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A review by drakoulis
Golden Boys by Phil Stamper
5.0
Another heartwarming, stellar book by Phil Stamper!
Golden Boys follows the friendship quartet of Gabe, Sal, Reese and Heath, who are bonded together for years in their small town in Ohio, being the only gay kids in their school, and for the first time they have to spend a lot of time away from each other, during the summer between their junior year and their senior year.
Gabe is volunteering for an environmental non-profit in Boston, Sal is interning with a Senator, Reese is attending a summer design course in Paris and Heath is working at his aunt's arcade in Daytona, Florida.
The 4 boys are quite different, their voices are very distinctive and the dynamic of the group is fascinating :
- Heath is the ultimate comfort character: he is kind and loyal and loves his friends and has to deal with the breakup of his parents and the fact that he comes from a poorer background than the others and has to work during the summer. But he never gets petty or mean, he finds a way to deal with life, and life rewards him.
- Reese is the artistic boy with the huge, supporting family, the meticulate planner with the lists and the bullets and the drawings right next to them. He is also a bit insecure about critisicm and not being the best at something (all 4 boys are top students), he's dreamy and looks for his inspiration in life.
- Gabe is anxious about everything. He doesn't know what to do, he isn't sure who he is and who he wants to be-except for when he is with Sal. He isn't confident with meeting new people and volunteering for the tree-planting program is a new step for him. And the people he meets there open a brand new path fin life, especially cute Matt.
- Sal is the most distinctive of the group, because he keeps up a facade. He has grown under immense pressure by his mother and can't even consciously realise what he wants and what she has ingrained into him. He always feels the need to appear composed and unperturbed by circumstances. He is a born politician and diplomat, and one would say he is colder than the rest (in reality, he's just a good actor).
The dynamics are so good : Sal and Gabe are friends with benefits, but they are both aware they're not in love with each other in a romantic way. They're comfortable at what they have, but they know it sort of holds them back. Can they learn how to be just friends? Heath and Reese are ridiculously in love, but none of them has the courage to say it, afraid they could ruin what they already have. Maybe they just need a little nudge...
Friends to lovers and lovers to friends in the same book in such a wholesome way? Another plus for an already amazing story !
There are cross-dynamics as well : Reese and Sal share the more "composed and serious" aspect of their personalities, and truly understand each other. Heath and Gabe grow closer via texts and calls when their friends drop off the grid for a while: they are both each other's hype-man and radiate cuteness. Heath's cousin Diana is a meddlesome maelstorm with the best intentions. Reese's design school friend Philipp is the outside nudge he needs. Gabe's volunteering friend (at first..) Matt will make him see new possibilities.
One small complain: Covid references. I hope they're not gonna be a thing in contemporary YA books.
The book is sweet, deep, sappy, cute and I can't wait for the sequel !
Reread: I wanted to have this book fresh in my memory before reading Afterglow and it was a good call, I really like this group of boys!
Golden Boys follows the friendship quartet of Gabe, Sal, Reese and Heath, who are bonded together for years in their small town in Ohio, being the only gay kids in their school, and for the first time they have to spend a lot of time away from each other, during the summer between their junior year and their senior year.
Gabe is volunteering for an environmental non-profit in Boston, Sal is interning with a Senator, Reese is attending a summer design course in Paris and Heath is working at his aunt's arcade in Daytona, Florida.
The 4 boys are quite different, their voices are very distinctive and the dynamic of the group is fascinating :
- Heath is the ultimate comfort character: he is kind and loyal and loves his friends and has to deal with the breakup of his parents and the fact that he comes from a poorer background than the others and has to work during the summer. But he never gets petty or mean, he finds a way to deal with life, and life rewards him.
- Reese is the artistic boy with the huge, supporting family, the meticulate planner with the lists and the bullets and the drawings right next to them. He is also a bit insecure about critisicm and not being the best at something (all 4 boys are top students), he's dreamy and looks for his inspiration in life.
- Gabe is anxious about everything. He doesn't know what to do, he isn't sure who he is and who he wants to be-except for when he is with Sal. He isn't confident with meeting new people and volunteering for the tree-planting program is a new step for him. And the people he meets there open a brand new path fin life, especially cute Matt.
- Sal is the most distinctive of the group, because he keeps up a facade. He has grown under immense pressure by his mother and can't even consciously realise what he wants and what she has ingrained into him. He always feels the need to appear composed and unperturbed by circumstances. He is a born politician and diplomat, and one would say he is colder than the rest (in reality, he's just a good actor).
The dynamics are so good : Sal and Gabe are friends with benefits, but they are both aware they're not in love with each other in a romantic way. They're comfortable at what they have, but they know it sort of holds them back. Can they learn how to be just friends? Heath and Reese are ridiculously in love, but none of them has the courage to say it, afraid they could ruin what they already have. Maybe they just need a little nudge...
Friends to lovers and lovers to friends in the same book in such a wholesome way? Another plus for an already amazing story !
There are cross-dynamics as well : Reese and Sal share the more "composed and serious" aspect of their personalities, and truly understand each other. Heath and Gabe grow closer via texts and calls when their friends drop off the grid for a while: they are both each other's hype-man and radiate cuteness. Heath's cousin Diana is a meddlesome maelstorm with the best intentions. Reese's design school friend Philipp is the outside nudge he needs. Gabe's volunteering friend (at first..) Matt will make him see new possibilities.
One small complain: Covid references. I hope they're not gonna be a thing in contemporary YA books.
The book is sweet, deep, sappy, cute and I can't wait for the sequel !
Reread: I wanted to have this book fresh in my memory before reading Afterglow and it was a good call, I really like this group of boys!