The Stone Boys

When Ben Brickman and Dave McConnell learn of each other’s hidden sexual abuse trauma, they decide to confront their demons by abducting a dangerous high school bully. After their plan for revenge takes a dark and disturbing turn, the boys must grapple with good and evil and what it means to be a man.

Drawn in part from the author’s personal experience as a sexual abuse survivor, The Stone Boys is a both a dramatic page-turner and a profoundly emotional read. Arriving as our society contends with a crisis of childhood sexual abuse, The Stone Boys is not only timely and courageous — but the first of its kind.

Michael Gurian is widely considered one of America’s leading advocates for boys. He has briefed members of the 114th Congress on the boy crisis in America, provided information on boys’ educational needs to two White Houses, and written thirty-two books, including two previous novels and the bestselling The Wonder of Boys, The Minds of Boys, and Saving Our Sons. The Stone Boys is his first young adult novel.

“Gripping…an example of gritty realism.  Recommended for mature students.”

–School Library Journal

Michael is interviewed about The Stone Boys by Ashley Bateman for The Federalist.  https://thefederalist.com/2019/11/27/boy-whisperer-michael-gurians-first-novel-delves-into-the-roots-of-male-trauma/.

“The Stone Boys is a powerful, page-turning story told through the experiences of two specific boys, Ben and Dave (17 and 16 respectively), who both suffer multiple sexual assaults as very young boys at the hands of trusted adults who were supposed to care for them.  Michael Gurian masterfully tackles this difficult subject as he portrays the awkwardness, confusion, and shame the two boys endure. As the story unfolds, it reveals the two different paths abuse victims have before them.  This is an important book that should be read and discussed by boys and men, and by anyone who loves a boy or a man.

–Barbara Mulvey Little, Author of The Secrets Underneath

Press Release for The Stone Boys

MICHAEL GURIAN is a New York Times best-selling author of thirty two books, including The Wonder of Boys, The Wonder of Girls, and What Could He Be Thinking? He has been featured multiple times in nearly all the major media, including the New York Times, the Washington Post, USA Today, Newsweek, Time, The Today Show, Good Morning America, National Public Radio, The 700 Club, and many others.

“Gurian incorporates autobiographical elements into a story built not around easy answers but anguished inner arguments . . . of use for discussing the cycle of abuse.”

–Kirkus Reviews

“The Stone Boys is unlike any other YA novel…a page turner…it can lead to discussions about any trauma one is dealing with.”

–Tina Reed, www.medium.com

–This is a powerful story…the characters, emotions, and events are so real, so raw.  The audience for this story is Young Adult, but I feel this book could, and should, be read by all despite their age.”

–Mili Ferr, Goodreads