Sonya Hartnett has authored many children's books that have a somewhat dark twist to them, so it's little surprise that her adult fiction tends the same way.

Golden Boys is about a group of young children knocking about a typical Australian working-class suburb. The Jensons, who have just moved into the area, are a contrast to their neighbours, being affluent and indulgent of their kids. The Jenson boys want for nothing, and their dad encourages them to share what they have with their new friends. Their dad, Rex, is solicitous and caring, helping to patch up a badly hurt kid, and counselling another.

The Kiley family are both attracted to and repelled by the Jensons. Playing at the Jensons' offers them a refuge from a home dominated by a drunken, abusive father, but there is still some unease about getting too close to their new neighbours. Two other boys, Garrick and Avery, see no such issues; their home lives are so miserable that they welcome the chance to experience the Jensons' indulgence.

It's not hard to see where Hartnett is going with this book, but she still manages to tell her story in a very affecting way, showing the various impacts on the children of the abuses that go on in their fractured families. The ending is uncompromising stuff, and the reader is left with a saddening sense of the unfairness of it all, with innocent children's lives being blighted by the actions of their parents. ( )

Although Sonya Hartnett has written a large number of books, for children, young adults and adults, I’ve never read her, which is something I’ve been wanting to rectify. My opportunity came in May when my reading group scheduled her latest novel, Golden boys, for discussion. It was shortlisted for several awards last year, including the Miles Franklin Award – and has by now, I expect, been reviewed to within an inch of its life, but that’s not going to deter me!

You can tell, with Golden boys, that Hartnett is an experienced writer for young people. The book’s protagonists, the perspectives through whom the story is told, are all pre-teen. The three main voices are 12-year-old Colt, eldest son of the well-to-do Jensons, and almost 13-year-old Freya and 10-year-old Syd, children of the working class Kileys. The set up is that the Jensons have moved into a working class suburb for a reason that starts to become clear as the book progresses.

For my full review, please check my blog: https://whisperinggums.com/2016/06/01/sonya-hartnett-golden-boys-review/ ( )

I feel like I should have liked this book more than I did. Certainly the writing is beautiful and it's a wonderfully complex character study, but for me the story dragged. I found myself wondering if anything was actually going to happen, and in the end, it seems like nothing really did. Although the conflict was clear enough, once Mr. Jensen's sins came to light, nothing was done about them really. The book, I think, would appeal mainly to older teens and adults, but the young characters are all about twelve or a little under, so I wonder what exactly what the target audience is. ( )

Adults aren't always wise, kind, or good to children. Colt and Bastian move into the neighborhood and immediately the reader knows something is wrong. Colt hates his father, even though he showers the boys with fancy toys and bikes and whatever else he thinks is enticing. The reader also gets a window into the life of one of the local families, where all is not well in a different way. An absorbing, sad novel. ( )

To my mind captured the Australian suburban milieu excellently. There is an almost gothic sense of foreboding that builds through the novel and is only somewhat resolved. A really enjoyable read. ( )