The Sunflower Boys
 | |
| Author | Sam Wachman |
|---|---|
| Language | English |
| Genre | Coming-of-age, historical fiction, LGBTQ+ |
| Publisher | HarperCollins |
Publication date | August 12, 2025 |
| Publication place | United States |
| Pages | 320 |
| ISBN | 978-0063418226 |
The Sunflower Boys is a 2025 debut novel by Sam Wachman. The novel is a bildungsroman set in modern Ukraine before and during the Russian invasion of Ukraine.[1] It received positive reviews.[2][3] Praise for The Sunflower Boys focused on its depictions of LGBTQ rights in Ukraine and the 2022 siege of Chernihiv.[4]
Author
Wachman was born in Cambridge, Massachusetts to a family of Ukrainian descent.[5] He graduated from Cambridge Rindge and Latin School and Brandeis University.[6][7] After graduating from Brandeis University, Wachman taught primary school English in Ukraine.[8] He volunteered in Germany, Romania and the United States during the Ukrainian refugee crisis.[9][10] He was also a political activist who advocated for the release of Rümeysa Öztürk.[11][12]
The Sunflower Boys was Wachman's debut novel.[9] Wachman wrote short fiction and film criticism for Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, River Styx, and Bright Lights Film Journal. His work was featured in Ploughshares and The Rumpus.[13][14][15][16][17]
Synopsis
The Sunflower Boys follows twelve-year-old Artem, who lives with his mother and younger brother, Yuri, in Chernihiv, Ukraine. Their Hutsul father works in the United States and sends home remittances. Artem harbors secret romantic feelings for his best friend, Viktor.
In February 2022, Artem and his family escape the siege of Chernihiv and seek refuge in Artem's grandfather's home in rural Chernihiv Oblast, in a fictional village along the river Oster named "Vasyukivka" after Vsevolod Nestayko's 1972 novel Toreadors from Vasyukivka. Artem's mother and grandfather are killed in the Northern Ukraine offensive, and Artem and Yuri embark on a dangerous journey westward.
In Lviv, they reunite with their father, who is exempt from the 2022 Ukrainian mobilization but must navigate bureaucratic hurdles to leave the country. Ultimately, he hires a people smuggler to guide them across the Ukrainian Carpathians into Romania.[18]
Reception
Kirkus Reviews and Publishers Weekly both published starred reviews praising the novel.[19][20] In NPR's Weekend Edition, host Scott Simon called it "a powerful survival story".[21]
Ron Charles wrote for The Washington Post that "Sam Wachman, a writer all of 25 years old, has created that rarest phenomenon: a war novel that feels at once timeless and precisely of the moment."[22]
Bradley Babendir wrote for The Boston Globe that "[t]he line between a serious-minded confrontation with this pitch-black corner of humanity and an exploitive-seeming, schlocky book is thin as fishing line and [Wachman] stays consistently on the right side."[23]
Julia Klein wrote for The Forward that The Sunflower Boys is "[c]onvincing and dramatic ... [it] works on multiple levels. It offers a historically specific look at Ukraine, a celebration of same-sex love, and a meditation on the pull of home. Surefooted in both its craft and its theme, the novel also lauds and exemplifies the power of art." Klein noted that the novel was critical of the Ukrainian government and specifically the 2022 Ukrainian mobilization.[24]
Katie Noah Gibson wrote for Shelf Awareness: "Tender and poignant, shot through with deep sadness and wry humor, The Sunflower Boys is a bittersweet rendering of life in modern-day Ukraine, the effect of war on ordinary lives, and a young person discovering who he is."[25]
The Sunflower Boys was also featured in Harper's Bazaar, Forbes, NPR, and People.[26][27][28][29]
An excerpt from The Sunflower Boys was published in Electric Literature.[30]
References
- ^ Wachman, Sam (12 August 2025). The Sunflower Boys. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063418226.
- ^ "The Sunflower Boys". Book Marks. Literary Hub. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ "The Sunflower Boys: A Novel by Sam Wachman". HarperCollins. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ Klein, Julia (6 August 2025). "Amid the terror of war in Ukraine, a stirring debut novel demonstrates the power of love and art". The Forward. The Forward. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Davis, Andrew (24 July 2025). "Haiti items, murder charges, Pussy Riot, new Cuba law". Windy City Times. Matt Simonette. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Cannon, Sophie (30 April 2018). ""Cambridge student wins Scholastic gold medal"". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Undergraduate English Program Awards. "Awards". Brandeis University.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (13 August 2025). ""Literature is a Force For Peace and Solidarity." On Writing a Novel of the War in Ukraine". Literary Hub. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ a b Wachman, Sam (13 August 2025). ""Literature is a Force For Peace and Solidarity." On Writing a Novel of the War in Ukraine". Literary Hub. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ Betancourt, Sarah (24 February 2023). "A year since the war started, Ukrainians in Massachusetts now wait to see how long they can stay". WGBH. WGBH Educational Foundation. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Mutasa, Tammy (27 Mar 2025). "Tufts University student Rumeysa Ozturk held by ICE in Louisiana, protesters demand release". CBS News. CBS Broadcasting Inc. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wine, Daniel (1 April 2025). "Close calls at airport, sweet spot for stress, world's most complicated watch: Catch up on the day's stories". CNN. Cable News Network. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (27 May 2025). "Sam Wachman, "Deportation Notice, Corrected, 2025"". River Styx. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (31 Jan 2025). "Boy Meets Boy: Young Hearts Ushers In a New Era of Queer Cinema". Bright Lights Film Journal. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (Apr 10, 2019). "Thirteen". Sonora Review. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Matthews, Tamara (17 April 2019). "This Week In Essays". 17 April 2019. The Rumpus. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ "Emerging Writer's Contest - Winners". Ploughshares. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (12 August 2025). The Sunflower Boys. HarperCollins. ISBN 9780063418226.
- ^ ""The Sunflower Boys"". Kirkus Reviews. Kirkus Media. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ ""The Sunflower Boys"". Publishers Weekly. 21 May 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Simon, Scott (16 August 2025). "Sam Wachman discusses his debut novel, 'The Sunflower Boys,' a powerful survival story". New England Public Media. NPR. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Charles, Ron (20 August 2025). "A new war novel is at once timeless and precisely of the moment". The Washington Post. William Lewis. Retrieved 20 August 2025.
- ^ Babendir, Bradley (7 August 2025). "Coming of age is hard enough, without Russia invading your country". Boston Globe. Boston Globe Media Partners. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ Klein, Julia (6 August 2025). "Amid the terror of war in Ukraine, a stirring debut novel demonstrates the power of love and art". Rachel Fishman Feddersen. Retrieved 14 August 2025.
- ^ "Review: The Sunflower Boys". Shelf Awareness. 27 June 2025. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Sanchez, Chelsey (15 April 2025). "The 21 Best Beach Reads to Keep You Occupied All Summer Long". Harper's Bazaar. Hearst. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Tagen-Dye, Carly; Schumer, Lizz. "PEOPLE's Best Books of August 2025: New Fiction from Sam Wachman, Aisha Muharrar and More". People. People Inc. Retrieved 10 August 2025.
- ^ Dwyer, Colin. "New books this week: investigating rehab, fighting wildfires, and a Slaughter thriller". NPR. National Public Radio. Retrieved 12 August 2025.
- ^ Fitzgerald, Toni. "25 Must-Read Books To Add To Your 2025 Summer List". Forbes. Retrieved 8 August 2025.
- ^ Wachman, Sam (4 August 2025). "A Sketchbook to Preserve Our Family in Peacetime". Electric Literature. Retrieved 14 August 2025.