Hi everyone! I hope you’re all well. Today is Friday, and it’s time for another review. Today, I’m sharing my review of Australian author Holden Sheppard’s Invisible Boys.
Invisible Boys was released in 2019 by Fremantle Press and is 344 pages long.
The Plot
The book tells the story of three closeted teenagers, whose lives are thrown into turmoil after an anonymous gay hook-up is exposed in their town. The revelation acts as a catalyst, forcing each boy to confront their identity, fears, and the suffocating expectations placed on them by family, peers, and the broader community.
Characters
Charlie
Charlie is Sensitive, artistic, and emotionally open. He is the most outwardly vulnerable of the three primary characters. His forced outing makes him the immediate target for homophobic bullying, physical assault, and isolation. He becomes a symbol for the danger of visibility in an intolerant society.
Charlie’s journey is one of pain but also courage, because despite the violence and humiliation, he ultimately finds strength in embracing his truth, making him a catalyst for change among the other boys.
Kade “Hammer” Hammersmith
Hammer is the quintessential high school sports star. He embodies the pressures of toxic masculinity. He’s athletic and popular among his peers, but inwardly he’s tormented by self-loathing and denial.
Hammer is afflicted with the curse of internalised homophobia, which manifests as anger and aggression towards others and himself. His arc is arguably the toughest of the three main perspectives, highlighting the struggle of denying one’sidentity. Hammer’s journey is about learning to reconcile his public image with his private self.
Zeke Calogero
Zeke is Intelligent, driven, and comes from a deeply Catholic family. He is desperate to make his parents proud and feels trapped between familial expectations and his true self.
Through his connection with the other boys, Zeke finds friendship and gradually finds the courage to consider a life where he might accept himself.
Matt Jones
Matt is not a primary POV character, though he is every bit as crucial to the story as the others. He is a farmhand who meets Charlie on a night when they’re both low and lonely. He’s intrigued by Charlie and becomes romantically involved with him.
Representing blue-collar masculinity, Matt’s inclusion adds depth, particularly through his struggle to accept some of the‘unmanly’ things Charlie says and does—and through his struggle with reconciling his true self with his familial obligations.
Writing Style
Holden Sheppard’s writing is direct and emotional. He uses first-person narrative for each of the three main teenagers, with distinct voices that reflect their personalities and backgrounds.
One of his greatest strengths lies in his ability to be emotionally truthful. He doesn’t flinch from the ugliness of shame, nor does he try to polish the edges of his characters. There is grit, swearing, violence, and sexual content—not gratuitously, but purposefully. The book is unapologetic in its queerness and grounded in reality, capturing the anguish of adolescence and the beauty of survival.
The themes in this one are not subtle. Internalised homophobia, toxic masculinity, isolation and fear are just some of the things touched upon, and I wish more writers would explore them.
Through the lenses of each character, we get to see what happens to a person experiencing some of these struggles and the consequences of not challenging them. I related hard to each perspective, having felt all of these things myself.
Having to grow up in a smallish town as an anxious gay kid is not easy. If you’re different, you keep to yourself and try not to be noticed, while at the same time wishing someone would notice, give you a big hug and tell you that you’re loved and that you matter. For me, that was my dad—but, like Holden Sheppard shows in this book, not everyone gets that.
I just know that if I’d read this book while I was figuring myself out, things would have been a lot easier for me. I’d have been a lot less lonely.
Final Thoughts
Invisible Boys is a raw, powerful, and unflinching exploration of what it means to grow up as a gay person. This story takes place in regional Australia, but it could just as easily have been my hometown in northeast England, and I suspect, many other towns across the world. Sheppard pulls no punches, delivering a story that is as much about heartbreak as it is hope. By giving voice to those who feel invisible, the novel carves out space for empathy, solidarity, and change.
It is often not a comfortable read, but it is a vital one—essential for anyone seeking to understand the lived realities of queer youth living outside of big cities, and for anyone who has ever felt alone in their difference.
I’m giving Invisible Boys 10/10.
Have you read this one? Have you watched the TV adaptation? How do you think they compare?
I saw the TV series before reading the book, and I loved it, though I wish I’d done it the other way around. I found the book allows for better immersion into the characters’ lives and headspaces. I will say, as well, that the series has made a few changes and is different enough (in my opinion) to experience both one after the other without feeling like you know what’s going to happen. For example, although I knew how the series ended, the book kept me guessing.
Anyway, I’ve whittered on enough. Please read this book.
As ever, thanks for stopping by!
Until next time,
George
© 2026 GLT
Categories: Book Reviews, Reading
GEORGE L THOMAS 
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