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Boy's Life [Mass Market Paperback]

Robert McCammon (Author)
4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (336 customer reviews) |
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Book Description

Publication Date: May 1, 1992
Zephyr, Alabama, is an idyllic hometown for eleven-year-old Cory Mackenson -- a place where monsters swim the river deep and friends are forever. Then, one cold spring morning, Cory and his father witness a car plunge into a lake -- and a desperate rescue attempt brings his father face-to-face with a terrible vision of death that will haunt him forever.

As Cory struggles to understand his father's pain, his eyes are slowly opened to the forces of good and evil that are manifested in Zephyr. From an ancient, mystical woman who can hear the dead and bewitch the living, to a violent clan of moonshiners, Cory must confront the secrets that hide in the shadows of his hometown -- for his father's sanity and his own life hang in the

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Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Both a mystery that will satisfy the most finicky aficionado and a boisterous travelogue through a stormy season in a 12-year-old's life, this novel follows a boy and his father as they seek a killer in 1964 Alabama.
Copyright 1992 Reed Business Information, Inc.

From Library Journal

In 1964, 12-year-old Cory Mackenson lives with his parents in Zephyr, Alabama. It is a sleepy, comfortable town. Cory is helping with his father's milk route one morning when a car plunges into the lake before their eyes. His father dives in after the car and finds a dead man handcuffed to the steering wheel. Their world no longer seems so innocent: a vicious killer hides among apparently friendly neighbors. Other, equally unsettling transmogrifications occur: a friend's father becomes a shambling bully under the influence of moonshine, decent men metamorphose into Klan bigots, "responsible" adults flee when faced with danger for the first time. With the aid of unexpected allies, Cory faces hair-raising dangers as he seeks to find the secret of the dead man in the lake. McCammon writes an exciting adventure story. He also gives us an affecting tale of a young man growing out of childhood in a troubled place and time. Recommended. Previewed in Prepub Alert, LJ 4/15/91; Literary Guild dual main selection.
- David Keymer, SUNY Inst. of Technology, Utica
Copyright 1991 Reed Business Information, Inc. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.
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Product Details

  • Mass Market Paperback: 608 pages
  • Publisher: Pocket Books; 1st Pocket Books Ppbk Printing, May 1992 edition (May 1, 1992)
  • Language: English
  • ISBN-10: 0671743058
  • ISBN-13: 978-0671743055
  • Product Dimensions: 6.7 x 4.2 x 1.3 inches
  • Shipping Weight: 9.6 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
  • Average Customer Review: 4.8 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (336 customer reviews)
  • Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #34,450 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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More About the Author

› Visit Amazon's Robert R. McCammon Page
Robert R. McCammon
Robert McCammon is the New York Times bestselling author of nineteen novels, including the award-winning BOY'S LIFE and SPEAKS THE NIGHTBIRD. There are more than four million copies of his books in print. His latest novel, THE PROVIDENCE RIDER, is the fourth book in the Matthew Corbett series. It is available now from Subterranean Press in both trade hardcover and Kindle formats.

Visit his websites: www.robertmccammon.com and www.matthewcorbettsworld.com

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews
153 of 155 people found the following review helpful
Awe-inspiring May 2, 1998
By A Customer
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Sometimes I get to thinking that my mental list of the "Top 5 Books I've Ever Read" is going to remain cast in stone until the day I draw my terminal breath. Then, out of the blue, an accidental discovery like "A Boy's Life" will come along and prove that, while I may consider myself well-read, there's still way too much opportunity for bona fide treasures to remain hidden.

I try not to use too may superlatives when writing a review - they tend to distract the reader and perhaps even cause them to question your objectivity. But this time I just can't bring myself to care, such is my admiration of the book I read just a few short weeks ago. Put simply, this work is a masterpiece, and it's only when you encounter something as rich as this that you realise how often that word is applied to inferior goods.

One line plot summary - "'A Boy's Life' details the adventures of a twelve year old boy growing up in a small town, being essentially a series of vignettes backed by a tale of an unsolved murder." None of which, of course, would tempt you to read the thing were I not to say this:

McCammon has always been a competent writer, but neither before nor since has he approached the heights he attains here. God knows other writers have come close to capturing the simple magic of boyhood (King's "The Body" makes a fine case study), but McCammon leaves them all in his wake. There really is magic in this book, I swear it - the pleasures and pitfalls of early friendships, the thrill of summer break, the bicycle as a near-mythical icon, the joys of childish things and the call of the future - it's like putting on a pair of magic lenses and seeing things as we saw them before the cares of the world came to spirit us away.

I could go on at length, writing about the richly drawn characters, the way McCammon steers a course between humour and tragedy with an unwavering hand, the astonishing writing-style, the way large issues are melded to small events ... but I won't. I will, however, say this:

This book is a wondrous thing, a gift to be cherished, and I cannot believe that anyone who was ever young will ever quite shake away the faerie dust which settles during its reading. It's that powerful.

Or, to paraphrase Jon Landau - at a time in my life when I desperately needed to feel young again, "A Boy's Life" took me back, if only for the briefest of times. And that, friends, is something money can't buy.

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60 of 61 people found the following review helpful
Format:Mass Market Paperback
I have taught Boy's Life to eighth graders for seven years now. It is their summer reading book, partly because of its length, partly because of its advenure, and partly because its themes tie together the other books we read the rest of the year. For the 200 students or so who have read it, Boy's Life has been the best book they ever read. It becomes important to students because they can relate to the characters and what they encounter. As one student said, "The book teaches us lessons about life." By covering such themes as racism, alcoholism, bullies, friendship, death, writing, courage, and doing the right thing, each class has been able to talk openly about these issues and how they relate to them. I was visited by two former students a short time ago. As they chatted with me, one of them spotted my copy of Boy's Life on my bookshelf. She went over to it, took it down, and said, "Do you know how many times I've read this now? About four or five." Without missing a beat the other girl said, "Mine is kept together with duct tape." It is rare to find a book that kids cherish and return to again and again. Many times it has been the book that has influenced non-readers to want to read. It is a teacher's dream.
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49 of 53 people found the following review helpful
I love this book! July 12, 2004
Format:Mass Market Paperback
Once in a while you find a rare book which stays in your mind long after your finished it. Boy's Life is just that. The story is simply beautiful and still captures my heart and imagination after reading it the second time, 10 years later. McCammon is famous for his horrors. But in Boy's Life, Mc Cammon has written a brilliant story filled with sensitivity, humanity and emotional depth. It is about a 11 year old boy coming of age. Narrated in the endearing young boy's, Cory's, voice, Boy's Life captures what is meant to be a child once, when the world is still magical and filled with wonders, when a bicycle is a boy's steed, friendship is permanent, a dog is one's best friend and even "flying" is possible. And Boy's Life has its moments of poignancy when Cory has to deal with his best friends' death, evil when and where he least expects and bigotry in his young world. Boy's Life just tugs at my heart as it glows with warmth and comfort when parental love overcome the fears of growing up and always there to rely on in a child's life. Boy's Life is truly a treasure and I promise myself to read this gem again in another 5-10 years time.
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Most Recent Customer Reviews
A Desert Island Book
Many of the reviewers here are McCammon fans in general; I am not. But the man can certainly write, and he hit the ball out of the literary park with Boy's Life, which will always... Read more
Published 2 days ago by Susan Pelter
Wonderful
Wonderful and fantastic in the best and truest sense of those words. A triceratops running loose smashing moving cars on the highway. An old voodoo lady and the fall carnival. Read more
Published 5 days ago by Hae-Yu
A book you can not put down!
This is the first book I ever read by Robert McCammon. I went in having no idea what to expect and was totally blown away. Read more
Published 19 days ago by TW Brown, Author, Editor, and Reviewer
Simply Brilliant....worth every single star
Sometimes when i start reading a book with very high expectations, it alters my feelings towards the book.... Read more
Published 1 month ago by AN AVID READER
Man can he write
I am blown away by this book. I can't really add much to what has already been said, other than BUY THIS AND READ IT. Read more
Published 1 month ago by wordsmith
An excellent book! Everyone should read at least once
If there's only one book by Robert McCammon that people have read, it's more than likely Boy's Life. Read more
Published 1 month ago by manly-but-bookish
As Good As Mark Twain's Tom Sawyer!
This book was so good, that I couldn't put it down. The story takes place in the early 1960's, in a small southern town. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Radio Nut
Superb and Timeless
This is easily one of the best novels I have ever read. It strikes strong chords of nostalgia, and is just as good today as when I first read it around 1993. A very powerful read.
Published 1 month ago by Kelly Joseph
This book made me cry several times.
and I don't cry all that easily. I'm 58 years old. I grew up as a white boy in the South as desegregation happened. So this kid grew up in my world, albeit in a much smaller town. Read more
Published 1 month ago by Classical Lawyer
I have lost count on how many times I have read this book
I have probably owned ten copies of this book throughout the years, I read it, I loan it to someone I never get it back I buy it and read it again. I will continue to do so. Read more
Published 3 months ago by Hunnibunn87
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First Sentence:
"Cory? WAKE UP, SON. Read the first page
Key Phrases - Statistically Improbable Phrases (SIPs): (learn more)
gargoyle bridge, five thunders, ice cream salt, ammo bag, four black girls, red rock cliff, sinking car, black bikes, civil rights museum, green feather
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Davy Ray, Mayor Swope, Saxon's Lake, Sheriff Amory, Miss Blue Glass, Miss Grace, Old Moses, Moon Man, Reverend Blessett, Union Town, Merchants Street, Midnight Mona, Grandmomma Sarah, Biggun Blaylock, Reverend Lovoy, Cory Mackenson, Route Ten, Sheriff Marchette, Donny Blaylock, Nemo Curliss, Dick Moultry, Vernon Thaxter, Johnny Wilson, Chief Marchette, Green Meadows
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