I have just finished listening to Boy Underground, a timely story from Catherine Ryan Hyde narrated by Dan Butler from the T.V. series Frasier.

The novel, which opens in the early 1940s in California, is an inspiring story of friendship, belonging, and finding your voice and humanity in a world of hatred.

Steven Katz is in his late eighties and reflecting on his life. He starts by reminiscing about being a fifteen-year-old who suspects he’s gay.

His parents are prosperous landowners who don’t understand or know him. They feel like strangers. He’s lost and lonely until he finds a small group of friends: Nick, Suki, and Ollie. The boys are from different races and socio-economic backgrounds. Stephen knows his parents won’t approve. Even worse, he has growing feelings for Nick.

The bombing of Pearl Harbor throws the boys’ lives into chaos. Suki is American-Japanese. He and his family are sent to an internment camp. Ollie, who is the eldest of the group by two years, enlists in the army and ships out. And Nick turns up outside Stephen’s bedroom window one night, desperate. His father has been arrested for assault. The victim is in a coma, and Nick’s father has convinced a ‘witness’ that Nick, who shares his dad’s height and build, is the real perpetrator.

Hiding Nick in a root cellar on his family’s farm, Steven keeps his friend safe, fed, and protected for months. Stephen will do anything for Nick. He loves him. They talk of a future together in New York, but the dream falls apart when Nick leaves in the middle of the night. He sends letters but not his address. Over the next few years, Stephen’s focus is on finding Nick. Especially after he testifies at Nick’s father’s trial.

The journey to find Nick doesn’t go as expected, but it teaches Stephen a life-defining lesson about love.

And the ending? Fabulous. Such a powerful story of resilience and being true to yourself.

No spoilers, but the title has a double meaning, which I adore.