Rating: 
Summary: Looking for a great book? Try Boy's Life
Review: Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon is one of my all time favorite books. I had to read it over the summer of my freshman year and I was dreading it because it was such a big book. After reaching the last page, I wish there had been more! This book is about an eleven year old boy named Cory Mackenson. He is an adventourus and caring boy. Cory lives with his family in Zephyr, Alabama. It starts with Cory's father witnessing a murder and then going into depression and a type of hysteria. He can never get the image of the murder out of his head and it drives him crazy. Throughout this book you will go along with Cory as he discovers clues about the murder and learns about good verses evil. As you read you will meet some very interesting characters. Robert McCammon does a wonderful job of describing events and people so that you feel like you are familiar with them. I would definitely highly recommend this book
Rating:
Summary: Visit regularly
Review: If you don't enjoy this book, there is a good chance you may have forgotten what it means to be a child - experiencing the wonders and mysteries of the world around you, completely open and receptive to any and all stimuli. Boy's Life is a step toward fantasy (and away from Horror) for McCammon. Those of us who "discovered" McCammon as a horror writer shouldn't be surprised at the slight change in direction, considering all the fantasy elements in Swan Song (which I also highly recomend), but Boy's Life is a tour de force. Cory Mackenson is a character everyone can relate to in some way, and his story covers the entire range of emotions. You'll laugh hysterically in church, cry on the baseball diamond, swell with pride in an empty street, cringe in terror in a flooded house, and everything in between. I have read this book 3 times, and each time I have been loathe to put it down, uplifted when the end comes but, like a child, sad that the ride is over. Read this book and feel young again!
Rating:
Summary: Darn...I loved it anyway.
Review: When I first started reading this book I thought,"Oh no.." I really expected alot of McCammon's usual stuff. But as I keep reading I was drawn in by his smooth as silk style of writting and the way the characters seemed to come to life. I was born in 1961 so I could relate to the time period. But regardless of your age or gender I truly think you will be touched on many levels by this story. Mystery, imagination, suspense, and the bonds of family and friendship in a boy's life make this truly a great read.
Rating:
Summary: This one's a winner!!
Review: Since I am around the age of Cory Mackenson (i'm 14), I have shared the same feelings and liked doing the same activities as he has. I can relate to this book because McCammon captures the essence of a boy's life. I just finished reading this book for an advanced English class for my freshman year at my high school, and I have to say it was one of the most interesting and captivating books I have ever read. McCammon's usage of figurative language and his style of writing is bewildering. In the chapter where Cory hops aboard a frieght train, and meets up with train-hoppers who tour him around a corrupt, backstreet town, is so excrutiatingly in depth and full of detail i could imagine myself as Cory, seeing all of this. This book is a way of telling people to get help if they really need it and to not let unsolved issues hang in the balance. I feel the novel portrays this message very cleary. I have yet to read McCammon's other famous novels.
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Summary: One of my favorite reads ever~
Review: Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon, was a true surprise. As a recommendation from my brother, the cover didn't really look like a book I would normally read. What a gift to discover, that between the cover was a magical, entertaining and touching story.Boy's Life is told from the perspective of 11 year old Cory. Riding with his father, one early, dark morning, on his dad's milk route, Cory and his father find themselves witnesses to a horrible accident. For Cory's father, this turn of events, leaves a scar, that shakes his world and disrupts his life. Through this incident, a mystery of sorts begins in the novel. In the midst of this, we also get a day to day look into Cory's life, dealing with the town bullies, and the antics of what a typical little boy's life is like growing up. Set in southern Alabama, Boy's Life is like a cross between To Kill a Mockingbird and the movie Stand by Me. What you get is a cast of wonderful, colorful characters, a little southern fiction, a little mystery, some racial tensions, and an endearing coming of age story. Boy's Life has found a place on my list of all time favorites.
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Summary: A Boy's Life Is One Of Many Tales and Trials
Review: Robert McCammon's Boy's Life is one that should reach anyone and everyone. Whether through the many adventures that Cory, the boy, is taken or just through McCammon's artful story-telling everyone should be reached. Cory, a young kid growing up like you did or are doing, is just enjoying life until one day when his father witnesses a brutal murder. Now, Cory is still enjoying life but the whole rest of the book is wrapped with the murderous thought lurking in the background. Now do not be depressed either because the book is one of life, in general, its joys and its sorrows. On another note I thought the beginning was a bit slow; however, once you get into the book and "know" Cory you should find it a very entertaining tale, all about that magical time called childhood.
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Summary: Excellent Nostalgic Tale & Mystery
Review: McCammon's Boy's Life is an excellent tale of nostalgia for the simple life of a boy growing up in small town USA combined with a mystery that protagonist 12-year-old Cory Mackenson must solve to save both his father's sanity and his own life. Murder in a small town means that someone unsuspected must be the killer: a neighbor, friend, or even public figure. The brutal killing of a stranger coupled with a historical setting during the Civil Rights Movement and Vietnam both serve to contrast the innocence through which Cory sees the world. Though some elements of the plot may seem somewhat outlandish--such as the hunting-down of a former Nazi prison camp figure--what really makes the book shine is its portrayal of small-town life through the eyes of a 12-year-old boy. Masterfully done with touches of imagination and magic and wonder, the story makes for an excellent read.
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Summary: Bikes, Baseball, Boogers, & Betrayal
Review: If you grew up in a small southern town in the 60s and love a good mystery, "Boy's Life" by Robert McCammon is a must read! It will awaken the "magic" and you'll recapture the "kid" in yourself. Relive Saturday afternoon matinees with friends; the death of a family pet; run-ins with the local bully; the tradition of local ghosts, legends, and monsters; surviving the attentions of a wicked teacher; first crush on the opposite sex; and the thrill of a new bike.
The story is set in Zephyr, Alabama and historical events such as the civil rights movement and Vietnam have a dramatic impact upon characters' lives because of this geographical setting. Robert McCammon uses his storytelling talent to vividly paint a picture of small-town life with summer church revivals, amateur parades, and the civil solidarity created by a natural disaster.
This is a coming-of-age story about a boy named Cory, who becomes embroiled in the brutal murder of an unidentified man. It soon becomes apparent that the murderer must be one of the sleepy town's citizenry - someone they think they know - friend and neighbor. As the plot twists and turns to test your sleuthing abilities, you'll also laugh and cry at the poignancy of the universally-shared childhood events experienced by Cory.
Review by Kathy Hill
Rating:
Summary: Just Plain Great
Review: I was born in 1969 and grew up in Brooklyn, so Cory's little town and historical events were not part of my world, but his childhood adventures and fears sure were. So it doesn't matter really when you were born, if you ever believed that your bicycle was freedom or that you and your friends could fly, then this book is for you. Being a big horror fan I was not too sure about this book and the boy who was it's hero, all it took was getting to know Cory, his parents and his town to understand that it was much more about life than horror, and that was fine. Oh, don't be mistaken there are monsters here, the green dead type as well as the kind that lives next door, says "good morning" and goes to church with you. All those live and breath in Cory's town, you won't always know who to be more scared of but you will love every minute of it. The only sad thing is that it had to end.
Rating:
Summary: Darn...I loved it anyway.
Review: When I first started reading this book I thought,"Oh no.." I really expected alot of McCammon's usual stuff. But as I keep reading I was drawn in by his smooth as silk style of writting and the way the characters seemed to come to life. I was born in 1961 so I could relate to the time period. But regardless of your age or gender I truly think you will be touched on many levels by this story. Mystery, imagination, suspense, and the bonds of family and friendship in a boy's life make this truly a great read.
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