THE SUNFLOWER BOYS

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 sketchbooka treasured gift from his father, who works in Americaand 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 explosionsthe 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 thingthat 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. Sam Wachman is a writer from Cambridge, Massachusetts. His short fiction has appeared in the Sonora Review and the New England Review, and he was awarded an Honorable Mention by Kiley Reid in the Ploughshares Emerging Writers' Contest. He is studying for his Master of Social Work at Boston College, and is fluent in Ukrainian and Russian.