I really struggled to engage with this book. I found that I had very little common ground with the characters and struggled to believe in the depth of their relationship as they also seemed to have very little in common with each other as well. I wanted to really like this book as London 2012 is a nostalgic memory for me but I couldn't get into this book at all. I picked it up a few times and eventually DNF at 30%.

This took ages to get going and even when I found myself more into it I still fully wasn't invested in the plot or the characters. If bring honest I found the relationships boring and not very believable it's a shame as I did like the style of writing in parts. I do think this will do well with more high brow reviewers but it's not for me I look for more wit and drama even in literary fiction

The Boys by Leo Robson is a tale of siblings- Johnny Voghel and his half brother Lawrence- sibling love; sibling one upmanship ; sibling connections in all its forms.
Set against the backdrop of the 2012 London Olympics, Johnny's somewhat mundane life is altered by the sudden appearance of his estranged brother who has been living in the USA
This is the story of what happens over the following fortnight as they navigate the changes between them, growing older and recognising failures and successes in their lives.
With an eclectic bunch of characters, the story explores relationships and the dynamics between them.
The plot is curious- things happen but nothing that gripped
An honest perspective is that it wasn't easy to engage with the characters ( as an older reader) relationships were incredibly fluid and lacked real depth
The interplay between the brothers was the best part of the book.
This is probably a great read for Gen Z.

I wasn't too sure when I started reading The Boys by Leo Robson but by the end it really grew on me. An insightful and sometimes sad sometimes funny delve into complicated family and friendship dynamics.