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It’s not very often that one gets access to the rarefied world of boys who are on the cusp of becoming men. This is a precarious world they occupy, often populated with insensitive adults, jeering peers, and unfathomable fears—some imaginary, some unfounded—that threatens to come all undone at the slightest provocation or insult. Thankfully, Being Boys is a refreshing revelation of the male adolescent psyche that doesn’t resort to stereotypes of what boys should be like or aspire to become. The diverse pieces contained in this anthology are about boys who find themselves in that most vulnerable and trying phase of growing up angst—the pre-teen and teen years, resolutely leading up to adulthood.