Gary Lonesborough is a Yuin writer, whose young adult novels, The Boy from the Mish, We Didn't Think It Through, and I'm Not Really Here have been shortlisted for numerous awards. Gary’s latest novel is Good Young Men. Carraway’s Point is an idyllic coastal destination. Kallum, Jordy, Dylan and Brandon grew up together on Chopin Drive, a ready made friendship group. Fast forward eight years. The boys are staring down the end of high school. Well not all of them. Brandon was shot and killed by police and the upcoming trial has them all on edge because they know the public think this is just another death of an Aboriginal person in custody, but the boys know their friend better than that. While the community braces for the trial, the boys must deal not only with the possibility that Brandon might not receive justice, but what that means for themselves and their lives moving forward. They are no strangers to racism but now it is becoming as ugly and as dangerous as they have ever experienced it. Kallum only just returned to Carrway’s Point. He’s been expelled from his fancy Sydney boarding school and lost his football scholarship. There’s something more though. Kallum isn’t sure if he can trust anyone with the real reason he was expelled. Jordy’s happier since he’s come out but that doesn’t mean his whole life is easy. Since his mum died his dad has seemed lost and so Jordy’s had to act more like a dad to his little brother and sister. Dylan’s just struggling. He was the only witness when Brandon was killed. He’s missing his mate and scared to death of what it might mean if he testifies. It’s barely left him any time to think about life beyond high school, but he’s got dreams just like everyone else. Good Young Men is told across three narrative arcs; one for each of the boys. This allows the story of each character to build, while mingling the competing visions each of the boys has of the other. While we are assured the boys were fast friends in primary school we can see how they have grown apart, trading mateship for belonging as cliques become as important as closeness. The novel works carefully to balance the boys' experiences of high school, home life, and the future. We are given each boy, and their family through multiple lenses and our understanding of the community is deeper for it. For example we see Kallum’s fraught relationship with his family since losing his footy scholarship. His dad’s taking it hard, redoubling his efforts to get Kallum a first grade trial, while his mum wants to welcome her son back home. Kallum’s mum is also police though and so her character within the family looks very different when seen through Dylan whose trauma runs deep. This is a tremendous ensemble cast and it manages well the everyday world of teenage identity against the backdrop of racism and the broader sense that the trial of Brandon’s killer offers no long term solution for the racism the boys face. I’d heard a lot of good things about Gary Lonesborough’s writing and now that I’ve had a read I can confidently say it’s all true.
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May 22 202633 mins