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4.32 AVERAGE
4.32 AVERAGE
Re-read now that I am back in Alabama, this is one of my favorites--McCammon is kind of a campy horror author, but he combines 1965 memoir with the slightly clumsy view of a child to deliver a work of southern gothic magical realism. There are outrageously fantasy elements (a dinosaur? ghost cars?) as well as genuine tragedies (a friend's abusive parent, the presence of the Klan, small town corruption). I will never be able to get through the demonstration with the Beach Boys and satanic monkey in church without laughing out loud--"go on, Satan, show them what's in you!"
I absolutely loved this book. The feel of it, the characters, the plot, everything! It was fantastical and magical without any witch's or dragons and is one of my favorite books. I highly recommend this book to everyone.
3.5 stars
It took me some time to get into the book and only after 250 page i was like «ok, now i’m interested». But it was interesting to read a story of a boy from small town in Alabama. To read how people behaved, what they did.
It took me some time to get into the book and only after 250 page i was like «ok, now i’m interested». But it was interesting to read a story of a boy from small town in Alabama. To read how people behaved, what they did.
adventurous
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
tense
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Quite simply put - this is the best book I've read in decades. If this doesn't move you you might be dead. The best elements of growing up are captured here better than It or Stranger Things or Stand By Me with McCammon's own flavor of magical realism that keeps you wanting more even after nearly 600 pages.
In the small southern town of Zephyr, Alabama, lives the Mackenson family. Eleven year old Cory Mackenson joins his father one morning for this milk delivery route. Cory and his father witness a car plunge into the local lake. Cory’s father attempts to rescue the driver but fails. He is haunted with visions of death and mystery afterwards - Who was in the car? Was it murder? If so, who did this? After this tragic event, Cory attempts to solve the mystery to help his dad. A true coming-of-age story that I did not want to end.
“Maybe crazy is what they call anybody who's got magic in them after they're no longer a child.”
I really enjoyed this book. It has EVERYTHING you would want in a standalone novel: adventure, friendship, murder, mystery, paranormal, sci-fi, love, bravery, and of course, magic. A central theme to the book.
“See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.”
There were many parts in the book where I really resonated with the characters. As one who still believes in magic, Boy’s Life took me back to my childhood and made me feel like a kid again. I was growing right along with Cory. McCammon captures the innocence and hardships of childhood perfectly.
This is my first McCammon novel and I can’t wait to read more of his work!
5/5
“Maybe crazy is what they call anybody who's got magic in them after they're no longer a child.”
I really enjoyed this book. It has EVERYTHING you would want in a standalone novel: adventure, friendship, murder, mystery, paranormal, sci-fi, love, bravery, and of course, magic. A central theme to the book.
“See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand.”
There were many parts in the book where I really resonated with the characters. As one who still believes in magic, Boy’s Life took me back to my childhood and made me feel like a kid again. I was growing right along with Cory. McCammon captures the innocence and hardships of childhood perfectly.
This is my first McCammon novel and I can’t wait to read more of his work!
5/5
For the first couple hundred pages I was riveted but then something happened, more plot-lines occurred and the story started switching from one to the next to the next, and it seemed as if everything in this town centered on the narrator, who was a regular 12 year old. In some ways I think the various mini stories were interesting but in other ways, infuriating. I don't understand what the actual story of this book is and don't like how the stuff about the body in the lake got pushed back for other plots, or just how the book dragged at around page 300. It is way too long, much too long to keep my interest. Even the tone of the book and the mixture of the magical, grotesque and mundane started to grate me after a while, and these were the things that drew me into this book in the first place. I can't say it wasn't a good book, but it took so long for things to come to a head that the things I started out liking ended up annoying me. Though I did like the book overall, this just prevented me from loving it.