The Boys
A Novel
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Narrated by:
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BJ Harrison
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By:
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Katie Hafner
About this listen
“Hafner’s taut and utterly delightful debut is a novel of multitudes…. What a wonder of storytelling.”—Weike Wang, New York Times
New York Times Editor’s Choice |
Good Morning America Reading Pick | LitHub Most Anticipated Book |
Christian Science Monitor Summer Reading Pick
A delicious summer listen filled with humor and surprise for readers of Anne Tyler and Kevin Wilson.
When introverted Ethan Fawcett marries fun-loving Barb, so comfortable in the world, he has every reason to believe he will be delivered from a lifetime of solitude. She fills his world with a sense of adventure, expanding his horizons beyond his comfortable routine. To ease Ethan’s fears of becoming a father, Barb suggests they foster two young brothers, Tommy and Sam, and Ethan immediately falls in love with the boys.
When the pandemic hits, he becomes obsessed with providing a perfect life for them. But instead of bringing Barb and Ethan closer together, the boys become a wedge in their relationship, as Ethan is unable to share with Barb a secret that has been haunting him since childhood. Then Ethan takes Tommy and Sam on a biking trip in Italy, and it becomes clear just how unusual Ethan and his boys are.
©2022 Katie Hafner (P)2022 Spiegel & Grau by Spotify AudiobooksListeners also enjoyed...
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Critic reviews
“Katie Hafner’s taut and utterly delightful debut is a novel of multitudes. It is travel escapism, a family drama, a character study, social commentary on pandemic isolation and an incredible journey back to center. We are emerging from a period of forced introversion, and The Boys provides the perfect antidote. … There is a surprise at the center of this book, so original and unusual that I stopped pushing forward for a day to reread the first half again and check for inconsistency. Hafner doesn’t miss a beat. … I will just say this: What a wonder of storytelling. I will be thinking of these boys for a long time to come.“—Weike Wang, New York Times Book Review
“Clever, skillfully crafted … a laugh-out-loud delight to read …. Also a poignant exploration of loneliness and the ways trauma survivors can go to extraordinary lengths to avoid facing their psychic wounds.“—San Francisco Chronicle
“Think of Katie Hafner as Anne Tyler, but much weirder…. Hafner is a smart, funny observer of human foibles and in Ethan she has created a character so endearing that it would not be a surprise if this debut novel led to a career with Tyler’s longevity.”—Minneapolis Star Tribune
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- By: George Hodgman
- Narrated by: Jeff Woodman
- Length: 10 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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When George Hodgman leaves Manhattan for his hometown of Paris, Missouri, he finds himself - an unlikely caretaker and near-lethal cook - in a head-on collision with his aging mother, Betty, a woman of wit and will. Will George lure her into assisted living? When hell freezes over. He can't bring himself to force her from the home both treasure - the place where his father's voice lingers, the scene of shared jokes, skirmishes, and, behind the dusty antiques, a rarely acknowledged conflict...
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Title Should Be Georgeville-It's All About George
- By Sara on 10-08-15
By: George Hodgman
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The Paris Key
- By: Juliet Blackwell
- Narrated by: Xe Sands
- Length: 9 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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As a girl, Genevieve Martin spent the happiest summer of her life in Paris, learning the delicate art of locksmithing at her uncle's side. But since then, living back in the States, she has become more private, more subdued. She has been an observer of life rather than an active participant, holding herself back from those around her, including her soon-to-be ex-husband. Paris never really left Genevieve, and, as her marriage crumbles, she finds herself faced with an incredible opportunity.
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Not a cozy murder mystery but a cozy slice of life
- By sams on 10-23-15
By: Juliet Blackwell
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The Canterbury Sisters
- By: Kim Wright
- Narrated by: Bernadette Dunne
- Length: 9 hrs and 38 mins
- Unabridged
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Che Milan's life is falling apart. Not only has her longtime lover abruptly dumped her, but her eccentric, demanding mother has recently died. When an urn of ashes arrives along with a note reminding Che of a half-forgotten promise to take her mother to Canterbury, Che finds herself reluctantly undertaking a pilgrimage. Within days she joins a group of women who are walking the 60 miles from London to the shrine of Becket in Canterbury Cathedral.
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The Canterbury Sisters
- By Melissa on 09-22-19
By: Kim Wright
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Christmas Jars
- By: Jason F. Wright
- Narrated by: Jason F. Wright
- Length: 3 hrs and 57 mins
- Unabridged
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Hope Jensen is a young, single woman and an aspiring newspaper writer, and when she receives a much-needed but anonymous Christmas gift, she's determined to find her benefactor. That search leads her to an unusual family with a longstanding Christmas tradition. Sensing a front-page feature article, Hope desperately wants to publish their story, but doing so would be a breach of trust. What she decides to do will change her life forever.
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I was moved to tears more than once
- By Brenda Irene DiBiase on 12-18-15
By: Jason F. Wright
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The Other Mother
- By: Rachel Harper
- Narrated by: January LaVoy, William DeMeritt
- Length: 14 hrs
- Unabridged
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Jenry Castillo is a musical prodigy, raised by a single mother in Miami, who arrives at Brown University on a scholarship—but also to learn more about his late father, Jasper Patterson, a famous ballet dancer who died tragically when Jenry was two. On his search, he meets his estranged grandfather, Winston Patterson, a legendary professor of African American history and a fixture at the Ivy League school, who explodes his world with one question: Why is Jenry so focused on Jasper, when it was Winston’s daughter, Juliet, who was Jenry’s mother’s lover?
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Very good.
- By Roland Harper on 05-22-22
By: Rachel Harper
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Fairyland
- A Memoir of My Father
- By: Alysia Abbott
- Narrated by: Alysia Abbott
- Length: 10 hrs and 21 mins
- Unabridged
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A beautiful, vibrant memoir about growing up motherless in 1970s and 80s San Francisco with an openly gay father. After his wife dies in a car accident, bisexual writer and activist Steve Abbott moves with his two-year-old daughter to San Francisco. There they discover a city in the midst of revolution, bustling with gay men in search of liberation - few of whom are raising a child. Steve throws himself into San Francisco's vibrant cultural scene.
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Great representation of the time
- By AvidReader22 on 06-07-19
By: Alysia Abbott
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Learning to Swim
- By: Sara J. Henry
- Narrated by: Suzanne Toren
- Length: 11 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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When she witnesses a small child tumbling from a ferry into Lake Champlain, Troy Chance dives in without thinking. Harrowing moments later, she bobs to the surface, pulling a terrified little boy with her. As the ferry disappears into the distance, she begins a bone-chilling swim nearly a mile to shore towing a tiny passenger. Surprisingly, he speaks only French. He'll acknowledge that his name is Paul; otherwise, he's resolutely mute.
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A Worthwhile Suspense/Mystery
- By Howard on 10-25-11
By: Sara J. Henry
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Sanctuary Cove
- A Cavanaugh Island Novel, Book 1
- By: Rochelle Alers
- Narrated by: Nicole Small
- Length: 8 hrs and 32 mins
- Unabridged
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Still reeling from her husband’s untimely death, Deborah Robinson needs a fresh start. So she decides to pack up her family and return to her grandmother’s ancestral home on Cavanaugh Island. The charming town of Sanctuary Cove holds happy memories for Deborah, and, after she spies a gorgeous stranger in the local bakery, it promises the possibility for a bright future. Dr. Asa Monroe is at a crossroads. Ever since the loss of his family, he has been traveling from one town to another. When he meets Deborah, the beautiful bookstore owner with the sunny smile, Asa believes he has finally found a reason to stay in one place.
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Not Good, Clean Fun
- By Cheryl on 12-20-12
By: Rochelle Alers
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True Biz
- A Novel
- By: Sara Novic
- Narrated by: Lisa Flanagan, Kaleo Griffith
- Length: 10 hrs and 23 mins
- Unabridged
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True biz? The students at the River Valley School for the Deaf just want to hook up, pass their history finals, and have politicians, doctors, and their parents stop telling them what to do with their bodies. This revelatory novel plunges listeners into the halls of a residential school for the deaf, where they’ll meet Charlie, a rebellious transfer student who’s never met another deaf person before; Austin, the school’s golden boy, whose world is rocked when his baby sister is born hearing; and February, the hearing headmistress.
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A good story with added features both intriguing and informational
- By A Signing Mom on 05-15-22
By: Sara Novic
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Confessions of a Latter-Day Virgin
- A Memoir
- By: Nicole Hardy
- Narrated by: Nicole Hardy
- Length: 10 hrs and 33 mins
- Unabridged
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When Nicole Hardy’s eye-opening "Modern Love" column appeared in the New York Times, the response from readers was overwhelming. Hardy’s essay, which exposed the conflict between being true to herself as a woman and remaining true to her Mormon faith, struck a chord with women coast-to-coast. Now in her funny, intimate, and thoughtful memoir, Nicole Hardy explores how she came, at the age of 35, to a crossroads regarding her faith and her identity.
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This Book Spoke to Me
- By Allison on 04-08-14
By: Nicole Hardy
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Saints for All Occasions
- A Novel
- By: J. Courtney Sullivan
- Narrated by: Susan Denaker
- Length: 15 hrs and 1 min
- Unabridged
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Nora and Theresa Flynn are 21 and 17 when they leave their small village in Ireland and journey to America. Nora is the responsible sister; she's shy and serious and engaged to a man she isn't sure that she loves. Theresa is gregarious; she is thrilled by their new life in Boston and besotted with the fashionable dresses and dance halls on Dudley Street. But when Theresa ends up pregnant, Nora is forced to come up with a plan - a decision with repercussions they are both far too young to understand.
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The narration ruined it
- By Janis Reynolds on 06-12-17
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By Any Other Name
- By: Lauren Kate
- Narrated by: Brittany Pressley
- Length: 7 hrs and 31 mins
- Unabridged
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What she doesn't know about love could fill a book. With a successful career as a romance editor, and an engagement to a man who checks off all ninety-nine boxes on her carefully curated list, Lanie's more than good. She's killing it. Then she’s given the opportunity of a lifetime: to work with world-renowned author and her biggest inspiration in love and life—the Noa Callaway.
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Cute
- By Kenz on 12-07-22
By: Lauren Kate
What listeners say about The Boys
Average customer ratingsReviews - Please select the tabs below to change the source of reviews.
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- Amazon Customer
- 07-20-24
Unexpected turns. Very interesting.
I really enjoyed the love and compassion from all the characters; they showed empathy for our fellow humans. The unexpected twists were so fun.
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- Allison
- 09-04-22
suspension of disbelief has to be pretty willing
a well-executed novel surrounding a pretty silly premise. enjoyable read, I stayed with it to the end as long as I didn't think about it too much. narration is almost too smooth, but again, good enough
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- Kt Over 50
- 09-21-22
Such A Cool Plot!
At moments, I I did find myself wishing Ms Hafner would move the plot along a bit, yet in hindsight, her development is necessary for her wonderful plotline. Mid-novel, the point-of-view changes which initially causes confusion, but once I realized Ethan was no longer the narrator, I began to thoroughly enjoy what Ms Hafner creatively built in the first 3rd of the novel. The denoumont brought a smile to my face-enjoy this super first novel by an author I look forward to reading again.
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- Sarah Hodges
- 08-02-22
Surprising, Gentle and Satisfying
I so enjoyed the beginning of the story that when the twist arrived, I was put off at first. But I pushed on and soon realized that the quiet precision of the writing was unchanged. The characters are drawn with an illuminating softness, like an Edward Hopper painting or a comfortable old t-shirt. I thoroughly enjoyed it.
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2 people found this helpful
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- Lauren Spiegel
- 08-22-22
Relatable and thought-provoking
Ethan Fawcett, while somewhat of a quiet loner, grew into a very relatable man who ultimately had to cope with loneliness. The arc is beautiful, well-written, and the twist had excellently subtle foreshadowing. Props to Katie Hafner for a beautiful tale and to her husband for informative pandemic tweets and his promotion of her book.
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- David
- 08-25-22
Original and Eccentric
“The Boys” was well-written, creative and thoughtful. The plot revolves around Ethan and Barb, an odd couple that find each other at a start-up company, hit it off over diner food, then ultimately marry and take in the two boys of the title. While the plot startles, much of the book’s beauty is in its depiction of contemporary life, post-Covid society and the risks people take. There are some neat psychological insights about loss and loneliness. The narrator was very good, although a couple of times he forgot to use his “Barb” voice, so I got confused as to who was speaking. Overall, this was an original and satisfying story.
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- Sonia L. Martin
- 05-30-23
Great Book!
Loved this story, wow!!! What a twist I did not see coming! Highly recommend! Five stars!
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- Tim Paul
- 08-26-22
Speed it up
I had to speed the narrator up to 1.8x to make the book enjoyable he was to slow.
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1 person found this helpful
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- Barbara Boies
- 12-03-22
Great novel and narration!
Amazing performance. BJ Harrison brought the characters to life. I can’t wait until the author Katie Hafner writes her second novel.
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- willette
- 08-24-22
Give me Mr. Roger’s
Seriously, the narrator was pathetic. I could not put up with his driveling voice & coupled with the sophomoric tone of this novel—I was gagging on the syrup!
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