Boy's Life - Robert McCammon

⭐ 8.5/10

(Originally written by Joseph)

Jess recommended this book to me and said it was one of her favorite novels that she was made to read in high school English class. High school level novels are always my favorite. They offer a little depth, and make you feel smart when you understand the depth. I was just itching to write 5-6 pages on how progress for this quaint 1960s rural Alabama town hindered the idyllic setting in which the magic in this book was made possible.

Anyways, this book is a long, meandering year-in-the-life look into a young southern boy's experience in his small town, as well as a bit of a tacked on murder mystery. I usually don't enjoy episodic stories that are light on plot, but reading this book all summer almost felt like comfort food by the end. The author is really descriptive, almost to the point of over-writing, but I enjoyed the old yokel-y metaphors, similar to how Klay describes everything in Xiaolin Showdown. It's endearing, especially from the perspective of a kid, and reminded me of To Kill a Mockingbird. By the end, I was sad to say goodbye to all these characters I had gotten to know over the summer.

So yeah, it was a perfect summer read for me. It had just enough plot and intrigue to keep me picking it back up every weekend, and enough sentiment to remind me of my own boyhood. The murder mystery seemed just a tad forced, but the book seemed pretty self-aware in this regard and a character even comments on the nature of books that sell well which made me feel a little ashamed. Maybe I'll whip up a quick 1200 words on why he's wrong.