I was talking to my mom the other day about all the books I read as a kid. She claims she still has hundreds of mine in storage somewhere, mostly R.L. Stine books, which in a way defined my childhood more than anything else. I remember the glee of having a brand new Fear Street to pour over. There was also this book about a kid who turned everything he touched into chocolate that I wore out. Of course there was Narnia. All of these things written for children.
It’s no secret to those near and dear to me that I am head over heels in love with horror, though. I think my first full sentence was probably, “Momma, more zombies please.” As a child of the late 80’s and early 90’s, my formative years were full of He-Man, She-Ra, and Pet Semetary with good heaping side of Pennywise the Clown. I don’t know where this fascination with horror came from. As it turns out I’m bloody well terrified of my own shadow. There’s just something about it. I remember watching It on TV, I remember going to the theater to see Nightmare on Elm Street. I remember pilfering through my grandparent’s very impressive collection of Stephen King books to read what I wasn’t supposed to read when I was about 11 years old.
The point being, and I do have one, is that I’ve been a Stephen King fan longer than my 22-year-old sister has been alive.
A couple of months ago he released the crime novel Joyland. I may not quite live in Brokesville, but I’m definitely next door. Suffice it to say I don’t usually grab novels off the shelf when they’re brand spanking new because they tend to come with a price tag that leaves me squeamish. So you can guess my elation when I was browsing around the library a few days ago, not really on the hunt for anything in particular, when I saw Joyland hanging out on a shelf just waiting for me to come by and see it.
Being a new release, the library loan is only two weeks, down from the standard four. That was just fine with me, once I started reading I wasn’t about to try to take my time! At under 300 pages, it wasn’t a particularly long read at any rate. At its heart, it’s a coming of age tale about a young man working the summer at the Joyland amusement park, pining after his first love. Interwoven into that is a ghost story and a murder mystery….and a little carny lingo for some extra flavor! The book has a “whodunit” theme running throughout, and I spent the second half of the story certain I knew who it was – boy was I wrong!
I give Joyland two lime green thumbs way up! It has equal parts ghost story, crime, mystery, and fun. A definite read for fans and non-fans of Stephen King alike.
Has anyone already read Joyland? What are your thoughts? Does anyone have any favorite crime novels to recommend?
