Yeah the Boys

A bold, propulsive novel about male friendship and masculinity, set in the world of Holden Sheppard's bestselling debut Invisible Boys.

Seven years after escaping their rural hometown, the boys – Charlie, Zeke and Hammer – are back, though not as we left them.

Charlie's fighting spirit has faded as he's struggled to make it as a punk musician in Perth. The opening of a new gay bar by Curtis and Ahmed, an older gay couple who have become Charlie's mentors, offers him a different way to make his mark – but the bar's opponents have other ideas.

Zeke is lost. He knows what he stands against – the closeted life and conventional success his strict Italian parents demanded of him – but doesn't know what he stands for. He surprises himself by joining a gay footy team: is it the mistake his friends think it is, or will playing footy finally give him what he's always wanted?

Hammer has it all – fame and fortune as a star football player – or so he thinks. He's still closeted, and can't stand the AFL stuffing diversity initiatives like Pride Round down everyone's throats, especially his. But when he opens his mouth, he ignites a furore that throws all the boys' lives into chaos.

Unapologetic and unforgettable, this is the story of three boys finding their way back to each other, and finding their own ways to become men.