The neighborhood boys

The neighborhood boys are young teenagers from the same suburban neighborhood where the Lisbon girls live. Though the exact composition of the group is not explicitly revealed, these male teenagers are behind the collective "we" narrating of The Virgin Suicides. The boys give the novel its unique point of view. Aside from being early teens with little experience of the outside world, these neighborhood boys have several points in common. First among these common points is an uncontrollable fascination for the shrinking circle of blonde teenagers that live in their suburban neighborhood. This attraction is driven by a curiosity that is obviously sexual, at least during the first half of the book. However, this curiosity evolves along with the story and turns into an all-out investigation set to discover the secrets of their blonde neighbors.

For the greater part of the novel, the neighborhood boys are...