Golden Boys

By: Phil Stamper

Narrated by: Michael Crouch, Graham Halstead, Shawn K. Jain, Briggon Snow, Karissa Vacker

Length: 8 hrs and 46 mins

Publisher's summary

National best-selling author Phil Stamper crafts the perfect summer friendship story, starring four queer boys with big hearts and even bigger dreams.

It’s the summer before senior year. Gabriel, Reese, Sal, and Heath are best friends, bonded in their small, rural town by their queerness, their good grades, and their big dreams. But they have plans for the summer, each about to embark on a new adventure.

Gabriel is interning at an environmental nonprofit in Boston.

Reese is attending design school in Paris.

Sal is volunteering on Capitol Hill for a senator.

Heath is heading to Florida, to help out at his aunt’s boardwalk arcade.

What will this season of world-expanding travel and life-changing experiences mean for each of them - and for their friendship?

Phil Stamper treats listeners to an emotionally resonant summer story, full of aspirational experiences, sweet romance, and joyously affirming friendship.

©2022 Phil Stamper (P)2022 Listening Library

Amazing

I loved everything about this book the characters were all likeable
I will look for more books by this author

Loved it all.

Loved all four MCs and their relationships with one another. Each individual is so well written and distinct.

All the feels!

What a wonderful book, all the boys had distinct voices, which it’s not an easy thing to achieve with four MC, but I had not trouble remembering who was talking at any given time, as each of them had completely different personalities and issues.
The romance aspect was super cute too!
The narrators were very good too.

Adored!

I adored this book! I've really enjoyed Phil's previous YA books, but this one, I loved it!
I loved Heath and Gabriel and Reese and Sal so much, I just wanted to wrap them all up in a great big hug!
I enjoyed seeing the 4 of them really come into their own over the course of the Summer before their senior year. This was the first time they were really all separated and you could tell it was hard on them, some moreso than others, but it really helped them learn things about themselves that they might not have, had they never had the chance to strike out on their own.
I ended this book wanting more, and was so happy to see Phil announce that we would be getting more of them next year! February isn't so far away, especially with the way time is flying, it'll be here before we know it.

The four narrators were wonderful- each one was perfect for the character they portrayed!

Gay Boy Story Written by An Actual Queer Man

I know it shouldn’t be rare but wow it is. This felt like such a genuine take on relationships between young queer men. It neither makes them absolutely chaste like some other authors or completely relies on stereotypes. They were so different that so many of us could see ourselves in different characters. I like how the guys who would otherwise be considered dominant because of their size or looks (Heath and Gabe) were actually way more sensitive than the brainy and creative guys (Sal and Reese). Overall such a lovely tale that could absolutely use a follow up!

Sequel?!?!?!

Did a great job of character development but I want more!
The story felt a little rushed but even if this was the one and only book than I’d feel okay about it. However I’m left wanting a college/coming of age continuum. Over all 10/10

definitely YA

I liked the multiple POVs and how it was more than plain text. The story makes me feel warm but I can see how it doesn’t work for some people.

A light story of four boys discovering themselves

It's nice to hear voices I've heard from other audiobooks (brkggkn snow and micheal crouch) as well as voice I've yet to hear (Shawn k jain and Graham Halstead). Their performances were very good and told the story well.

The story itself reflects a similar emotional beat and gone of Phil Stamper's previous work "The Gravity of Us" in that it doesn't delve too heavily into the emotional angst or drama when it comes to a coming of age story. It's lighthearted with a few emotional moments, but the separated parallel lines of each character's story detracts from being able to focus on a couple dynamic at a time. Had it been a couple's story at a time and their action/reaction to their relationship, their present, and their past, then I believe it would have made their resolve for the future more impactful.

That said, it is a nice story that touches up on light drama of relationships and uncertainty of the future.

Forced Relationships

I really wanted to enjoy this LGBTQA+ novel as a fellow queer individual, but for the life of me I could not connect with any of the characters. The story wasn’t terrible by any means, but the characters just felt so whiny and their problems so…first world problems. As the reader I didn’t get any depth of their character development and when it felt like I would, the segment / chapter was rushed, and then it ended. As for the characters themselves, I didn’t gravitate toward any of them. I almost found them annoying if I’m being honest, which is a shame because again, I really wanted to get to a point where I cared about them. The ending with Reese and Heath also felt incredibly forced and a bit cringe worthy when it came to their interaction.

underwhelming

The best part of this audio book was the voice acting. The story however, is all about teens with existential crisis and unrealistic expectations of the world.