I was born in 1989 in a little town called Guapirama, State of Paraná, Brazil. Back then, the city had maybe 2,500 people; today, I believe it would be around 3,000. But what I want to say is this book is really magical; it truly transports you to the past. Today, I'm living in Barcelona, Spain, and every once in a while, I return to this book. The last time, I could finally read it in English because until then, I could only read in Spanish or Portuguese. It was like rediscovering the magic again.

Wow!… great review!… and I agree with you 100%… I had about this book for a long time.., I finally got and out it in my book shelf… it sat there for awhile, until I tried to tackle it… honestly, I tried it like 2 or 3 times… got about 10-15 pages into it.. then put it aside.. I honestly can’t explain why… it just click for me… then after awhile I was determined to read it… I picked up again after 2 years… when I got around page 50, I was hooked.. it blew my mind… it was at the same time, beautiful, heartwarming, heartbreaking and left me in awe… I would take periodic breaks just to contemplate and absorb just what I had read… it was sublime man… absolutely stunning piece of writing.. it’s like the author tapped into some primordial sense of what it’s like to be a boy at that age.. it was so honest and heartbreaking that I can’t do justice in trying to explain my feelings about it… just an absolute achievement of writing.. I was so exhausted emotionally that I had to put another of his works ( Swan Song) on the shelf until I was mentally and emotionally prepared to deal with it… you were spot on, on your review… it is a tour de force of American fiction… thank you Mr McAmmon… you are truly one of the greats!!

After 2 minutes of this video I don't want to listen to it anymore I'm already hooked. This will definitely be my next read.

I love Boy's Life. Robert McCammon is my favorite author. Boy's Life and Swan Song are a cut above, but I have also liked Usher's Passing and Mine.

I just finished this today and came straight here to see if you had posted anything about it before!

My debut novel, "The Master Cat", is a fantasy / mystery novel that's basically Shrek meets Dick Tracy. It has every fairy tale character in it but it's in the style of a crime noir. It's inspired by the game, Wolf Among Us, which is about fairy tale creatures in the same atmosphere.

16:45 I grew up in the 60’s as well. Born 1951 but as a girl, I was a typical young girl loving my free time with my best friend and dreaming about what we would become. We used to close our eyes and spin the globe and where we pointed to stop is where we would spend our adult lives. Cannot wait to read this book. I just bought Gone South but now I will save that one until I read Boys life. TY. Great review!

Oh man this book is so freakin' magical. 🥲 10/10 work for sure. So many little life moments from it have stayed with me, like the dad's speech after the milk route is discontinued and he's reflecting on the decline of community, and also the whole hobo dream sequence thing near the end where Corey sees just how precious that childhood age of innocence really is. And good Lord that ending hits like a train. 😭 Obviously I already have a copy of the book, so you can exclude me from the picking, but as for my own coming of age, well, that would be the noughties for me. 😁 Linkin Park and Iraq; what a time to be a kid! 😂

Glad you enjoyed Boy’s Life. Do you think you’ll read Swan Song? Or was it more the coming of age story that appealed?

I've wanted to try McCammon for years, I hear him compared to King all the time and apparently Swan Song is one of the finest post-apocalyptic novels ever written, and it's basically The Stand without the flaws that drags the book down for me. I am considering starting his historical Matthew Corbett novels this year, possibly around Halloween. Boy's Life is on the list for books I hope to read at some point. Also I'm a little baffled to see you so positive about a book. I don't know what to do with myself...great video though!

Intersting, I will have to get it as I grew up in the 60s

I'll have to try it some time. I imagine it will be nice sweet and short.

I read it twice and I loved it twice.