Golden Boys by Sonya Hartnett

This is a beautifully written book published in 2014; some of the descriptive language reads almost like poetry.

It's a story about street friends and embarrassing fathers. The Jensen family move to a working class suburb. Their father is a good looking dentist who buys his two sons every toy available. The Kylie family have 6 children and live in a small 3 bedroom home. Then there's the big bully boy Garrick, and the streetwise, neglected, Avery.

It's not clear when the story is set, but it's a time when children disappeared all day on their bikes and a BMX or a skateboard was every boy's dream. There's no mention of a mobile phone a Nintendo or a computer. It could be as early as the 70s or as late as the 90s.

The book captures a time when children weren't over scheduled, when they fought their own battles and made their own rules. It's an unromantic, warts and all, image.