Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon

Hands and feet down one of the greatest novels ever written! Sure it was first published in 1992, and the character in the book was born six years before my mother, but that doesn't matter. It's a story about growing up. Being a boy, whether it be in the 60's or today, means living hard, fast, and learning from your mistakes. It's a book about friends, family, bonds, and heartbreak. It's about the South in a time when the color of your skin meant more than the content of your soul. Yes, I agree, it may not be the perfect read for a woman, don't get me wrong a woman has every right to read it, but it speaks to the boy inside every man. A time when you still believed in the magic of every day life. Every movie you saw became a reality when you tucked yourself into bed and shut off the lights. When making friends came as easy as breathing, and losing them was the toughest burden to bear. It's a story about a boy and his dreams, both big and small. About a family on the verge of losing everything. A story about the true meaning of friends and enemies. About a time when boys could fly, when the power of thought could change the definition of life and death, and the strongest shoulders to lean on may come in the unlikliest of forms. I am urging every man born from 1940 to 1995 to head to your local bookstore, pick up a copy of Boy's Life by Robert R. McCammon and do yourself a favor by losing yourself in the childhood you left behind. You will not regret it. You may be asking, what does this book have to do with horror? A good question. This is the 3rd novel I have read by McCammon, and the first that wasn't outright "horror". Yet, the mood, the setting, the characters, and their deeds, make for some very real chills. To me, McCammon is the master at capturing human emotion and dialogue. Every word uttered, every emotion felt by his characters will have you whisked away to a point in your life where you felt that same feeling. I've read all the classics, I have most of them on my bookshelves in my office, yet this book has firmly claimed its spot in my top three novels ever written. Pick it up, find a comfortable chair, turn on your reading light, and dive deep into your past. Enjoy.