In this collection of two short stories and novella by Scott Semegran, the male characters—boys and young men—pursue their dreams as they struggle with life's difficulties.

The two stories, "The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen," and "Good Night, Jerk Face" stand alone. The former features a boy who nearly makes a grave mistake after he tires of being bullied. "Good Night, Jerk Face" follows a teen boy on the cusp of 16 who wants nothing so much as a particular model of car. When he takes a job at a restaurant to earn money to buy the car, he soon finds himself in all sorts of humorous, albeit potentially troubling, predicaments, such as his efforts to drive a manual stick shift delivery truck with no prior experience.

Sixteen other pieces make up the novella "The Discarded Feast." These entries follow young roommates Seff and Alfonso, two 20-somethings eking out an existence from their earnings at the Pasta Warehouse as they fantasize about a better life and ponder their futures.

Semegran's work is evocative and replete with relatable, recognizable characters (Sam's doting grandparents; Sarah, the aging eternal hippy who regales others with tales from her youth) who find comfort in friendship. The narratives offer spot-on description delivered in a voice with a natural flair for scene and story. For example, in "Good Night, Jerk Face," Sam describes his grandmother as "thin as a stalk of wheat, her left hand gripping a highball glass of scotch on the rocks, her right hand pinching a Virginia Slims 120 cigarette with an ash two inches long."

A certain innocent hopefulness winds its way through each of these stories in which the characters want something, both tangible (money) and intangible (to understand where they are headed in life and how they will get there). With its descriptive flair and flashes of humor, Boys offers an engaging read—one short fiction fans are sure to enjoy.

Clarion Rating: 4 out of 5

Raising difficult questions of morality, this slice-of-life narrative is as heartfelt as it is entertaining.

Scott Semegran’s Boys collects trio of fascinating stories that follow a young man in three very different stages of his life: childhood, adolescence, and early adulthood. Raising difficult questions of morality, this slice-of-life narrative is as heartfelt as it is entertaining.

First, Billy deals with the typical trials and tribulations of childhood, particularly playground bullies. As an adolescent, he is determined to buy his dream car for his sixteenth birthday; to do so, he gets a job at a Greek restaurant. However, as with most teenagers, he comes to realize that money doesn’t come easily even as he learns much about the world beyond the confines of the restaurant. As an adult called Seff, Billy works a dead-end job at the Pasta Warehouse with his best friend Alfonso.

The book is interesting in its construction. The first two stories, “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen” and “Good Night, Jerk Face,” are relatively short; they function as introductions to the third story, “The Discarded Feast,” which takes up the bulk of the narrative. This structure works with rare skill to establish how Billy arrives into adulthood as he does.

The stories ably navigate ethical questions in a way that feels true to life. Is it okay to steal if what you’re taking would otherwise just go to waste? Is it okay to physically harm someone who has hurt you? Answers remain oblique as Billy’s choices play out on the pages.

Moments of magical realism come through, as when young Billy interacts with his action figures and they seem to speak back to him. Such departures from more straightforward stories inject appealing whimsy into an otherwise realistic narrative.

The narrative voice is distinct, enlivened by personality and humor. Lines like “Alfonso chuckled in a way that a big brother chuckles at a little brother’s misfortune, knowing that I was going through something that would build character, or some stupid shit like that” are funny and serve to break up sometimes heavy descriptions of actions and places.

Educational moments unexpectedly enrich the reading experience, such as information about the civil unrest of Jamaica and Haiti in the 1960s.

The story sometimes feels like it’s taking on too much. Many interesting plotlines arise only to be abandoned without resolution to begin new scenes.

An interesting cast of unique characters inhabits Billy’s world; each has their own worldview, and their voices are easily distinguishable from one another. However, they do not develop across the work. The book’s resolution is abrupt, and many narrative arcs go unresolved.

Boys is compellingly realistic fiction. Its fantastic details, interesting construction, and humor make it worth the read.

Reviewed by Gregory A. Lowe

Three clever and captivating stories weave in themes of companionship and friendship in BOYS

Verdict: With nary a dull moment, Scott Semegran's BOYS features short stories filled with unexpected nuances that draws readers right into the heart of his well-developed characters. 5 Stars.

Congeniality reigns among action figures (i.e., Star Wars, Micronauts, Shogun Warriors) within William’s fictional and solitary realm in “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen.” Through an imaginary conversation with William, Brave Raideen—a Shogun Warrior action figure—comes up with a solution to scare Randy, the bully at William’s school, “real good.” What follows is entirely unexpected.

During the summer of 1986 in “Good Night, Jerk Face,” Sam wants a 1980 Mazda RX7 for his 16th birthday, even though he has no cash and doesn’t know how to drive. Taking a job working at a Greek restaurant appears to be a good thing until his boss asks him to make deliveries.

In “The Discarded Feast,” Seff and his friend Alfonso make piddly as restaurant servers. Barely making ends meet, the two friends have no idea how they’ll be able to bring in enough money to pay the monthly rent. When the restaurant’s corporate headquarters introduce some changes, Seff and Alfonso end up making their own decisions, which eventually lead them onto different paths.

Semegran adds verisimilitude to his latest collection of stories by employing very relatable human-interest scenarios. In “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen,” both William and Randy seek love, acceptance, and friendship amid undesirable circumstances. Sam represents the stereotypical teen in “Good Night, Jerk Face” who is aching to spread his wings a bit. The longest story—a novella—will most likely speak the loudest to those readers who have struggled with higher education, student loans, and finding a decent-paying job.

Uniting and enriching Semegran’s human-interest stories is his writing style. Semegran weaves in familiar and even expected dialogue scenes while carefully crafting unexpected nuances to his plots. He also has an ability to draw his readers right into the heart of his well-developed underdog characters and their emotional well being. Amid subtle and not so subtle twists and turns, Semegran leaves his audiences ruminating on his surprising story closures.

With nary a dull moment, Scott Semegran’s BOYS features short stories filled with unexpected nuances which draw readers right into the heart of his well-developed characters.

~Anita Lock for IndieReader

Two short stories and a novella about youngsters growing up in Texas. 

Author Semegran (The Discarded Feast, 2017, etc.) assembles three pieces of fiction; each chronicles the struggles of a boy in Texas—a second-grader, a teenager, and a recent college graduate. In the first story, “The Great and Powerful, Brave Raideen,” a quirky grade schooler, William, plays solitarily with his toys, which function as surrogate friends. He’s terrorized daily by Randy, a relentless bully, and conspires with his toys to fill his tormenter with fear, pilfering a gun from his parents’ room. Later, a repentant Randy apologizes and reveals that his father is his own oppressor. The boys make amends and become friends, but that doesn’t mean all ends well. In “Good Night, Jerk Face,” Sam obsessively pines for a 1980 Mazda RX7 and takes a job at a local Greek restaurant to save up for it. He makes deliveries in the owner’s truck, though he doesn’t have a driver’s license and doesn’t know how to drive. He starts to put his preoccupation into context, however, when he begins spending time with his crush. In the longest piece, The Discarded Feast, Seff, an aspiring writer, barely makes ends meet working at a restaurant. He starts stealing the food that’s headed for the dumpster but is eventually caught and fired. Along the way, though, he begins a potentially promising relationship with co-worker Laura Ann. Semegran artfully weaves together lighthearted comedy and emotional turbulence in each of the stories, and in the last one, Seff practically sustains his meager survival with jocose banter. The writing is sharp and unpretentiously thoughtful, and since each of the main characters finds solace in companionship, this is an affecting literary depiction of the comforting power of friendship. Each of the stories can be read on its own, but taken together, they make a coherent, thematic whole, skillfully produced.

An endearing collection that deftly captures the need for youthful fellowship.