“There is no better book to read right now.” — Kirkus Reviews
“Sam Wachman, a writer all of 25 years old, has created that rarest phenomenon: a war novel that feels at once timeless and precisely of the moment.” — Ron Charles (Washington Post)
“A heartrending and profoundly compelling testament to love’s invincibility. Wachman is a writer of boundless sympathies and boundless talent.” — Junot Díaz, Pulitzer Prize-winning author of This is How You Lose Her
“It’s hard to believe that a 25-year-old kid from Massachusetts has written the best book about the war in Ukraine we’ve read to date, but believe it.” — Oprah Daily
“Though this striking first novel can be painful, its rewards are extraordinary.” — Publishers Weekly
“Tender and poignant, shot through with deep sadness and wry humor, The Sunflower Boys is a bittersweet rendering of life in modern-day Ukraine, the effect of war on ordinary lives, and a young person discovering who he is.” — Shelf Awareness
“Wachman’s writing is exactly what we need right now: a shot of hope, delivered straight to the heart.” — Grant Ginder, author of The People We Hate at the Wedding
“I just finished reading The Sunflower Boys, and there are still tears in the corners of my eyes.” — Tomasz Jędrowski, author of Swimming in the Dark
“We will still be reading this novel years and years from now.” — Andrew Krivák, author of The Sojourn and Like the Appearance of Horses, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
“Sam Wachman’s urgent novel about war and brotherhood is at once tender, heartfelt, knowing and wise.” — Brad Kessler, author of North and Birds in Fall, winner of the Dayton Literary Peace Prize
“A gripping and immensely satisfying debut.’ – Margot Livesey, New York Times bestselling author of The Road from Belhaven
“Wachman has written a novel that is pure life-force. This is a book I will return to for the rest of my life.” – August Thompson, author of Anyone’s Ghost
“Sam Wachman has a talent beyond his years.” — Santiago Jose Sanchez, author of Hombrecito
“An astonishing coming of age story written with the assurance and authority of a seasoned novelist.” — Betsy Lerner, author of Shred Sisters
“The Sunflower Boys is a powerful queer coming-of-age story as well as a harrowing depiction of two young brothers plunged into the current war in the Ukraine. Wachman manages to tell both stories with charm and grace.” – Maria Kuznetsova, author of Oksana, Behave!