I think this book is going to be a big hit, and I could see it getting made into a TV series. The characters and plot are really well thought out. This is set at a California high school in the fall of 2019, and centers around 3 teenage boys on a football team together. Vikram is the newcomer, he has just been recruited for the team, and becomes friends with the captains, Diego and MJ, but tragedy strikes after their first victory, and it is unclear where the blame will fall. Much of the story is told from the perspective of 4 of the parents, which is probably even more interesting. All of them come from different backgrounds and have their own struggles. I really enjoyed all the characters, and feel like I know them.

Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya thoughtfully explores themes of class, race, and privilege, set against the backdrop of a tragic event that leaves a teenage boy seriously injured. The story powerfully shows how these tensions come to a head as parents, peers, and the broader community grapple with what happened, and who should be held responsible.

The unfolding of the incident kept me engaged, though at times the lack of clear answers was frustrating. Given that the story centers on teenagers, the confusion and fragmented perspectives felt authentic. However, I found the adults more difficult to sympathize with. While it was understandable that they wanted to stand up for their children, there were moments when they shielded them from facing real consequences...something that felt like a missed opportunity for the boys' growth into adulthood.

The novel also weaves in the adults’ personal histories, but these backstories did not always feel as impactful as suggested. A few added meaningful layers to the narrative, but others felt less compelling or underdeveloped.

Despite some unevenness, Our Beautiful Boys is a layered and thought-provoking novel that raises important questions about identity, responsibility, and privilege. It would make an excellent book club pick, offering plenty of rich discussions and different perspectives to explore.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for my free review copy.

I was surprised by how much I loved this book! It’s about some football players and their families, and it is subtle, heart-wrenching, hopeful, and tender. Each character is drawn with deft skill, revealing people we can all relate to, whether we’ve experienced their issues or not. No one is all good. No one is all bad. They’re just people who find themselves in circumstances they didn’t expect, trying to do their best.

After the three primary teen characters, Vikram, Diego, and MJ, attend a party at an abandoned house in the Southern California foothills, their lives are irrevocably changed. The parents, a white couple, a single mom of unspecified race, and an Indian couple, all want the best for their sons, which puts them at odds with each other. Even if you don’t have teenage boys, you’ll relate to the powerful pressures on our kids these days and the helplessness we can feel as parents.

Themes of race, class, parenting, friendship, loyalty, success, and expectations create a layered and nuanced novel. The author writes with insight into what motivates the students and their parents, all from different economic and racial backgrounds, and ultimately with compassion for imperfect people. Unanswered questions and suspicions propelled the pace and created tension, holding my attention to the last page.
Many thanks to NetGalley and Ballantyne Books for an advance review copy.

A thoughtful novel about the interaction between teenage boys and their parents of disparate backgrounds

Interesting story of families, violence, loyalty, race and teenage boys. It was hard to get through some parts of the book as the descriptions etc were just too wordy. The parents and their stories were an important part of the story, but just too detailed and long winded. I was satisfied with the conclusion of the story and very glad that I hung in there and finished.

There may be a good story here but it's completely buried under it's overwhelming verbosity.

I've seen some positive reviews but I'm not a patient enough reader to wade through all these words. An editor should have stepped in to make this more concise storytelling.

Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya was a fantastic book. I am from a small hometown so this book really took to my heart. An incredible read. I feel as though it should be considered to be read in High school English classes. I want to thank Random House Publishing Group - Ballantine | Ballantine Books, Netgalley and Sameer Pandya for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Our Beautiful Boys touches on some big issues such as class and race. These issues really come into play after a fight leaves a boy in serious condition. Getting answers on what exactly happened in the cave was frustrating but since it’s centered around teenagers it’s not surprising. The adults though, got on my nerves. It’s good that they stood up for their children but they needed to let their boys handle the consequences like the adults they’re on the cusp of being. I also felt the adults stories didn’t really fit with the book. A couple of them had scandal but others stories weren’t that bad or interesting. The description made it seem like the parents stories would add another layer but only in certain cases did it add much.

Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya is one of my favorite reads this year. The story is intriguing and thought-provoking. It follows Vikram Shastri, a smart and well-behaved student who is selected to play in the final few football games of the high school season. He’s on track for college, and everything seems to be in place for him and his parents’ wishes. However, joining the football team also leads him to interact with other high school kids he doesn’t usually hang out with. He’s invited to a party where there is a cave up the hill.

At the party, there’s another student who is highly annoying, almost to the point of being a bully. Vikram and two of his football teammates end up in the darkness of the cave, along with the annoying student, where they accidentally rough him up a bit too much. This student is seriously injured, and this is where the parents step in to investigate the truth and protect their sons.

The story moves at a steady pace, and the characters are well-developed. Overall, it’s a great read.

I was hooked from the beginning!!
It was amazing and engaging.
I was instantly sucked in by the atmosphere and writing style.
The characters were all very well developed .
The writing is exceptional and I was hooked after the first sentence.

I thoroughly enjoyed reading this book, and highly recommend the audio version. It was like a perfect blend of Beartown and Friday Night Lights. The story centers around three teenage football players and a tragic event that happens at a party, which totally changes their lives. As a mom of a teenage boy, I could totally relate to this contemporary sports/family fiction novel. The book also explores the lives of the parents, each from a different socioeconomic and cultural background. Each parent is dealing with the events affecting their sons, as well as their own career and personal struggles. The book is super gripping and keeps you on the edge of your seat the whole time. While most of the book is serious, there are also some funny moments. I found most of the characters pretty likable, but a few just made me want to roll my eyes because of their awful personalities. I would definitely recommend this book to anyone who has teenagers, especially those who play competitive sports. I can totally see this book being made into a TV show!

While I enjoyed the flow of this story, I can't say I responded as well to the content. Three teenagers are accused of seriously injuring a classmate at a post-game party that gets rambunctious. Haven't we heard this before? What sets this apart is the racial mix of the boys involved, their home lives, that as much ink is spent on the parents and their motivations and lives as the boys. After all, the title seems to tilt in that direction in that it specifies the parents. I did finish, found the conclusion satisfying. But found the bulk of the book repetitious and padded.

This was a well-written, well-researched book about events that didn't need to happen the way that they did. It makes me sad that the more things change, the more they stay the same. If you want decent nonfiction with a slightly surprising ending, give this one a go.

Teenage boys are always going to be teenage boys. I don't know why we expect things to change.

Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya is an instantly discussable book as it explores race, class, privilege, etc. It's a story that happens more than we, as humans, want to admit. Vikram is a normal teenage boy. He's incredibly smart and prepping for college applications. He's also on the football team, and that team will change everything.

Vikram and his friends, Diego and MJ, all attend a party after a football game. Things go too far and the boys assault one of their classmates. What normally would just be teenage hijinx turns into something much more complicated.

I found this a very modern story, but as I'm NOT a parent, I didn't really connect. It all seemed like teenage boys doing teenage boys things. I think there are larger conversations to be had, and this book did cover those, but at times, it was all over the place. Why is a school principal involved with a party that happens outside of school? Why are the parents terrible? What REALLY happened to Stanley?

Thanks to NetGalley and the publishers for the opportunity to read and review this book.

I enjoyed this story. Four HS boys go to a party, one ends up in the hospital and the other three are suspended from school upon admittance to what happened at the party. I like how it involved the three boys and their families, and included how race and privilege played a part in the questioning. It felt like a real depiction of what happens in situations like this. I thought the story was well written.

When three HS football players are acccused of beating up another kid at a party, secrets are threatened to be exposed. What happened and why? This novel explores themes of race and identity, family and secrets. It's a slow burn, but very interesting. I was a bit surprised by the ending.

"Vikram Shastri has always been a good kid. He’s got a 4.3 GPA, listens to his parents, barely hits the parties, and is on track for college. But when he gets the chance to play on his high school football team, his world suddenly starts to shift. Basking in their recent victory, Vikram and his teammates, Diego and MJ, attend the famed party at the Southern California cave and find themselves lost in the dark of night, carried away by male bravado, with a classmate who has annoyed them their whole lives.

But when the kid emerges with injuries that prove to be more serious than the all-star boys intended, they are suspended from the rest of the season and the boys’ parents are brought in to mitigate the situation. As the parents try to protect their kids, they’re also managing their own midlife crises—from failing businesses and fake identities and alienation. While the parents work together, and against, each other to figure out the truth of that night, the boys must come to terms with how much of their own secrets they’re willing to reveal to clear their names."

Thanks to NetGalley and Random House - Ballantine for the free ARC in exchange for my honest review. All opinions expressed herein are my own.

I honestly think this book could make the cut and be voted as one of the ten best books of the year. It was about three teenagers that beat up a kid that one could only call a bully. They were members of the high school football team. When Stanley ended up in the hospital from being so beat up, the school principal, along with Stanley's mom, hesitated to call the police. While investigating, the author paints a good picture of the different cultures the three boys were raised in. We meet the parents, learn their motivations and become engrossed in the family lives. Not a football book--but a book about families, culture and racism. The racism is not overt. Nobody is on a soapbox but this novel makes the reader think about bias and motivations, honesty and truth. I immediately purchased another book by Sameer Pandya and it is on my TBR read. I am very thankful to the publisher and NetGalley for the opportunity to read this novel, for free and in advance of the general public. This review is. my own opinion and not coerced in any way.

There was a lot to like about this book, but I felt some frustration also. This is a very well written story- but there were a lot of side stories with many different themes that made the story feel convoluted.

I was engaged throughout, but the ending left me feeling meh. I didn’t believe that a certain character would make the decisions he did and one character’s actions were left unresolved.

I still recommend this one- strong character development and a definitely interesting premise.

This is a me problem. I couldn't get into this story or stay focused on it. I found myself bored and uninterested in any of the characters. I will attempt again on audio sometime after release.

Our Beautiful Boys by Sameer Pandya ⭐️⭐️⭐️💫

What a beautifully written, complicated read. It gave off Beartown vibes but with football and more highbrow. It also gave me Locust Lane vibes with the focus on family and how far they would go to protect their kids.

On its surface the book was about the search for the truth. But it was not a plot heavy read, instead it focused on the nuances and beliefs of all the characters. This made it hard to get into as it became tedious at times. But I did become invested and wanted to know the outcomes for all these flawed characters.

At its core, this was a book about race, privilege, and identity. It was a social commentary and social critique. It would be perfect for discussions and book clubs.