Sam Wachman- The Sunflower Boys (Podcast)

Sam Wachman Interview: The Sunflower Boys (Podcast)

Author Sam Wachman joins us as our April MomAdvice Book Club pick to discuss The Sunflower Boys, a powerful coming-of-age story set during the war in Ukraine.

This week, Sam Wachman joins Book Gang to discuss The Sunflower Boys, our April MomAdvice Book Club pick. This story offers a remarkable blend of the tenderness of boyhood and the brutality of war, set against the backdrop of the 2022 invasion of Ukraine, bringing to life its heartbreaking history.

As the brothers in this story undertake a harrowing journey across a war-torn landscape, a love of art becomes both guide and witness, leading these two boys toward hope and a desperate reunion with their father. Wachman offers a war chronicle and an intimate, profoundly human portrayal of the enduring spirit of family, deeply humanizing the Ukrainian struggle.

In this remarkable conversation, we discuss:

From the classroom to the page: Before writing The Sunflower Boys, Sam Wachman taught English to primary school students in Ukraine—an experience that deeply shaped the emotional core of this novel. We discuss how those relationships with Ukrainian youth helped him build Artem’s voice with such tenderness, specificity, and care.
Art as structure, memory, and survival: One of the most striking elements of this novel is its structure—100 chapters shaped by Artem’s sketches. Sam shares how this artistic framework guided not just the pacing of the story but also its emotional rhythm.
Writing war through a child’s lens: Drawing from his time working with Ukrainian families and refugees, Sam approached this story with a deep sense of responsibility. We talk about how he balanced honesty with restraint while writing from a 12-year-old’s perspective—capturing fear, confusion, and resilience without overwhelming the reader—and why that lens might be the most powerful way to understand the human cost of war.

Don’t miss this week’s companion list featuring the best books about siblings, inspired by this week’s story of brothers. I am including my all-time favorites and a few new releases I can’t wait to read. Patrons will receive weekly printable checklists for their next library visit!

The Sunflower Boys Book Summary

LAMBDA Literary Award Finalist for “Gay Fiction.”

“That rarest phenomenon: a war novel that feels at once timeless and precisely of the moment…” —Washington Post

A poignant coming-of-age story with the sensitivity and haunting power of What Belongs to You and Swimming in the Dark, about a young boy wrestling with his sexuality as war breaks out in modern Ukraine.

In many ways, twelve-year-old Artem’s life in Chernihiv, Ukraine, is normal. He spends his days helping on his grandfather’s sunflower farm, drawing in his sketchbook—a treasured gift from his father, who works in America—and swimming in the river with his little brother, Yuri. In secret, Artem has begun wrestling with romantic feelings for his best friend, Viktor. In a country where love between two boys is unthinkable, Artem has begun to worry that growing up, his life will never be normal.

Then, on a February night, Artem and Yuri are woken by explosions—the beginning of a war that will tear their life in two. The invading Russians destroy their home, killing their mother and grandfather, and leaving young Artem and Yuri to fend for themselves. Fleeing in hopes of somehow reuniting with their father, the brothers traverse the country their ancestors once fought and died for, with nothing but their backpacks and each other. Surrounded by death and destruction, Artem is certain of one thing—that whatever may come, he must keep himself and his brother alive.

A harrowing and gorgeous tale of love, identity, lost innocence, and survival set in a time of devastating war, The Sunflower Boys is a powerful, heartrending exploration of young queer love, the Ukrainian spirit, and a family’s struggle to survive.

Meet Sam Wachman

Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts with Ukrainian roots. His work has appeared in Sonora Review, Berkeley Fiction Review, and River Styx. Before writing The Sunflower Boys, he taught English to primary schoolers in central Ukraine and worked with refugee families across Europe and the United States. This deeply affecting novel is his debut.

April Book Club: The Sunflower Boys

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Join the April Book Club 4/30 at 8 PM ET (The Sunflower Boys)

2026 MomAdvice Book Club Books (All 12 Selections)

The Sunflower Boys by Sam Wachman

Gays Reading Podcast

Open, Heaven by Seán Hewitt

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