Title: Good Young Men
Author: Gary Lonesborough
Publisher: Allen & Unwin
Released: 3 March, 2026
This review may contain mild spoilers
If you haven’t read any of Gary Lonesborough’s work yet… what are you doing here? Go to your local bookshop or library and pick up a copy right now.
Gary is adding wonderful stories to the Australian YA landscape, writing about young Aboriginal men exploring relationships, coming of age, and navigating the realities of their world.
Good Young Men is his latest release, and follows three boys in a NSW town called Carraway’s Point following the death of their friend at the hands of police. Kallum has lost his sport scholarship and must return from Sydney. Jordy is contending with family responsibilities and a closeted boyfriend. Dylan is an aspiring filmmaker and the only witness to Brandon’s death, preparing to testify in court.
Instead of jumping back and forth between perspectives, the novel progresses through each boy’s story one at a time, and the way the story continues is wonderfully done. Each boy brought their own unique perspective to the world, family lives, and none of it felt disjointed or confusing. The young men all grew up on Chopin Drive, and the way Gary describes this residential street felt relatable and nostalgic. I think most of us as kids were close to our neighbours, but as life goes on you choose different paths and different friend groups and slowly drift away. When I was sixteen, a good friend of mine passed away, so I could also relate to the death of a friend, which I’m sure, sadly, several of us can. That feeling of grief was present throughout the novel but in no way overbearing - don’t be afraid to recommend this to someone who may be a little sensitive, they’ll still get a lot out of the novel.
There’s some heartbreaking subject matter as the boys reel from the death of their friend - an Aboriginal boy who died at the hands of a white policemen who thought the boy was reaching for a weapon. It’s a heartbreaking situation. This story formed the backdrop of each boy, but each boy had their own challenges and situations they were dealing with, and I was drawn into each one straight away. Gary did a great job of making each character likeable through their down points and hardships. But the story was still filled with plenty of wonderful and wholesome scenes that Gary writes so well.
…I picture Brandon sitting there by the window, telling Kallum to turn the music back up and singing ‘Fast car’ at the top of his lungs. We’d all belt the chorus together and it’d be like Kallum and Jordy never drifted away, and we were always friends who had each other’s backs - just like we did then, like the three of us do now. Feels like he really is here for a minute.
I found the story to really be about these boys growing into young men, finding themselves and choosing their own lives. It was poignant, engaging, and I can’t recommend Gary’s novels enough.