Looks like Goodreads doesn't have a cover for this version of the book, and once again I have to do all the heavy lifting around here. Stand by.
There. This is the junior novelization. The only reason I have it is because AbeBooks either sent me the wrong book or I accidentally ordered the wrong one; I disremember which. I was just going to send it to 2nd and Charles, but I never got around to it. I came across it again last night, had a little bit of time to kill and said "What the hell? It's only 64 kiddie pages," and here we are. Now I can send it away guilt free since I don't plan to reread it.
This is a very condensed and scaled-down version of the movie and Max Collins' novelization with some of the more adult parts taken out. In short, it's perfect for a 10-year-old which is the target audience, so four stars it is. (The chapters are so short I was able to read a whole one and sometimes more during commercial breaks for Svengoolie.) It might be worth five stars when considering said audience, but I just can't bear to give this the fifth star when the other novelization, which is awesome, earned only 4.5. Alas.
I love this book for nostalgic reasons. It’s an easy read and reminds me of camping with my parents when I was 9 years old. I am an only child and I used to read a lot. I read this in my tent during a family camping trip.
Strictly a junior novelization that whittles down the film's brilliant script and vivid setting to witless one-dimensionality. If only the legendary full-length backstory-heavy Max Allan Collins novelization were available for shipping to Canada!