Rating: Summary: Amazing! Review: Every time I'm in a conversation about books, I recommend this one. "Boys Life" is the only book that I've purchased more than once ..... I lend it out but I never get it back. Maybe I shouldn't lend it but it's more fun to introduce this book and author to the un-initiated.
Rating: Summary: nostalgic and entertaining Review: This was my first McCammon book, and I thoroughly enjoyed it about 7 yrs. ago. I then purchased it for my dad, who could really relate to being a boy during that time period. Now I am purchasing it for my brother, who could really use an 'escape' right about now!! I may even read this one again someday!! Enjoy!
Rating: Summary: You'll only like it if you were ever 12 (or will be, or...) Review: You'll like this book if you were ever 12 years old... or will be... or want to be again. Robert McCammon is from Birmingham, AL, my hometown. Apparently, he was spying on me as I grew up! Boy's Life opens with a poem, and closes with some acknowledgements. Just reading these two pages makes me smile and laugh, and even cry. The story in between does the same, every time I read it; I read it at least once a year. I think it helps me stay young... If this book doesn't move you, I feel sorry for you; you obviously missed out on the magic parts of growing up.
Rating: Summary: Awe-inspiring Review: 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.
Rating: Summary: Stays with you for years after you've read it Review: Robert McCammon's books are truly inspiring. Boy's Life is one of the best books I have ever read. It's one of those books that makes you stay up past 2 a.m.just to see what happens. Even after you turn out the light (unwillingly), you dream about the story. It should be required reading for everyone at some point in their life.
Rating: Summary: A great story with the finest introduction ever written. Review: Having read several Robert McCammon horror novels, I thought I'd try Boy's Life. Simply put, it is the finest novel I've ever read. The introduction, in which he speaks of the magic the world holds for us when we're young, but lose our grasp on as we succumb to society's conventions, is worth the price of the book alone. But the book offers far more than the first few pages. It's hard to imagine a better novel. I haven't found one.
Rating: Summary: this book will entertain, thrill, and surprise you Review: All the characters in this book seem very real.This book is unpredictable, and the surprises are great.This story is well worth the time, even though you'll probably finish it within three days.
Rating: Summary: this is a tale of wonder,innocence,magic and enchantment Review: When I first read this novel, I cried. It was real and touched my soul the way to kill a mockingbird did. sometimes after the first few pages of a novel, you know if you're going to love it or hate it. For me, I knew as I read the words it was something simple, yet it has been w/ me through the yrs. i read it every summer, and i think of carnivals,lightning bugs and magic. Even though there was a murder in this novel, you can't help but see so many heroes in one book w/ enough stories to fill a whole shelf. When u finish reading it, you want it to go on and never end. You want to believe that these characters are real, and you wish you could have friends like davy ray callan,ben sears and my favorite johnny wilson. everyone should read this book, it leave you wishing for more and more
Rating: Summary: This is best book I have ever read. Review: This is my all-time favorite book. No book has ever captivated me like this one. It is a murder mystery, an adventure, a fantasy. It is heartwarming and everyone should read it. I have never felt like I was the reader, and everingthing that happened to cory I felt like it happened to me. This book deals with many issues of a boy growing up and a changing society in the sixties.I would suggest this book to all ages and a must read.
Rating: Summary: A Wonderful trip back into our past Review: No matter what you are looking for when you select a book, whether it be suspense, mystery, or maybe a trip into the past childhood dreams that have slipped away, this book will touch that place in your heart and mind. This is a story that you will read, reread, and then buy a copy for that very good friend with whom you share your heart. All of us need to escape from time to time, and this book is the perfect medium with which to accomplish this
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