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Check This Out: Sameer Pandya & 'Our Beautiful Boys'

Lauren Ross

Set in contemporary Southern California, three high school football players go to a party after a big win. At the party, a drug dealer mouths off and lunges at one of the boys. Together, the three football players fight him off.

Later that night, the drug dealer emerges in much worse shape and blames the three boys for the beatdown that lands him in the hospital, fighting for his life.

The aftershocks begin. The boys pledge silence and loyalty to one another - but can they keep that promise?

Pandya shows no family is what they seem - that secrets are everywhere. It’s about boys on the edge who are not quite men, who still need their parents - and parents who are burnt out and treading water themselves.

Read the novel with your book club! We're offering a new feature with each episode of Check This Out: a downloadable discussion prompts to spark conversations for your book club.

Check this Out features lively conversations with up and coming authors you may not have discovered yet. Check This Out is proud to partner with The PEN/Faulkner Foundation to champion new voices in literature.

Rachel Barenbaum is the author of the critically-acclaimed novels Atomic Anna and A Bend in the Stars. She is a prolific writer and reviewer. Her work has appeared in the LA Review of Books, Harper’s Bazaar, and more.
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