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The Golden Boy
An unexpected letter sends a man and his wife into their pasts – and offers them both a shot at redemption
After an involuntary retirement from his high-flying Hollywood career, Stafford Hopkins has retreated to a luxury estate on Maui, along with his wife Agnes, both grimly resigned to life in a paradise where neither feels fully at home. Stafford is ready to retreat into himself, too, when a letter arrives with shocking news.
Stafford has been named guardian of four children he didn’t know: the grandchildren of his late childhood friend, Bobby Shepherd, whose ghost Stafford can no longer ignore. Returning to both the hardscrabble farming town and the dark secret he’d tried to forget for decades, Stafford is forced to confront his past in order to rebuild his future – and to redirect the fates of his family and the four young people suddenly in his care.
Slyly funny and deeply moving, The Golden Boy is a captivating debut about love, mercy, and second chances.
After an involuntary retirement from his high-flying Hollywood career, Stafford Hopkins has retreated to a luxury estate on Maui, along with his wife Agnes, both grimly resigned to life in a paradise where neither feels fully at home. Stafford is ready to retreat into himself, too, when a letter arrives with shocking news.
Stafford has been named guardian of four children he didn’t know: the grandchildren of his late childhood friend, Bobby Shepherd, whose ghost Stafford can no longer ignore. Returning to both the hardscrabble farming town and the dark secret he’d tried to forget for decades, Stafford is forced to confront his past in order to rebuild his future – and to redirect the fates of his family and the four young people suddenly in his care.
Slyly funny and deeply moving, The Golden Boy is a captivating debut about love, mercy, and second chances.
320 pages, Hardcover
First published March 10, 2026
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 548 reviews
January 7, 2026
The premise of this book was very intriguing. A second chance story where a man gets assigned legal guardianship of 4 children he doesn’t know? Sign me up. However, there was a whole lot of fluff before making it to any of that. You don’t even meet the children until 80% i to the book. I enjoyed the end with Stafford and Agnes interacting with the kids, so I wish we’d met them sooner. Unfortunately I found most of the story pretty boring. The two main characters were unlikable until the end. I kept reading because I was hoping it would be interesting seeing these two older people raising young kids, but if I knew there wouldn’t be much of that I probably would have DNFed. I just think the description of the book was misleading.
**ARC review. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read it early.
**ARC review. Thanks to NetGalley and the publisher for letting me read it early.
March 13, 2026
It is March 2026 and the official release of “The Golden Boy” is here! I was able to read an advanced copy last year and it was one of my top books of the year. I placed my preorder months ago and picked up my copy on Tuesday, and I couldn’t wait before digging right back in. And this book held up just beautifully on my reread, possibly even better than the first time.
In a style similar to Emily St. John Mandel, this book is not told linearly. We get both the current day plot of Stafford finding out he is a guardian to four children, and the childhood of Stafford wherein he grows up with the grandfather of those said children. I truly think this is a book best gone into without expectations. Let yourself be pulled along the ride, let the story unfold itself. There are so many small details that build up throughout the story: the water mentions, the morality debates, the deep love Stafford still holds for Bobby. This isn’t a simple story of picking up some children. It is a deep and tragic tale told over many years.
And I do mean tragic, because this book brought me to tears multiple times. Perhaps some of that is the connection I feel to the book, but the writing is truly so excellent that it is so easy to get lost in it. That final letter? Gut wrenching. The dialogue in this book is also so incredibly unique. I affirm what I said in my previous review, but you can really see Patricia Finn’s history in TV through the dialogue. Lots of it (but not all) is very script like, with back and forth dialogue only and minimal descriptors. I found all of these scenes to be a succinct way of showing characterization.
This is not a book about a rich guy turning his life around. This is not a book about adoption. This is a complex web of life, and Patricia Finn strings it all together so beautifully. I’m so glad to have this on my shelf and I can’t wait to share it with more people I know. I was also able to get my local library to acquire a copy, so hopefully more of my community will be seeing it too. I would not be surprised at all if this book makes it into some award long lists, I think it certainly deserves it. 💛
August 2025 ARC review: It is not often that I am less than a hundred pages into a book, and so enthralled by the writing that I check to see if the author has more books for me to read. I was shocked to learn that this was Patricia Finn’s debut into the fiction world, and just know that I will be first in line to get this book in physical copy and to read anything else written by the author. This book was a journey, a complex world of characters and family and history. I cried, I gasped, I had the full reading experience including staying up late to read because I couldn’t stop thinking about this book. The prose is beautiful, with wonderful descriptions. The dialogue is unlike most, but when I connected it to the way you would read dialogue for TV it all made sense. In some books ongoing exposition and information about the past can feel mundane, but not here. As we travel through the events of the current day, we also learn about the past and I’m left wanting more from both. If I could give this 6 stars I would. Thank you so so much to the publisher for the e-arc, I truly feel changed by this book and can’t wait to share it with everyone.
In a style similar to Emily St. John Mandel, this book is not told linearly. We get both the current day plot of Stafford finding out he is a guardian to four children, and the childhood of Stafford wherein he grows up with the grandfather of those said children. I truly think this is a book best gone into without expectations. Let yourself be pulled along the ride, let the story unfold itself. There are so many small details that build up throughout the story: the water mentions, the morality debates, the deep love Stafford still holds for Bobby. This isn’t a simple story of picking up some children. It is a deep and tragic tale told over many years.
And I do mean tragic, because this book brought me to tears multiple times. Perhaps some of that is the connection I feel to the book, but the writing is truly so excellent that it is so easy to get lost in it. That final letter? Gut wrenching. The dialogue in this book is also so incredibly unique. I affirm what I said in my previous review, but you can really see Patricia Finn’s history in TV through the dialogue. Lots of it (but not all) is very script like, with back and forth dialogue only and minimal descriptors. I found all of these scenes to be a succinct way of showing characterization.
This is not a book about a rich guy turning his life around. This is not a book about adoption. This is a complex web of life, and Patricia Finn strings it all together so beautifully. I’m so glad to have this on my shelf and I can’t wait to share it with more people I know. I was also able to get my local library to acquire a copy, so hopefully more of my community will be seeing it too. I would not be surprised at all if this book makes it into some award long lists, I think it certainly deserves it. 💛
August 2025 ARC review: It is not often that I am less than a hundred pages into a book, and so enthralled by the writing that I check to see if the author has more books for me to read. I was shocked to learn that this was Patricia Finn’s debut into the fiction world, and just know that I will be first in line to get this book in physical copy and to read anything else written by the author. This book was a journey, a complex world of characters and family and history. I cried, I gasped, I had the full reading experience including staying up late to read because I couldn’t stop thinking about this book. The prose is beautiful, with wonderful descriptions. The dialogue is unlike most, but when I connected it to the way you would read dialogue for TV it all made sense. In some books ongoing exposition and information about the past can feel mundane, but not here. As we travel through the events of the current day, we also learn about the past and I’m left wanting more from both. If I could give this 6 stars I would. Thank you so so much to the publisher for the e-arc, I truly feel changed by this book and can’t wait to share it with everyone.
August 27, 2025
3.5 stars rounded up.
I’m a sucker for family sagas and I did like a lot about this one that meanders all the way from small town Canada to LA to Hawaii and back to Canada again.
There is childhood trauma (little t and big T) involved for most of the characters and the trauma underlies much of the “plot” and the behaviors of the characters.
Sometimes the story’s meandering is a bit distracting especially when the author gets wrapped up in lengthy descriptions about weather and such.
At times the meandering gets the reader to wondering where is this all going? There is an underlying connection/structure to ancient philosophy and personal histories repeat themselves. It feels as if the author has tossed out a jigsaw puzzle onto a table and then manages to put the puzzle pieces back together first slowly and then suddenly. The ending feels just a bit quick and too neatly fit and highly improbable. Also, confusing? What exactly was the lineage of this family? I wanted to see it all mapped out somewhere but wondered if it was deliberately convoluted.
All that said, I was rooting for everyone in the story. I loved the joke where Stafford corrects Agnes’s grammar and she reminds him she has a gun and they both laugh. 😊
(And I was happy about the swimming lessons and time in the water for the kids. Water is so healing…)
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
I’m a sucker for family sagas and I did like a lot about this one that meanders all the way from small town Canada to LA to Hawaii and back to Canada again.
There is childhood trauma (little t and big T) involved for most of the characters and the trauma underlies much of the “plot” and the behaviors of the characters.
Sometimes the story’s meandering is a bit distracting especially when the author gets wrapped up in lengthy descriptions about weather and such.
At times the meandering gets the reader to wondering where is this all going? There is an underlying connection/structure to ancient philosophy and personal histories repeat themselves. It feels as if the author has tossed out a jigsaw puzzle onto a table and then manages to put the puzzle pieces back together first slowly and then suddenly. The ending feels just a bit quick and too neatly fit and highly improbable. Also, confusing? What exactly was the lineage of this family? I wanted to see it all mapped out somewhere but wondered if it was deliberately convoluted.
All that said, I was rooting for everyone in the story. I loved the joke where Stafford corrects Agnes’s grammar and she reminds him she has a gun and they both laugh. 😊
(And I was happy about the swimming lessons and time in the water for the kids. Water is so healing…)
Thank you to NetGalley for an ARC in exchange for my honest review.
July 2, 2026
3.5/3.75 stars, rounded up to 4. I wasn't sure what to expect from this novel, but I was intrigued by the premise and decided to go for it. I'm glad I did. Our main character, Stafford Hopkins, is a former big-time Hollywood executive who for reasons that never became completely clear to me had a big enough fall from grace that he is now living in a kind of exile, albeit in high style, with his wife Agnes on Maui.
The story goes back and forth between the "present" of March 2003 and various points of the MC's past, his childhood, his early adult life, etc. I have to say that I couldn't quite reconcile those "different" men, especially with Stafford's current self. Same thing with Agnes. I wasn't even sure if I liked either of them for many parts of the book. But they grew on me.
The book's blurb prominently tells you that Stafford comes into (potential) custody of the four grandchildren of a friend from his childhood. Strangely though, he doesn't even find out about that till a good way into the book. Not a deal-breaker in any way, but just putting it out there that a large of the book has nothing to do with that development, at least not directly. And although Stafford's choices and ways of dealing with being named guardian of the four children don't quite make sense sometimes, the book comes to some interesting resolutions. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
The story goes back and forth between the "present" of March 2003 and various points of the MC's past, his childhood, his early adult life, etc. I have to say that I couldn't quite reconcile those "different" men, especially with Stafford's current self. Same thing with Agnes. I wasn't even sure if I liked either of them for many parts of the book. But they grew on me.
The book's blurb prominently tells you that Stafford comes into (potential) custody of the four grandchildren of a friend from his childhood. Strangely though, he doesn't even find out about that till a good way into the book. Not a deal-breaker in any way, but just putting it out there that a large of the book has nothing to do with that development, at least not directly. And although Stafford's choices and ways of dealing with being named guardian of the four children don't quite make sense sometimes, the book comes to some interesting resolutions. Overall, I enjoyed this book.
Many thanks to NetGalley, the author, and the publishers for a digital ARC of this book in exchange for my honest opinions.
Review of advance copy received from Netgalley
This is why I wish Goodreads had ½ stars. 2.5. Good writing style so I’ll round up.
Well. This was a book. The author is talented. This book really did have great writing style. It just was not my kind of book. I feel like every new character, or side character, or even rando walking by, was given a huge detailed description of just how ugly they were. Or how people didn’t like them. Or all the negatives about them. It was weird.
The narrator was listed as Jason Culp. I have to say, this narrator was very talented. He had a very specific style of reading and a very distinctive voice. In looking over his resume, I can 100% see why he was selected for a number of other books. But not this one. I don’t think this was the right fit for his voice.
I really wanted to love the banter in this book. I kept reading about there being banter and humor. However, it didn’t always feel like fun banter. Sometimes it felt like resentment or angry bitterness. It made it impossible to like any of the characters.
Not a win for me. However, I always love a new book and to read/listen to something new. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, it is always an adventure.
Well. This was a book. The author is talented. This book really did have great writing style. It just was not my kind of book. I feel like every new character, or side character, or even rando walking by, was given a huge detailed description of just how ugly they were. Or how people didn’t like them. Or all the negatives about them. It was weird.
The narrator was listed as Jason Culp. I have to say, this narrator was very talented. He had a very specific style of reading and a very distinctive voice. In looking over his resume, I can 100% see why he was selected for a number of other books. But not this one. I don’t think this was the right fit for his voice.
I really wanted to love the banter in this book. I kept reading about there being banter and humor. However, it didn’t always feel like fun banter. Sometimes it felt like resentment or angry bitterness. It made it impossible to like any of the characters.
Not a win for me. However, I always love a new book and to read/listen to something new. Thank you NetGalley for the ARC, it is always an adventure.
March 26, 2026
I shouldn't say I "finished" the book. It's more correct to say "I am finished" with the book. I had to wait for a long time for it to become available through the library and even then, I got a skip-the-line copy that had to be returned in 7 days. It started off fine, but I was confused by the style of the dialogue, particulary between Stafford and Agnes. I figured it was meant to convey their increasing dissatisfaction with each other, yadda yadda. I made it perhaps halfway through the book and returned it early in great disgust. Finn is a competent story teller, but the dialogue grew more and more painful, to the point where I dreaded the moments the text moved from descriptive to the moments where people talked to each other. I simply couldn't abide it.
Of course, now it's killing about the deep, dark secret embedded somewhere in the book that I will never know.
I'll manage.
Of course, now it's killing about the deep, dark secret embedded somewhere in the book that I will never know.
I'll manage.
Review of advance copy received from Edelweiss+
It was fine, but it took forever to get to the children and then when we got there, about 10 years done in as many pages. Very rushed at the end. Also, did I miss it, what did Stafford and Agnes do to their daughter Callie? It was never explained. I'm guessing work took over Stafford's life and Agnes was being the grand dame. Every time I thought we were going to get to the children, Bobby was brought up or it went in a very different direction. It's a debut after all and feels it.
May 16, 2026
Really 2.5⭐ but rounded to three... Idk, I probably should have DNF'D but powered through it.
March 17, 2026
This is a book about how one moment from your past can quietly define your entire life and the way guilt seeps into your marriage, your identity, and the stories you tell yourself about who you are and what you deserve.
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I loved most about The Golden Boy is how deceptively simple it feels on the surface. It reads quickly, almost effortlessly, but underneath that ease is a really sharp, emotionally intelligent look at memory, regret, and the way we assign meaning to our own lives. This isn’t a book that hits you over the head with its themes, it lets them fester slowly, through conversation, through what’s left unsaid, through the quiet tension of everyday life.
And you can absolutely feel Patricia Finn’s background as a screenwriter in the best way. She writes like someone who thinks in scenes, not paragraphs. The story is incredibly dialogue-driven and the conversations carry the emotional weight instead of long internal monologues. Everything feels super clean and visual. You can almost see the pacing, the pauses, the way characters move around each other. What really stood out to me is how much she relies on subtext. Characters aren’t constantly explaining themselves; they reveal who they are through what they avoid, deflect, or leave unsaid. It makes the whole book feel very immediate and bingeable, like something that could be adapted tomorrow with almost no changes to the script.
On the surface, this is a story about friendship, betrayal, and memory. But underneath, it’s really about the danger of building your identity around one mistake. Stafford has quietly shaped his entire adult life around this belief that he’s responsible for what happened to his best friend from childhood and that one moment from his youth defines who he is as a person. And the longer he carries that story, the more it seeps into everything else: his marriage, his sense of self, the way he moves through the world.
What makes the ending land so well is that it doesn’t go big, it goes incredibly honest. There’s no dramatic unraveling, no clean moral resolution, no moment where everything is neatly explained or forgiven. Instead, it leans into something much more real: acceptance without full absolution. Stafford doesn’t get to undo the past, and he doesn’t get a clear answer that he wasn’t responsible. But something shifts in how he understands his role, how much weight he assigns to that moment, and whether he allows himself to keep moving forward.
And that felt incredibly true to life. Because most of the time, you don’t get closure, you just gain perspective. Not “you did nothing wrong,” but something quieter and more complicated: that wasn’t the whole story.
Overall, this felt like one of those books that sneaks up on you. It’s not trying to be sweeping or devastating, but it’s thoughtful, grounded, and emotionally precise in a way that really worked for me.
Excited to see what Finn has cookin up next! 👀
4.5 ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
What I loved most about The Golden Boy is how deceptively simple it feels on the surface. It reads quickly, almost effortlessly, but underneath that ease is a really sharp, emotionally intelligent look at memory, regret, and the way we assign meaning to our own lives. This isn’t a book that hits you over the head with its themes, it lets them fester slowly, through conversation, through what’s left unsaid, through the quiet tension of everyday life.
And you can absolutely feel Patricia Finn’s background as a screenwriter in the best way. She writes like someone who thinks in scenes, not paragraphs. The story is incredibly dialogue-driven and the conversations carry the emotional weight instead of long internal monologues. Everything feels super clean and visual. You can almost see the pacing, the pauses, the way characters move around each other. What really stood out to me is how much she relies on subtext. Characters aren’t constantly explaining themselves; they reveal who they are through what they avoid, deflect, or leave unsaid. It makes the whole book feel very immediate and bingeable, like something that could be adapted tomorrow with almost no changes to the script.
On the surface, this is a story about friendship, betrayal, and memory. But underneath, it’s really about the danger of building your identity around one mistake. Stafford has quietly shaped his entire adult life around this belief that he’s responsible for what happened to his best friend from childhood and that one moment from his youth defines who he is as a person. And the longer he carries that story, the more it seeps into everything else: his marriage, his sense of self, the way he moves through the world.
What makes the ending land so well is that it doesn’t go big, it goes incredibly honest. There’s no dramatic unraveling, no clean moral resolution, no moment where everything is neatly explained or forgiven. Instead, it leans into something much more real: acceptance without full absolution. Stafford doesn’t get to undo the past, and he doesn’t get a clear answer that he wasn’t responsible. But something shifts in how he understands his role, how much weight he assigns to that moment, and whether he allows himself to keep moving forward.
And that felt incredibly true to life. Because most of the time, you don’t get closure, you just gain perspective. Not “you did nothing wrong,” but something quieter and more complicated: that wasn’t the whole story.
Overall, this felt like one of those books that sneaks up on you. It’s not trying to be sweeping or devastating, but it’s thoughtful, grounded, and emotionally precise in a way that really worked for me.
Excited to see what Finn has cookin up next! 👀
March 15, 2026
I’m going with 4 stars, since it definitely kept me reading & the story held my interest. But I have a hard time buying that ending with the much improved characters of Stafford & Agnes. Plus, I’ll be honest, in today’s world, folks having this much money pisses me off.
April 7, 2026
I could not put down “The Golden Boy” by Patricia Finn, and it will certainly land on my 2026 Top Ten list! Prepare to laugh, cry, and “laugh-cry” at this captivating family “dramady”.
Stafford and Agnes are a long-married, rich, privileged, middle-aged couple living in luxury on Maui. HOWEVER, they aren’t particularly happy. They know that they were terrible parents to their now estranged daughter, Callie, though they are at odds on how to repair the relationship. Their own relationship is fractious; both harbor dark secrets from their childhoods.
A letter arrives that could upend their lives and provide a “second chance” for them both…if they decide to take a leap.
Finn’s dialogue is pitch perfect and delightful, an absolute high point of this wonderful novel.
(Richard Russo, one of my all-time favorite writers, provided a blurb for this book, and while I don’t always trust “celebrity” blurbs, his was spot on!)
Stafford and Agnes are a long-married, rich, privileged, middle-aged couple living in luxury on Maui. HOWEVER, they aren’t particularly happy. They know that they were terrible parents to their now estranged daughter, Callie, though they are at odds on how to repair the relationship. Their own relationship is fractious; both harbor dark secrets from their childhoods.
A letter arrives that could upend their lives and provide a “second chance” for them both…if they decide to take a leap.
Finn’s dialogue is pitch perfect and delightful, an absolute high point of this wonderful novel.
(Richard Russo, one of my all-time favorite writers, provided a blurb for this book, and while I don’t always trust “celebrity” blurbs, his was spot on!)
March 16, 2026
I struggled with this one. For the first section of the book the only real conflict is Stafford Hopkins bickering with his wife, and the story doesn’t gain any momentum until a tragedy sends him back to his hometown in Canada (a handful of orphans are left in his care). The most interesting thread is his childhood friendship with Bobby Shepherd, a boy who contrasts sharply with Stafford in family, reputation, and appearance. Unfortunately the writing often feels distant, almost like a historical summary or newspaper report rather than lived-in scenes, which makes it hard to connect emotionally. There are hints of deeper ideas about virtue and Aristotle, but the novel never really digs into them.
August 7, 2026
The Golden Boy
, is the book I can't stop thinking about this week. About all the experiences that wreak havoc on a soul inhabiting that vessel called a body, which imposes like drugs all those crazy life happenings: from that undignified entrance into the world, to that ancient vessel's slow washing ashore on death's sandbar. . .I loved the story of Bobby and Stafford, and their dreams while in their single-digit ages:
“AND WHEN THE STORM had passed and the pirates all killed and captured, and their own boat wrecked upon the shores of a distant island, Bobby and Stafford would stretch out on the ground and lay their faces against the earth, turning over only to watch a sky that changed with each blink of their eyes.”
Finn, Patricia. The Golden Boy (p. 305). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.
I remember those days. This read will find its way deeper in some than others. Age may have something to do with it, as will experiences on the path of life. . .the tale kept me eager for the very next word. . .oh the things that happen in a lifetime LIVED.
*A sincere thank you to Patricia Finn, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheGoldenBoy #NetGalley 26|52:52c
“AND WHEN THE STORM had passed and the pirates all killed and captured, and their own boat wrecked upon the shores of a distant island, Bobby and Stafford would stretch out on the ground and lay their faces against the earth, turning over only to watch a sky that changed with each blink of their eyes.”
Finn, Patricia. The Golden Boy (p. 305). Grand Central Publishing. Kindle Edition.
I remember those days. This read will find its way deeper in some than others. Age may have something to do with it, as will experiences on the path of life. . .the tale kept me eager for the very next word. . .oh the things that happen in a lifetime LIVED.
*A sincere thank you to Patricia Finn, Grand Central Publishing, and NetGalley for an ARC to read and review independently.* #TheGoldenBoy #NetGalley 26|52:52c
April 19, 2026
Excellent family saga redemption story.
April 20, 2026
I'm really enjoying the increased representation of Canadian cities and small towns in literature! Keep these coming! It's so nice to recognize place names and have lived where the characters are and experienced the same landmarks they do.
I personally found the plot of this book too slow. The first half of it focuses on Stafford's ego - all his successes, education, career, etc. It takes too long to reach any inciting incident or development of any other characters. This focus on Stafford's elitism and success made him such an unlikeable character to me. I know this is partly the point of the novel because he experiences a change in character when he has to take care of four new children, but I still couldn't come to like him even in the end.
Thank you so much to HarperCollins and HarperAudio for the gifted ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
I personally found the plot of this book too slow. The first half of it focuses on Stafford's ego - all his successes, education, career, etc. It takes too long to reach any inciting incident or development of any other characters. This focus on Stafford's elitism and success made him such an unlikeable character to me. I know this is partly the point of the novel because he experiences a change in character when he has to take care of four new children, but I still couldn't come to like him even in the end.
Thank you so much to HarperCollins and HarperAudio for the gifted ALC of this book in exchange for my honest review.
April 14, 2026
I received this book as an ARC. Thank you to Book Huddle and Harper Collins for providing it.
I'm still not 100% sure what to make of this book. Set primarily in Maui with an intermission in Kingston Ontario, the story focuses on Stafford Hopkins, a former big shot tv executive and his wife Agnes. The novel alternates between focusing on Stafford's childhood and his close friendship with a neighbour Bobby Shepherd and Stafford's current life in his 50s.
Like most rich white men, Stafford spends the majority of the book being a cold, arrogant, and unlikable character though his background lends him some sympathy and I warmed up to him somewhat by the end. Agnes was definitely the more sympathetic character but even she had her moments where she was hard to like.
The Golden Boy is a contemplative read about humanity, life, and the choices we make when faced with adversity. It is an enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys literary fiction and a thought provoking story.
I'm still not 100% sure what to make of this book. Set primarily in Maui with an intermission in Kingston Ontario, the story focuses on Stafford Hopkins, a former big shot tv executive and his wife Agnes. The novel alternates between focusing on Stafford's childhood and his close friendship with a neighbour Bobby Shepherd and Stafford's current life in his 50s.
Like most rich white men, Stafford spends the majority of the book being a cold, arrogant, and unlikable character though his background lends him some sympathy and I warmed up to him somewhat by the end. Agnes was definitely the more sympathetic character but even she had her moments where she was hard to like.
The Golden Boy is a contemplative read about humanity, life, and the choices we make when faced with adversity. It is an enjoyable read that I would recommend to anyone who enjoys literary fiction and a thought provoking story.
November 25, 2025
I admit, I was probably a bit irritated by the characters for the first 100 pages 😅 and I thought about DNF-ing, but it's not really my style. I hate doing that because I have been pleasantly surprised in the past. I still didn't feel the need to 4 or 5 star the book, but please do not take that as a bad sign not to read it. It was so much better learning about the characters in more depth and what shaped them. It's a family saga of love, loss, regret, and maybe even redemption.
I could see this book doing really well.
I am grateful to Goodreads and Grandcentral Publishing for this ARC copy
I could see this book doing really well.
I am grateful to Goodreads and Grandcentral Publishing for this ARC copy
March 26, 2026
I get that this book won’t be for everyone but I really liked it. Grew from a 4 to a 5 for me. Quirky, warm, sad, funny. I was so drawn in. I loved how not obvious or cliche the plot or characters or any of it was.
March 19, 2026
3.5, rounding up to 4. I had some trouble with this one. A lot of jumping around in the story. But the ending redeemed it. Overall though a good read
May 16, 2026
https://wendyreadit.wordpress.com/202...
This is the story of Stafford Hopkins, who grew up in a small suburb near Ontario, Canada. Stafford meets and marries Agnes, who is the love of his life. As they navigate life together and live a life of luxury with Stafford's successful career, they eventually retire to Maui. The story is told through flashbacks into Stafford's youth, the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of it. I thoroughly enjoyed Stafford and Agnes, their relationship and how they dealt with all of life's unexpected situations that they were forced to navigate. The narration was well done and I look forward to more from this debut author.
This is the story of Stafford Hopkins, who grew up in a small suburb near Ontario, Canada. Stafford meets and marries Agnes, who is the love of his life. As they navigate life together and live a life of luxury with Stafford's successful career, they eventually retire to Maui. The story is told through flashbacks into Stafford's youth, the good, the bad, and the ugly parts of it. I thoroughly enjoyed Stafford and Agnes, their relationship and how they dealt with all of life's unexpected situations that they were forced to navigate. The narration was well done and I look forward to more from this debut author.
June 22, 2026
There was a moment while reading when I thought, What happens next is going to piss me off and then I am going to give this book one star. But the author surprised me by walking a knife's edge -- and elicited a chuckle and a toast.
March 31, 2026
« You will never do anything in this world without courage. »
April 7, 2026
2.75 🌟
I couldn't really get into it. Always because I expected more. It had its few good moments. Alot of tragic moments.
🧊✨️🏝🇨🇦
-Libby 🎧
I couldn't really get into it. Always because I expected more. It had its few good moments. Alot of tragic moments.
🧊✨️🏝🇨🇦
-Libby 🎧
July 15, 2026
A very fragmented narrative. I don’t really understand the point of this book. The synopsis is SUPER misleading.
Thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC!
Thanks to Libro.fm for the ALC!
April 26, 2026
This book wasn’t bad, but it also wasn’t really good. I’d say for about the first 70% of the book I was wondering, Where is this story going? The whole hype for the book of Stafford becoming guardian to 4 kids…they were introduced very late in the story. I’m sure if the premise of the book was described differently, my expectations would also be different. Again, not bad/not good.
April 11, 2026
I really just liked this book for the depictions of Maui and the philosophical statements/references in each chapter. I didn’t really care for Agnes and Stafford eventually grew on me.
February 22, 2026
The Golden Boy by Patricia Finn 🌺🌺.5
Hmm. This book had potential, but I was bored. 🫣 The main characters are an uber wealthy television executive and his supportive wife. They each have baggage from their traumatic childhoods, but now their lives are full of fame and money, parties and red carpets, homes all over the world, golf club memberships, and an extravagant retirement estate on Maui. This book isn’t really about all of that, though. It’s about dealing with grief, guilt, and loss. It does have its touching moments, and I chuckled at the dialog between the married, sexagenarian couple. I just could not feel connected to their lives of excess.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Cardinal for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book. You can find it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
“It was eight o’clock in the morning, and the only thing worse than living in paradise was oversleeping in it.”
— Patricia Finn, The Golden Boy
Hmm. This book had potential, but I was bored. 🫣 The main characters are an uber wealthy television executive and his supportive wife. They each have baggage from their traumatic childhoods, but now their lives are full of fame and money, parties and red carpets, homes all over the world, golf club memberships, and an extravagant retirement estate on Maui. This book isn’t really about all of that, though. It’s about dealing with grief, guilt, and loss. It does have its touching moments, and I chuckled at the dialog between the married, sexagenarian couple. I just could not feel connected to their lives of excess.
I would like to thank NetGalley and Cardinal for providing me with an advance e-galley of this book. You can find it in your local and online bookstores and libraries on Tuesday, March 10, 2026.
“It was eight o’clock in the morning, and the only thing worse than living in paradise was oversleeping in it.”
— Patricia Finn, The Golden Boy
March 22, 2026
This is a beautifully written Canadian story that, honestly, will resonate no matter where you are from. There is something very real about the way it captures growing up in a rural setting, layered with family dynamics, quiet struggles, and all the complexity that comes with that.
Every word feels intentional. Nothing is wasted. It is woven together in a way that carries deeper meaning, with subtle analogies adding Aristotle reflections without ever feeling heavy.
And, in amongst the heartfelt angst and sorrow, you find unexpected humour. It is sharp, understated, and lands when you least expect it. Lines like, “Agnes knew the light would be lovely and soft when these candles were lit. It would illuminate her guests without challenging the work of anybody’s plastic surgeon” are just brilliant! Dry, observant, and just the right amount of biting. And for those of us old enough to remember the fashions of the early 2000’s, you will love and appreciate the descriptors.
If you enjoy history, layered family stories, and a glimpse into the world of the rich and spoiled (while somehow providing you with a sense of relief that you are not a part of it) this is absolutely worth your time. Loved!!!!
Every word feels intentional. Nothing is wasted. It is woven together in a way that carries deeper meaning, with subtle analogies adding Aristotle reflections without ever feeling heavy.
And, in amongst the heartfelt angst and sorrow, you find unexpected humour. It is sharp, understated, and lands when you least expect it. Lines like, “Agnes knew the light would be lovely and soft when these candles were lit. It would illuminate her guests without challenging the work of anybody’s plastic surgeon” are just brilliant! Dry, observant, and just the right amount of biting. And for those of us old enough to remember the fashions of the early 2000’s, you will love and appreciate the descriptors.
If you enjoy history, layered family stories, and a glimpse into the world of the rich and spoiled (while somehow providing you with a sense of relief that you are not a part of it) this is absolutely worth your time. Loved!!!!
April 24, 2026
3.5. This book is about dysfunction with a capital D! If you enjoy reading hundreds of pages of dysfunction with Aristotle references built in- it would be a 5 for you! I kept reading to find the redemption to this story…. Yes it finally came but what a depressing journey it was. I wanted to read more about the ending than the long road to it. The writing was good and the story line was ok but it just didn’t hit the spot for me. After a while the Aristotle quotes and meanings got tiresome to read.
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