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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
This is my favorite coming of age story I’ve ever read or experienced in any medium. I cannot believe how nostalgic I am for Cory’s life that I lived over the last two weeks of slowly savoring each chapter.
This is absolutely one of my favorite books of all time. It has just the right amount of the supernatural seeping into everyday life. The mystery is not very, well, mysterious and I figured it out about halfway through the book but McCammon's writing will transport anyone who grew up in the 60s and 70s back to hot summer days riding your bicycle when the world was still bright with promise but dark with terrors grownups never seemed to notice.
This is lengthy and leisurely-paced, and I wouldn't recommend it to everyone. It feels like it wanders all over, relating everything that happens during a year in the life of a young boy in 1964. But, before you realize it, you are incredibly invested in these people. And all the seemingly random tales all get woven together by the end. It's a beautiful story.
I'm gonna be *that person* for a moment:
I don't get the hype for this book.
Now, to be fair, I started reading this book because upon Googling "books reminiscent of Stranger Things" Boy's Life came up in multiple lists. So I was expecting a story with a little more...fantasy horror? Character development? Atmosphere?
The thing is, Boy's Life has all of these things. But I felt like McCammon was trying to do too much with this novel, resulting in all three of those elements feeling watered down for me. The fantasy horror was more like wisps of magical realism. The character development was centrally on Cory, the main character and narrator of the story, despite the large cast of characters and glimpses of development in others - leaving me feeling thirsty for more about others (I want to read a book about the Lady). As for atmosphere, again it was certainly there. But I felt like atmosphere weaved in and out of the story: sometimes I had no doubt I was in small-town Alabama in the 60's and other times I felt like I could be reading a book about Anywhere, USA during anytime.
Would I have read the entire book had there not been promise of Stranger Things-esque vibes? No. And I can certainly see why this book made those lists: tween(s) trying to solve a missing person's/murder case, sci-fi/fantasy/magical realism vibes, sleepy town where nothing exciting happens, foreign government invaders.
But it's mostly just a story about a kid, growing up, with a side of murder mystery. I'm disappointed.
I don't get the hype for this book.
Now, to be fair, I started reading this book because upon Googling "books reminiscent of Stranger Things" Boy's Life came up in multiple lists. So I was expecting a story with a little more...fantasy horror? Character development? Atmosphere?
The thing is, Boy's Life has all of these things. But I felt like McCammon was trying to do too much with this novel, resulting in all three of those elements feeling watered down for me. The fantasy horror was more like wisps of magical realism. The character development was centrally on Cory, the main character and narrator of the story, despite the large cast of characters and glimpses of development in others - leaving me feeling thirsty for more about others (I want to read a book about the Lady). As for atmosphere, again it was certainly there. But I felt like atmosphere weaved in and out of the story: sometimes I had no doubt I was in small-town Alabama in the 60's and other times I felt like I could be reading a book about Anywhere, USA during anytime.
Would I have read the entire book had there not been promise of Stranger Things-esque vibes? No. And I can certainly see why this book made those lists: tween(s) trying to solve a missing person's/murder case, sci-fi/fantasy/magical realism vibes, sleepy town where nothing exciting happens, foreign government invaders.
But it's mostly just a story about a kid, growing up, with a side of murder mystery. I'm disappointed.
Strange but very good; a coming-of-age tale in 1960s Alabama with a fantasy element and a murder.
Robert McCammon rivals Stephen King in writing the coming of age story. This was a slow burn, at times it was like it stopped all together. But, there's something about McCammon's writing that pulls you along.
Absolutely fabulous! It's a coming of age tale set in 1964 in Alabama told from the point of view of 11 year old Cory Mackenson. Cory is a budding writer - and knows how to spin a story - and as he's 11, there's still a fair bit of magic in the world. The story is a series of vignettes that are strung together with a mystery that Cory and his father need to get to the bottom of. The vignettes expand on all the unique characters in this little Alabama town - from the milk man, gas station owner, piano teacher, the local vet, the local witch, the girls at the house of ill repute, a former gunslinger, and the eccentric son of the wealthy owner of most of the town (who has issues with his wardrobe) - and thus build this world well. If you liked the style of "To Kill a Mockingbird" you will enjoy this one as well. I listened to this one from Audible - and it's very well done. I will surely pick it up and re-read (or re-listen to) it again in the future.
This was just magical! I've never had a book transport me back to childhood so successfully! The narrator is very unreliable as we don't know if he is telling the truth or his imagination is embellishing the truth. Plus there is a murder mystery unfolding throughout these wild tales, and it is all just done so well! I can't say much without spoiling it, but I loved it from start to finish!
I read this book off a recommendation from a coworker; it's definitely not something I would've picked up on my own. That being said, it was the first book in awhile that I literally haven't been able to put down. It manages to be dramatic and funny and sad and suspenseful all at the same time. It was just GOOD.