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anistasiabelle 's review for:
Boy's Life
by Robert R. McCammon
I enjoyed this, my first McCammon, which I picked up after it was recommended highly, and I saw that T.J. Klune had loved it so much. I would read more from him; almost like a Stephen King-lite with its good character building, mixed with a little horror and fantasy. A little like Gaiman too.
I like how unexpected it is - this lovely tale of youth: friendship, baseball, school, parents, your best bike. So genuine and wonderful. I loved the magic of the town, and the authenticity of 1960’s era South. Black and white relations were handled well, especially for a book written in the 1990’s.
When I read the synopsis, I got the impression of a taut thriller, but while there were definitely a few moments of tension, that’s definitely not the forefront of this novel. That’s ok, but that’s why it was so unexpected. It even had a Where the Red Fern Grows vibe for me (mixed with a bit of fantasy, of course).
Minor complaint: main characters were fleshed out well, but there were so many minor ones (the whole town?!) that I had trouble remembering who everyone was. Wish I’d taken notes throughout, when new people were being introduced, so I had a better grasp of the mystery’s conclusion. It didn’t matter that much, as the conclusion is well-explained, but I felt like I would have enjoyed it more.
Minor spoiler, but also trigger warning (scroll down if you don’t mind the spoiler):
there are 3 violent dog deaths and some animal abuse (1 other animal, and a dog). I was reading in-hand so I could skim these, but listening on audiobook will make a challenge to skip.
I like how unexpected it is - this lovely tale of youth: friendship, baseball, school, parents, your best bike. So genuine and wonderful. I loved the magic of the town, and the authenticity of 1960’s era South. Black and white relations were handled well, especially for a book written in the 1990’s.
When I read the synopsis, I got the impression of a taut thriller, but while there were definitely a few moments of tension, that’s definitely not the forefront of this novel. That’s ok, but that’s why it was so unexpected. It even had a Where the Red Fern Grows vibe for me (mixed with a bit of fantasy, of course).
Minor complaint: main characters were fleshed out well, but there were so many minor ones (the whole town?!) that I had trouble remembering who everyone was. Wish I’d taken notes throughout, when new people were being introduced, so I had a better grasp of the mystery’s conclusion. It didn’t matter that much, as the conclusion is well-explained, but I felt like I would have enjoyed it more.
Minor spoiler, but also trigger warning (scroll down if you don’t mind the spoiler):
there are 3 violent dog deaths and some animal abuse (1 other animal, and a dog). I was reading in-hand so I could skim these, but listening on audiobook will make a challenge to skip.