Let's go back to the 2000s! Phil Stamper's new book Golden Boys follows four best friends, all queer teens, and the summer that changes their lives forever, and he's revealing the cover exclusively with PRIDE.
"It’s the summer before senior year," the official description reads. "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."
It continues:
"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?"
The book is the first of a duology and the cover was illustrated by Connie Gabbert. Ahead of the cover reveal, we had a quick chat with Stamper about what's so special about this cover, the personal sentiment behind Golden Boys, and what he hopes readers can take away from LGBTQ+ stories like this one.
What was your first thought seeing the book cover?
This is a huge departure from my last two book covers, so my first thought was one of pure relief! I loved the charming illustrations for my first two books, but for Golden Boys, we really wanted something new: a striking, minimalist cover that was impossible to pass up on the shelves. I knew we had a great vision for this, but I was a little worried that it wouldn’t feel like a Phil Stamper book since it’s so different. But all my fears went away as soon as I saw this final version because it really is perfect.
What does this book mean to you personally?
The themes in Golden Boys range from ambition to joy, romance to friendship… basically everything I love in YA fiction! I wrote this book early in the pandemic, back when the very thought of being creative seemed impossible, and honestly, I wasn’t sure I’d ever finish another book again. Not to mention, with four main characters and overlapping storylines, this was an especially challenging book from a craft standpoint. But as I worked through the book, I really fell in love with the characters and the story. This was the hardest book I’ve ever had to write, but it’s also been the most rewarding, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.
Why is it important to you to tell these kinds of LGBTQ+ stories?
When I was in my late teens, I watched the movie Shelter, not knowing it would completely change my life. It was the first piece of queer media I’d ever seen where the main characters end up happy in the end. I was literally sitting there wondering why no one died or ended up lonely, and it made me so emotional because it was the first time I was able to look at my own life and say that I could maybe end up happy too.
And the older I get, the more furious it makes me that it took me so long to figure that out. This is why I write the stories I do. I want kids, teens, and young adults to be able to see themselves on the page and go on these incredible adventures, knowing that no matter what their experience is now—they have a future, and a bright one at that.
What do you hope readers take from the book?
In all my books, I want to convey a message of hope. In The Gravity of Us, you get an aspirational love story set amid the drama of a human mission to Mars; In As Far As You’ll Take Me, you get a story about finding yourself and finding your own family. With Golden Boys, the story follows these four queer best friends who are experiencing just incredible adventures and romances while never forgetting what means the most to them: their friendship with each other. Of course, there are plenty of messages I want readers to take from the book, but mainly, I want them to get lost in the book, have fun, and take some of that hope and joy with them once they’re done.
Golden Boys is expected to be released on February 8, 2022. Pre-order here.
