Holden Sheppard

This is not the sort of book that I normally would've picked up and read, but I'm so glad I did. A couple of weeks ago, whilst walking the family dog, I came across a film unit filming in a suburban house in the southern suburbs of Perth, I asked a crew member what they were working on and he said "Invisible Boys, for Stan", so I thought I'd take a look and borrowed the eBook from the library. Sheppard's writing is terrific, and he brought to life his teenage protagonists in a way that thoroughly engaged me (I'm pretty much the antithesis of all the characters). The book is told in alternating chapters each in the viewpoint of one of the "invisible boys", young men coming to terms (or not) with being outed as gay and the personal cost that this brings with family, friends and society who are not sympathetic (at best) and often outright homophobic. The setting of Geraldton (regional town in Western Australia) is beautifully evoked. It made me wonder how many of my contemporaries at high school must have been closeted (there was no option to come out back in the 1970s) and what they must've been going through. The ending is both shocking and right. There's a fair bit of graphic sex (which I initially found rather confronting) but it's necessary to the story. If you're a young gay man you may find yourself in this book, if you're not you will gain empathetic insight into a world you may know little about. This book has won a number of well deserved awards and I recommend it highly. The story is being adapted into a 10 episode drama coming to Stan in 2025.… (more)

A moving account of small town life and the lives of four young men who are each dealing in their own way with the recognition of their homosexuality. The characterization of each of the young men and their families, the description of small town life, and the accurate portrayal of the difficulties of being a teenager are all so perfectly written that this is one of the best books about maturing that I have read. For this reader, evidence of the eloquence of the novel was sealed by my tears as I read the final chapter.… (more)

Invisible Boys is hands down the best book I have read this year. This is a book that I will be recommending to everyone, it really is that good. It is the story of Charlie, Zeke and Hammer, 3 teenage boys, different in so many ways, but bonded together as they navigate coming to terms with their sexuality in a small narrow minded Western Australian town. I can’t recall in recent memory meeting characters this believable, this authentic, this raw. I imagine Holden Sheppard bleeding over the pages as he wrote this, it is evident that so much of his soul is laid bare in this book.
To read about Charlie , Zeke and Hammer trying to figure out how to be young gay men in a town where bigotry and ignorance and hatred are rife, where toxic ideas of masculinity are all that they see, where their true selves are invisible, is heartbreaking. But the true brilliance of this story is the boys relationships with each other – messy and confusing and maddening though they may sometimes be. I just wanted to hug them all, to tell them that they were safe with me and that everything was going to be alright.
This is a confronting story about homophobia, where the boys come up against the outdated and damaging beliefs of their families, their church, their school and the small community they live in. It’s also a beautiful story about self discovery, falling in love, discovering sex and the excitement, the joy, the pain and the guilt that accompanies all of that. My heart broke over and over. But there is also so much hope in this story, so much light and laughter. So much empathy.
This is definitely for older teen readers and I must give trigger warnings for suicide and self harm. This book is so important. For the young readers that will see themselves in Hammer, Zeke and Charlie. And for those who might recognise themselves in the family and friends and community around them. I hope this book opens minds and hearts. I know it is unputdownable. I think it could change lives. And I know that Holden Sheppard is a major talent. I will immediately read anything else that he writes.
#invisibleboys #holdensheppard #fremantlepress #loveozya… (more)