The Sunflower Boys

A poignant coming-of-age story with the sensitivity and haunting power of What Belongs to You and Swimming in the Dark, about a young boy wrestling with his sexuality as war breaks out in modern Ukraine. In many ways, twelve-year-old Artem''s life in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is normal. He spends his days helping on his grandfather''s sunflower farm, drawing in his sketchbook--a treasured gift from his father, who works in America--and swimming in the river with his little brother, Yuri. In secret, Artem has begun wrestling with romantic feelings for his best friend, Viktor. In a country where love between two boys is unthinkable, Artem has begun to worry that growing up, his life will never be normal. Then, on a February night, Artem and Yuri are woken by explosions--the beginning of a war that will tear their life in two. The invading Russians destroy their home, killing their mother and grandfather, and leaving young Artem and Yuri to fend for themselves. Fleeing in hopes of somehow reuniting with their father, the brothers traverse the country their ancestors once fought and died for, with nothing but their backpacks and each other. Surrounded by death and destruction, Artem is certain of one thing--that whatever may come, he must keep himself and his brother alive. A harrowing and gorgeous tale of love, identity, lost innocence, and survival set in a time of devastating war, The Sunflower Boys is a powerful, heartrending exploration of young queer love, the Ukrainian spirit, and a family''s struggle to survive.

About the author

Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts with Ukrainian roots. His short fiction has appeared in Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, and New England Review. Before writing The Sunflower Boys, he taught English to primary schoolers in central Ukraine and worked with refugee families in Europe and the United States. 

Summary

A poignant coming-of-age story with the sensitivity and haunting power of What Belongs to You and Swimming in the Dark, about a young boy wrestling with his sexuality as war breaks out in modern Ukraine.
In many ways, twelve-year-old Artem’s life in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is normal. He spends his days helping on his grandfather’s sunflower farm, drawing in his sketchbook—a treasured gift from his father, who works in America—and swimming in the river with his little brother, Yuri. In secret, Artem has begun wrestling with romantic feelings for his best friend, Viktor. In a country where love between two boys is unthinkable, Artem has begun to worry that growing up, his life will never be normal.
Then, on a February night, Artem and Yuri are woken by explosions—the beginning of a war that will tear their life in two. The invading Russians destroy their home, killing their mother and grandfather, and leaving young Artem and Yuri to fend for themselves. Fleeing in hopes of somehow reuniting with their father, the brothers traverse the country their ancestors once fought and died for, with nothing but their backpacks and each other. Surrounded by death and destruction, Artem is certain of one thing—that whatever may come, he must keep himself and his brother alive.
A harrowing and gorgeous tale of love, identity, lost innocence, and survival set in a time of devastating war, The Sunflower Boys is a powerful, heartrending exploration of young queer love, the Ukrainian spirit, and a family’s struggle to survive.

Report

A Harper's Bazaar "Best Beach Read"
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"Two boys grappling with love in the war years and the loss of all they know... The Sunflower Boys is a heartrending and profoundly compelling testament to love's invincibility. Wachman is a writer of boundless sympathies and boundless talent." - Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize winning author of This is How You Lose Her
"In The Sunflower Boys, Sam Wachman has accomplished an extraordinary feat: he has written a novel full of wit and warmth that takes us deep into the violence, fear and deprivations of war-time Ukraine. Once I began reading about his passionate and eloquent narrator I couldn't stop. All I wanted was for Artem, and his beloved family, to make it to a place of safety. A gripping and immensely satisfying debut." - Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Road from Belhaven
"At a time when we are in need of writers who are as assured of their world as they are searching for a voice, Sam Wachman has given us a tender and powerful portrayal of a country's, a family's, a boy's realization that there is little daylight between identity and community, innocence and fear, bravery and loss. Yet, we search for the light nevertheless. The Sunflower Boys walks that rare and beautiful tightrope of love story, war story, and coming- of-age, all along an unforgettable and unstoppable arc. We will still be reading this novel, years and years from now." - Andrew Krivák, author of The Sojourn and Like the Appearance of Horses
"Sam Wachman's first novel is an astonishing coming of age story written with the assurance and authority of a seasoned novelist yet captures the most impossibly tender moments of youth. Traversing both peace and war, this novel is an urgent missive from the front lines of the Russian invasion of Ukraine told from the point of view of a brave boy on the cusp of his life." - Betsy Lerner, author of Shred Sisters
"The Sunflower Boys is sublime. Sam's writing is generous and beautiful and bursting with life... I cried more than I wanted to or thought I could." - Tomasz Jedrowski, author of Swimming in the Dark
"Sam Wachman's urgent novel about war and brotherhood is at once tender, heartfelt, knowing and wise." - Brad Kessler, author of North and Birds in Fall
"The Sunflower Boys is a stunning debut. An exquisitely rendered story of self-discovery, it's also a testament to the power of love and loyalty in the face of a savage war. Wachman's writing is exactly what we need right now: a shot of hope, delivered straight to the heart." - Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding
"The Sunflower Boys invites us into the gentle rhythms of childhood through the eyes of Artem-picking sunflowers, swimming in rivers, navigating the first stirrings of love-crafting an enchanting and luminous portrait of boyhood in Ukraine. Then, without warning, the world shatters. As the Russian invasion tears through their homeland, Artem-whose thoughts and dreams we've come to know with piercing intimacy-must protect his brother Yuri from the unimaginable destruction. With extraordinary precision, Wachman traces the brothers' harrowing journey across a ravaged country to reunite with their father, capturing both the unspeakable horrors of war and the inextinguishable spirit of the Ukrainian people. The Sunflower Boys is a devastating reminder of how quickly peace can unravel-and a powerful affirmation of what remains when survival transforms us into people we never imagined. Sam Wachman has a talent beyond his years." - Santiago Jose Sanchez, author of Hombrecito
"The Sunflower Boys is both timely and timeless-a look at the persistence of ache, love, and tenderness in a brutal world. Wachman has written a novel that is pure life-force. This is a book I will return to for the rest of my life." - August Thompson, author of Anyone's Ghost
"The Sunflower Boys is a powerful queer coming-of-age story as well as a harrowing depiction of two young brothers plunged into the current war in Ukraine. Wachman manages to tell both stories with charm and grace." - Maria Kuznetsova, author of Something Unbelievable

Product details

• Authors: Sam Wachman
• Publisher: Harper Collins Usa
• Languages: English
• Product format: Hardback
• Release: 12.08.2025
• EAN: 9780063418226
• ISBN: 978-0-06-341822-6
• No. of pages: 352
• Dimensions: 152 mm x 229 mm x 26 mm
• Subjects: Fiction > Narrative literature; LITERATURE: WOMEN'S LITERATURE, FICTION: Family Life / Siblings, LITERATURE: GENERAL FICTION, HISTORY: EUROPE, LITERATURE: L G B T Q, FICTION: LGBTQ+ / General, LITERATURE: FAMILY, FICTION: World Literature / Europe (General)