Hello, I'm Timbairmias, and this is NPR's Book of the Day. On today's episode, two novels that

center the lives of teenage boys and the complicated forces that shape them. In a minute,

we'll hear about a book focused on a few hours in the life of one troubled teen. But first,

the five sorrowful mysteries of Andy Africa by Stephen Burrow.

It's a coming-of-age comic novel that takes place against the backdrop of some pretty intense

realities, including colonialism and violence.

Here, Burrough speaks about his book and the ideas that motivated it with NPR's Kamala Dominovsky.

This message comes from Wise, the app for using money around the globe.

When you manage your money with Wise, you'll always get the mid-market exchange rate with no hidden fees.

Join millions of customers and visit Wise.com. T's and C's Apply.

In the U.S., national security news can feel far away from daily life.

Distant wars, murky conflicts, diplomacy behind closed doors on our new show, Sources and Methods.

NPR reporters on the ground bring you stories of real people helping you understand why distant events matter here at home.

Listen to sources and methods on the NPR app or wherever you get your podcasts.

In Stephen Burroughs' new darkly comic novel, a Nigerian teenager named Andy dreams about his father.

Maybe I'm like Papa. I really want to know

who the hell he is. His dusty feet, his booming voice, his grip on my shoulder. The 15-year-old

doesn't know his father. It's a secret his mother keeps from him. The secret he keeps from her?

A secret that's very obvious to his two best friends? That Andy dreams of white women,

blondes, to be precise. A Marilyn Monroe who has never had mosquitoes sink in her ears

and suck her blood, leaving red swellings as they fly away,

a princess Diana who has never woken up at midnight with hunger, a Taylor Swift who has never

...