Reviews

Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

gingernutpup's review against another edition

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Just went on and on and on. Took to long to draw things together. 

notesurfer's review against another edition

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Boy's Life is a nostalgic magical realism retelling of boyhood adventures. The prose is excellent - evocative and straightforward. Some of the metaphors are a bit too straightforward in fact. And the tone is excessively romanticizing: the 60's, childhood, the American South, everything is painted with vivid importance and the gentleness of retrospect. There is an overarching lore building with each story, but it's taken too long to develop and the individual stories don't have much to say beyond "Hey, remember when? Wasn't that great?" It's just a bit too indulgent for me to bear.

abrenner06's review against another edition

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adventurous medium-paced

4.5

jojobacat's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

2.5

nick77's review against another edition

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adventurous hopeful mysterious reflective slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.5

amybrooklyn's review against another edition

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adventurous emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

judi_lagan's review against another edition

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adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

4.75

alfsan's review against another edition

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4.0

Loved it. There are so many similarities in character development, story, mystery and overall feeling, to Stephen king. I mean this as a compliment.

It's one great coming of age story with the quirks of a 12 year old and buddies. Fun time, tragedy, sunburn, etc.

I enjoyed it a lot. As with any book, it depends 100% on the reader and their moment in life. For me, I'm glad I read this adventurous tale that gives me that "12 year old look on life perspective" where you want and can do anything.

oporst's review

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4.0

Fantastic prose and I loved each individual scene, but this book felt more like a series of sometimes loosely connected vignettes when I wanted it to feel like a novel. This probably adds to the realism aspect of its magical realism - a style it executes brilliantly - but it just didn't fit my personal preference. I prefer it when novels don't feel like a series of detours away from the main plot.
Despite my personal storytelling tastes not being fully aligned with Boy's Life, I also recognize how good it is at what it's going for. The characters and their dynamics are believable, as is the portrayal of life in a small town as a boy in the 60s. Furthermore, I want to believe in the magical aspects of this story; they just feel right.
I recommend Boy's Life to fans of IT and To Kill A Mockingbird, and really anyone who likes coming-of-age or magical realism stories.

cathik411's review against another edition

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4.0

A very good coming of age story with a little murder mystery thrown in set in Alabama in the 1960’s.