awake_at_midnight 's review for:

Dark Harvest by Norman Partridge

4.0

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I like that Partridge chose not to explore the whys and how of "The Run". Every year Pumpkin Jack has to make it from the town line to the church at the center of town... but all the boys over 16 have been starved for a week and let loose with knives and clubs to take him out. It's revealed early on that the October Boy holds the life of the last boy to win. So what's the secret to end the madness once and for all? It took a while to adjust to the inconsistent writing style, but once you get pulled into the narrative, you find yourself rooting for the October Boy, not the hateful townies. It's a quick 150 pages with large print, so you can read this one again every year.