Abandoned by Booklikes

So what is there really to say really about a book I loved from beginning to end A book that made me cry a few times while reading and definitely sigh when I came to the end.

There is a central mystery to Boy's Life that the main character Cory is trying to figure out, but really the main plot really is the magic that Cory tries to hold onto while he is on the cusp of leaving his boyhood behind.

Cory Mackenson lives in Zephry, Alabama in the 1960s. While taking a ride with his father in his milk truck one day, they come across a car going into a nearby lake. What they find there changes Cory's father and him. Cory's father grows depressed, distant, and feels as if the world he thought he knew is just a lie. Cory instead starts to do some digging, because he swears he saw a man standing there watching him and his father.

The entire story is told in the first person by Cory. There is not much to say besides the fact that I thought that Cory was wonderful as a character. Robert R. McCammon perfectly captures an 11 year old boy who loves his family, friends, and his loyal dog. Watching as Cory starts to understand the power of words, telling stories, and ultimately writing down his stories was great.

The secondary characters in this story shine too. Cory's father and mother are good people trying to do the best that they can. What hurts though is that Cory starts to see that his family is flawed. You remember that feeling when you were a kid when you realized that your parents were not these omnipotent beings? Well Cory starts to have those feelings too. What you love about it, is that through dreams (visions) Cory is fighting really hard to make sure that he keeps the magic that he knows to be true inside of him even with everything that is going on.

The other characters, Cory's best friends are great. I cheered on Johnny, cried over Davy Ray, and cracked up over Ben's doubting Thomas act. I felt like I was right there with them while they flew, biked, camped, and fought.

There are also other characters that I absolutely wish we could have spent more time on such as the so called Lady and her community that lived in Bruton. One of my favorite scenes with her involved her and Cory and Cory actually going backwards to see how the Lady looked and realizing how powerful she really was.

The writing was wonderful. There were several times while reading that I cried. This book really takes a hard look at death and you get to see Cory react differently to it each time he is faced with it. Besides the central mystery that Cory is trying to solve.

We also have the book looking at racism in the 1960s. There was some ugliness with some of the characters and for those who don't like to read the "N" word, that is in there as well. I do applaud McCammon though for including it and not trying to pretty it up. One of the reasons why I did get annoyed by books such as "The Help".

The flow was great. Though some readers may get annoyed that the central mystery takes so long to unravel, I did not. Frankly I don't like it when a book somehow has the main character figuring out who done it 2 days later. And it was realistic with everything else going no with Cory, that the mystery would not be uppermost in his mind.

The setting of Zephyr, Alabama was magical. Everything about the town and the people. The way that the author describes it you think you could find it and explore it yourself and point out landmarks here and there.

The ending made me happy and also sad. You get to read about what became of Cory, his family, and his friends. And you also get to read about what became of the town of Zephyr.

I cannot recommend this book enough.