REVIEW: Joyland

PLOT: College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life—and what comes after—that would change his world forever.

REVIEW: I'll start by saying I have never read a book of Stephen King's. It's very surprising that I've gone all of this time as a reader and I have never read one of his books. When I was teenager I read most of his collection of short stories called Everything's Eventual but I don't count it as really reading some King work. I have however, seen a lot of the movies that have been based off of his novels so I feel that I know his work somewhat familiarly. Joyland did not strike me as something that would be typical King, and it looked like it was going to be more of a straight up mystery despite the description on the back really leading you to believe it would be some sort of horror story. I was pleasantly surprised that this was like a version of The Shining that didn't have all of the terrifying elements and had a lot more heart in it.

Devin takes a summer job at the amusement park Joyland, and with that comes a large life experience that seemingly makes Devin the person he is today. I really enjoyed how the story was told from the perspective of an older Devin, reflecting on his experiences at Joyland. It really gives the novel that King-feel, and shows why he is still one of the most prominent story tellers still writing today. There's a shroud of mystery surrounding the story, and it makes it seem very mystical when being told this way. His encounters with the workers of Joyland, those

in the town, and himself really weave a shockingly heart-warming story about the joys of life, the mysteries of our existence, and the meaning or purpose of why we're here. There's a lot to speculate on in the book, and I'd love to discuss these points in the future once more people have read the book.

Instead of going into full detail, I will just say that the last 50-70 pages is where the book starts to climax and wrap itself up. Joyland really builds and builds until the last page, and packs a wallop on the last 10 pages. Devin tells an amazing story of love and mystery, and it's really epic depending on how you see the events leading up to it. I could definitely see this novel being made into a film if it becomes a bestselling hit in 2013. It would be one of King's non-horror, more drama-like films but of course that always comes with a little bit of mysticism in the story. I'd highly recommend this for any fans of Stephen King, and mystery novels as well. This can even pass as a ghost story, and there is a ghost involved from early on in the book but it's not particularly the focus of the story.

RATED : ( PG-13 ) 

WRITING : ( 10 / 10 )

STORY : ( 8 / 10 )

COVER : ( 10 / 10 )

AWESOME : ( 7 / 10 )

FINAL RATING: ( 8 / 10 )