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.

📚 📚 BONUS WEEKLY BOOK LIST:

Don’t miss this week’s companion list featuring  24 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!

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.

Gratitude to Our Show Patrons: This week's episode is open to all listeners thanks to generous donations made through Buy Me a Coffee and your community memberships. If you'd like to keep the conversation going, you're invited to join our Patreon Book Club chat on April 30th at 8 PM ET, where we'll dive deeper into spoilers, themes, and reader reactions. Membership is $5 a month, or you can prepay for the year and save 10%.

Download Today's Show Transcript

Buy Me a Coffee - I'm grateful for your support this year!

NEW BOOK LIST: 24 Books About Siblings

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

Bookshop.org pays a 10% commission on every sale and matches it with 10% to support independent bookstores.

Join the Book Gang Patreon

Connect With Sam Wachman on Instagram or His Website

Connect with Amy on Instagram, TikTok, or MomAdvice

Get My Happy List Newsletter

Get the Daily Kindle Deals Newsletter