The sunflower boys A novel

Wachman's wrenching debut chronicles the Ukraine-Russia war from the perspective of a 12-year-old boy. Artem lives in Chernihiv, Ukraine, with his mother and younger brother, Yuri. The boys' father, Tato, left eight years earlier for the U.S., where he works in construction. Artem barely remembers Tato in the flesh, but they speak on the phone and he thinks of his father regularly ("his absence sits on our couch"). Artem likes to draw and watch horror movies with his best friend, Viktor, for whom he recognizes a growing attraction ("I feel like bursting out of myself, the way that overripe tomatoes split when their insides become too much"). A far greater disruption occurs on February 24, 2022, when the Russians invade. The family are visiting Artem's grandfather in the countryside, and the brothers hide in a trunk while the mother and grandfather are killed by soldiers. After the soldiers leave, Artem leads Yuri on a long, traumatizing walk home. He grapples with feeling "inadequate about protecting his brother," especially when Yuri comes down with a fever. After they enter a shelter, they arrange to reunite with Tato, but escaping Ukraine for Romania, from where they plan to fly to the U.S., proves fraught. Wachman enriches the narrative with vivid images, such as the boys fleeing a barrage of rockets and bullets for a bus stop, where they encounter a corpse, and moving sentiments, as when Artem's mother tells him, "This isn't the future I wanted for you." Though this striking novel can be painful, its rewards are extraordinary. Agent: Naomi Eisenbeiss, InkWell Management. (Aug.)

A gorgeously immersive story of childhood cut short by war. "My brother, Yuri, swimming in the River Desna": As Wachman's breathtaking debut opens, Artem Vovchenko draws the first picture in a sketchbook his father has sent him from the United States for his 12th birthday. It will be followed by other images of a sweet childhood in the small town of Chernihiv, Ukraine--going to school for the first time, riding bikes and taking dares, watching horror movies at a sleepover, visiting their grandfather's farm in the countryside, where the boys try to earn money for a Nintendo Switch by collecting sunflower seeds. For a while, Artem's most troubling problem is wondering whether his best friend, Viktor, shares his more-than-friendly feelings--sometimes, it seems he might! But on Feb. 24, 2022, the boys' world is shattered by the arrival of Russian soldiers, and before long Artem and Yuri are on their own, fighting to survive in the devastated hellscape that used to be their home. About as amazing and impressive as you can imagine, this 25-year-old debut author from Massachusetts has evoked the details of life in Ukraine with utterly convincing clarity, and his depiction of the specific brutality of war will bring you to tears. The key to this achievement is the crystal-clear voice of Artem, a big brother lingering at the far edge of childhood, worshipping his mama and grandpa, bitterly missing his father, learning his country's history, riding the roller coaster of his crush--then pitched abruptly into a jagged world of violence, grief, shame, responsibility, and hate. He is a narrator to fall in love with, evoking connections to the work of Anthony Marra, Justin Torres, and J.D. Salinger. The structure of the book, unfolding via 100 scenes from Artem's sketchbook, underlines the essential role of art and storytelling as survival skills for life's most ordinary and extraordinary challenges. As an epigraph suggests, "War cannot be understood; it must be felt." Wachman does the essential work of making us feel. With its luminous depiction of all that has been lost and what remains at risk, there is no better book to read right now. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.