Review of The Boys by Leo Robson

It’s London 2012, the Olympics are around the corner, and Johnny is waiting for his life to start. His half-brother Lawrence is back from Chicago but it’s been so long since they were under the same roof it’s difficult to navigate this estranged relationship. Not to mention the awkwardness of his best friend Kate having a sexual history with Lawrence. In the full throttle of grief after losing both his parents, Johnny is living with a permanent devastation. Working in a dead-end job, unsure what is to come, it’s all a bit too much to bear. If only he still had his mother to lean on, if only there was someone to point the way.

An astutely sharp and observant story, The Boys has the energy of a Sally Rooney novel met with the vibrancy of London, reminiscent of Evenings and Weekends by Oisín McKenna. Bursting with wit as well as sincerity, this is a novel about a young man struggling to accept the past while trying to move through into a promising future. 

Reviewed by Victoria

Published on 08/05/25 by Riverrun

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