A review by startjpw23
Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious sad tense fast-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? A mix
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? It's complicated
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book is set in a small Alabama town. It starts in 1964. The main character is Cory Mackenson. He is 11 going on 12 at the time the story starts. He is telling the story when he is an adult and is looking back on the time. He is a single child of two doting parents. He is part of a close-knit group of friends with 3 other boys. His father is a milkman. Early in the book, Cory goes with his father on his delivery route. A car goes speeding across the road in front of them and goes into a deep pond. Cory's father jumps into the pond to try to save the driver. He sees that the driver is already dead and badly beaten. The car sinks into the pond. The story goes from there. The book is part coming of age story, part friendship story, part changing times story, part thriller, and part mystery. Although there are some supernatural elements, it isn't really a supernatural horror story. The horror is more of what humans do to other humans. There is considerable racism, some of it pretty virulent. The N word is used a lot. There is spousal abuse, relationship abuse, and animal abuse. There is animal death. There is bad bullying. There is the aftermath of torture. It was a time when women deferred to their husbands in their marriages. I did feel that the number of things that Cory had to deal with in a period or around a year were a little too much. I recommend this book to someone who is looking for a good coming of age story set in the 1960's with, mostly, appealing characters. And a story with horror, mystery, and thriller elements. If the issues I mentioned are concerning to you, you may not want to read the book. The book is around 600 pages, but I had no problem reading it fairly quickly.
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