

This book is so sweet. It somehow manages to convey that timeless feeling of how it feels to grow apart from some friends while also conveying how timeless some friendships can be. It also gets across how exciting it can be to form fast friendships forged in those summer fires that can be found in summer camps, summer programs, internships, and temporary jobs. You can see how these boys confront their insecurities and how some of them come to realize they weren’t who they thought they were. How sometimes, once you’re on your own, you realize you’ve been living in a vacuum of sorts.

This kind of story is timeless for a reason: it’s because we’ve all lived it at some point. Friends come and go. Some friendships are formed in short order and last decades, and some friendships are just meant to last for a little while. Sometimes you form attachments and patterns that are unhealthy, and sometimes you learn to break out of ruts and find something new about yourself. It’s part of growing up. And we all had to do it sometime. And that’s what this book is about. And it’s beautiful.

i think i liked this book for the most
part, but i also have some mixed feelings about it. while i enjoyed the emphasis on friendship, it often felt like the book was telling rather than showing me how much these boys cared about each other. i did like reading from all of their povs and seeingthe characters grow, but they did blur together because of the similar writing styles in each of them. still a fun summeey read!
thank you NetGalley and the publisher for providing me with an ARC of this book for this honest review!

GOLDEN BOYS by Phil Stamper is about four best friends, gay teenaged boys from Ohio, who each go off on an adventure the summer before their senior year. One goes to work for an environmental nonprofit in Boston, one to an internship with a US senator in Washington DC, one to design school in Paris, and one to work at his aunt's arcade in Daytona, FL. The boys have some entanglements with one another that go beyond friendship and complicated dynamics with their families, and they each have a lot to learn while they're on their own, gaining perspective from a new environment populated with new people.

I absolutely adore this book! The main characters are all so relatable and realistic in their messiness and insecurities. The author does a wonderful job bringing them to life in the way Gabriel navigates social situations, how Sal tries so hard to please everyone, the way Reese handles criticism, and how Heath yearns for connection. One thing Phil Stamper always does well is infuse his books with wistfulness, giving poignancy to simple moments as the characters reflect on their pasts and ponder their futures. GOLDEN BOYS captures that so well and brought me right back to my teen years. At the same time, the pacing is brisk, as we have four points of view that constantly switch in interesting ways, plus peeks at the text messages between the boys. The way the author manages to write four complete character arcs in such a short book is impressive, though I would've been happy to read a longer version of this story and spend more time with the golden boys. I'm already eagerly anticipating the second installment of this planned duology!

Thank you Netgalley and Bloomsbury YA for the eARC!

COMING OF AGE STORY
Four friends find themselves going on separate paths the summer before their last year in High School. After years of knowing each other they each head on their own journey (Paris, Washington DC, Boston and Florida) and wonder if their new experiences will make them grow for the better or drive them apart.

I enjoyed this story and it reminded me of my High school years, meeting all my friends (most who I still love to this day), it is outside my usual genre so It took me a while to get into it but I LOVED that there was queer love and representation in this, It's always nice to see yourself in characters so I'll give any book with LGBTQ+ characters a shot.

This was really sweet and wholesome. There was nothing that really made it stand out to me, but I did enjoy it over all. I loved that each boy grows in certain ways, separate from their friends. I could have used more at the end once the four friends return home—I would have liked to see if and how their dynamic changed after such a transformative summer away.

ARC was provided by the publisher via Netgalley in exchange for an honest review.

I enjoyed this! I’m not sure that anything will ever live up to The Gravity of Us, but this came close.
I will admit that I had a bit of trouble getting into it at first, with the story being told from 4 different POVs (each one of the friend group), but once I got straight who everyone was, it went a lot better.
I’m coming to realize that I am not a fan of angst. I mean, a bit is fine, but the amount of angst between two of the characters in this was a bit much. Like, it was pretty much their whole relationship for almost the entire book. I know that this is YA and that teenagers are pretty much overflowing with angst these days (though I’m sure I was 100% angst-free when I was a teen), so I think it’s true to the age the book is about, and ostensibly for.
I think the book requires just a bit of suspended belief, as each of the 4 characters goes away for the summer, almost completely unsupervised at the age of 16/17 (the summer before their final year of high school). As the parent of a teen, this is not something I think I would be okay with. I mean, one of them is doing a crazy political internship in Washington DC, one of them is in Paris! Sure, maybe once they’ve graduated, but 16/17 seems so young to me. Although, having said that, I was also living on my own by the time I was 17, so maybe I’m being mildly hypocritical? idk, it just seems kind of crazy, as a parent, to let your kid do that.
Overall, I enjoyed the book and liked the characters. I see that it says it’s #1, and I would gladly read more about these characters in further books.

Thank you NetGalley and Bloomsbury USA Children’s Books for providing me an eARC of Phil Stamper’s golden book, Golden Boys! All thoughts and opinions are my own.

Summary:

Four queer boys from a small town in Ohio go on a summer of adventures. Gabriel heads off to work on an environmental nonprofit project in Boston. Sal goes to Washington D.C. for an internship with a senator. Reese ventures off to design school in Paris. Last but not least, Heath goes to Florida to help his aunt’s business while his parents work out their divorce. As the four best friends spend a summer apart, they worry how long their friendship will last when they don’t see each other every day, how they will handle their upcoming senior year of high school, and discover who they are without their best friends around. This book is packed with romance, tear-jerking discoveries, personal growth for all four boys, and lots of love.

Review:

I like that all points of view are so different. Each boy is going through his own set of life experiences while learning how to be his own person away from his friends. Gabriel has to deal with his anxiety and social anxiety while working for an environmental nonprofit. Sal has to find the balance between being a go-getter and working too hard; there are such high expectations for him to achieve everything that he doesn’t know when or how to say “no” to things. Reese is in Paris, trying to discover himself and figure out what exactly he wants to learn to find a fulfilling career.

Heath’s character was interesting to me because usually in stories like this, all the characters are from the same level of wealth, but that wasn’t the case here. Heath’s family was hit hard by Covid-19 and his dad lost his job, so they’re in financial distress and he’s not sure where he will be able to go to college if he gets to go at all. His friends even acknowledge their financial privilege too. I’m probably just reading the wrong YA books, but I’ve rarely come across books for this age group that address issues like that. Usually the books with characters who talk about are a group of friends from lower-income households. It’s not usually rich kids having honest conversations with their friends about the differences in their financial situations and the privileges they get. It was nice to see. Maybe this will open up conversations between real people over the topic.

The romances in the book were interesting to read because each teen has an experience with romance, and they all lead to different conclusions. Some of the teens decide the romance is worth exploring while other teens decide their romance is more of a hindrance than a help. It was nice to read about kids who care about each other and after feeling their feelings, make emotionally mature decisions.

Final Thoughts:

This was a nice summer read that cut through the chill of winter. It’s full of love: love of family, love of friends, love of new friendships, and plenty of blossoming romantic love.

5 out of 5 stars

Golden Boys is set to get published on February 8, 2022. Go check it out at your local library or nearest bookstore!

If you are looking for a fun, heartwarming, cute, and queer YA book, then you have come to the right place. I really enjoyed Golden Boys by Phil Stamper and felt like it was a perfect read for cozying up with during the winter, as it transports you to four different locations during the height of summer.

Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are four best friends facing their first summer all in different locations. As the summer will end with the beginning of senior year of high school, the ticking clock of the end of youth hangs above each of their heads and concerns about the future run rampant. In addition to being rising seniors, all four are queer boys, only adding to the opportunities and angst associated with self-discovery.

Boston, Washington DC, Paris, and Daytona Beach. Each city poses a different challenge for each boy, including navigating confidence, work-life balance, romance, and more. Watching each of these queer teens determined to make the most of the summer and truly grow makes me wish I had a book like this when I was in their shoes a decade ago.

Every character felt relatable and even supporting characters felt fully developed with a personality. The challenges overcome during the course of the book also felt authentic and I could tell that the author put a lot of thought toward each arc and how best to resolve situations.

One of the best things about blogging about books isn’t so much this part, it’s really about sinking into a book and memorizing and savouring every little bit that you can from the content. Sure, sometimes it can be arduous and feel like a school project more than something you would do for fun when you work an insane amount of hours already but then you get books like this and you remember why you started this project in the first place.

Because reading is fun. Books are fun. And sometimes, especially in the dark times, they can make life seem a little less bleak and hopeless.

This book was like sunshine for me (and I don’t see much of it, I’m Canadian after all).

It was, quite simply, a joy to read.

I didn’t think I could love one of Phil Stamper’s books more than I loved The Gravity of Us (I’m a huge space nerd) but then Phil wrote about politics, environmentalism, art, fashion and those summer jobs we never really leave behind. And I was hooked.

I feel deeply in love with these four realistic, flawed but oh so wonderful characters.

No spoilers but I’m going to talk about them for a bit.

Gabriel wanting to reinvent himself is so relatable, and he has such a warm caring heart that I want to hug him forever.

Sal tries so hard to protect himself from things and other people that I want to tell him it’s okay to have moments of vulnerability.

Reese has the heart of an artist and the mind of a romantic and I adore him.

Heath just…is…so…good. He tries so hard.

These boys will be cemented in my mind for a good while, and me? Well I’ll be eagerly awaiting Phil Stamper’s next book, because he made Ohio seem alive in the way he wrote it, along with Washington, Paris, Boston and Daytona. The settings lived and breathed, and lent themselves to some very interesting circumstances.

I received a free copy of his book in exchange for an honest review.

This book is out February 8th and you should definitely pick it up!

Phil Stamper’s novels are always feel-good stories with a relatable cast of characters. This gives off Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants vibes with a group of gay boys. My favorite part of the story was when they were all together or interacting with each other. Their own personal stories were just alright. I am hoping that the sequel has the group going on an adventure together or perhaps chronicling their senior year together.

I really enjoyed these characters it was interesting to see the differences between how they viewed each other and how they viewed themselves. I also enjoyed how their conversations presented in texts and face time transcripts added to our view of the boys and their bonds. I also enjoyed how they all had more specific roles in the group but also stepped outside of those roles at times because of their separation. The book had wonderful character development as the boys faced different challenges on their summer trips. All around these characters made this an awesome summer read.