"If readers are worried about being kept up at night by the horror aspect of the novel, fear not... 'Joyland' is really more of a wonderful coming-of-age story set in a more innocent time." ~Pete

I haven't read a Stephen King book since Different Seasons, a book Ireally loved. I'm not sure why, probably just seeking out new authors and genres. But the cover of Joyland caught my eye and immediately brought me back to those old carnivals and fairs I went to as a kid. The music, the junk food, and especially the rides.

Devin Jones, a broken-hearted college kid from Maine, rolls the dice and takes a summer job at a carnival called Joyland in far away North Carolina 1973. The carnival's mission is to 'sell fun.' But to Devin, who does grunt work such as dressing up in a furry hound dog costume in 95 degree heat, it isn't always fun for him. Still, he makes a couple of life-long friends, who share many adventures with the carnies cruising along the midway.

Then, the mystery. Several years prior a young girl was murdered in Joyland's haunted house. Locals say her ghost appears to some on the attraction's darkest corner. She reaches out, but then dissipates into thin air. Devin and his pals investigate.

Summer comes to an end. The part-timers return to college, but Devin elects to stay on, still captivated by the mournful ghost. He makes friends with an older woman and her crippled son. But the mystery he started investigating hasn't gone away. Perhaps the killer...is still there!

If readers are worried about being kept up at night by the horror aspect of the novel, fear not. I would say the fright element is just above Shaggy and Scooby exposing Old Man Johnson in the skeleton suit. Joyland is really more of a wonderful coming-of-age story set in a more innocent time. Or was it really all that innocent after all?

~Pete