Un'estate da ragazzi

by Richard Cox, Sonia Folin (Translator)

Nel 1979 un terribile tornado devasta la città di Wichita Falls, in Texas. Molti morti, moltissimi senzatetto e un bambino di nove anni che lotta per riemergere dal coma.
Il suo nome è Todd Willis e quando quattro anni dopo si risveglia, trova ad attenderlo un mondo diverso, simile a quello vissuto prima del tornado ma inquietante in un modo che non riesce a spiegarsi.
La nuova vita di Todd diventa una lotta per separare i fatti dalla fantasia, il sonno dalle allucinazioni. Gli amici che conosce nel 1983, affascinati e incantati dalla sua esperienza, sono allo stesso tempo spaventati dal suo complesso rapporto con la realtà.
Un’estate da ragazzi è la storia di cinque amici che diventano inseparabili fino all’estate cruciale in cui ognuno di loro scopre il senso dell’amore, la ferocia del tradimento e tutti insieme condividono un segreto che giurano di seppellire per sempre.
Venticinque anni dopo, il buio riaggredisce Wichita Falls e i cinque amici devono tornare alle ferite del passato, ai mostri, ai tormenti, al timore di quell’estate lontana.
Un thriller allucinato e metafisico. Un commovente romanzo di formazione.

Genres: Horror, Fiction, Mystery, Thriller, Coming Of Age, Science Fiction, Fantasy

528 pages, Paperback

First published September 6, 2016

About the author

Richard Cox was born in Odessa, Texas and now lives in Tulsa, Oklahoma. His latest novel, House of the Rising Sun, was published on July 7, 2020. Richard has also published The Boys of Summer, Thomas World, The God Particle, and Rift. Richard has also written for This Land Press, Oklahoma Magazine, and TheNervousBreakdown.com.

When he's not writing or reading, Richard loves spending time with his wife and two girls. And hitting bombs.

He also wrote this bio in third person as if writing about someone else. George likes his chicken spicy!

Reviews

[Dennis · Rating 1 out of 5]

Sometimes I’m too easy to convince by some buzzwords in the blurb.

„Haunting coming-of-age story“

“Against the backdrop of a deadly tornado”

“1983” … “Together the five boys come of age during a dark, fiery summer where they find first love, betrayal, and a secret so terrible they agree to never speak of it again.”

“Twenty-five years later, and the boys—now men—are forced to reunite and confront the wounds from their past.”

I guess I was thinking of Stephen King or expecting some nice 80s nostalgia of some kind. Well, I’ll give you some.

Nobody on the road
Nobody on the beach
I feel it in the air
The summer's out of reach

Empty lake, empty streets
The sun goes down alone
I'm driving by your house
Though I know you're not home

But I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got your hair combed back and your
Sunglasses on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I never will forget those nights
I wonder if it was a dream
Remember how you made me crazy?
Remember how I made you scream?

Now I don't understand
What happened to our love
But babe, I'm gonna get you back
I'm gonna show you what I'm made of

I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
I see you walking real slow and
Smiling at everyone
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

Out on the road today
I saw a Deadhead sticker on a cadillac
A little voice inside my head said
"Don't look back, you can never look back"

I thought I knew what love was
What did I know?
Those days are gone forever
I should just let them go but

I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got the top pulled down
Radio on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

I can see you
Your brown skin shining in the sun
You got your hair slicked back and those
Wayfarers on, baby
I can tell you my love for you will still be strong
After the boys of summer have gone

What I’m saying is, better listen to the song rather than wasting your time with this novel, which is overlong, repetitive and full of bland characters (which is kind of a problem for a “character-driven … thriller”).

https://youtu.be/DtxlvQqvDQs

You’re welcome.

Me, I better stop here. Before I get tired of the music as well. Yes, Henley’s song does play a role in the story. And it is quoted often. Very often. Stephen King is mentioned several times as well. But please don’t see this as some sort of advertisement for this book. It’s a much better idea to (re)read It instead.

DNF: 53%

[Rachel (TheShadesofOrange) · Rating 3 out of 5]

3.0 Stars
Boys of Summer will likely appeal to fans of IT by Stephen King, as it had a similar plot and narrative structure. This book was incredibly atmospheric with the weather playing a major role in the story. Slow paced and character focused, the story was well written, yet not particularly engrossing.

[Annie · Rating 1 out of 5]

Was zur Hölle war das?

Allein schon aufgrund der wirklich furchtbaren deutschen Übersetzung werte ich dieses Machwerk auf einen lumpigen Stern ab. Sonst wäre es vielleicht sogar 2,5 geworden.
Zur Übersetzung: der Mann hat offenbar keinen Wortschatz, der für eine Übersetzung eines übernatürlich angehauchten Romans taugt. Oft fehlen auch schlechtweg ganze Worte, sodass Sätze keinerlei Sinn machen. Gegen Ende hatte er auch sichtbar die Lust verloren. Andere Sachen wie zum Beispiel AC werden schlichtweg falsch übersetzt. Mit AC war die Klimaanlage gemeint, und nicht der Wechselstrom. Dem Wechselstrom ist das heiße Wetter herzlich egal. Und bei "fall from grace" - in dem Fall war die Ungnade gemeint. Im Deutschen gibt es tatsächlich ein Wort dafür. Für jemanden, der sonst alternative Heilmethoden für Krebs übersetzt, sollte das vielleicht ein Begriff sein. Kommt ja schließlich aus der Glaubensecke.
The Boys of Summer bezieht sich direkt auf den Don Henley Song, welches auch ausufernd zitiert wird. Erst auf englisch, dann auf deutsch, dann ein Mischmasch, irgendwann nur noch englisch. Es nervte einfach nur.
Die Story an sich ist ein ganz schlimmer Stephen Kings "ES" Abklatsch. Was der Stranger Things Verweis der Marketingabteilung hier zu suchen hat, keine Ahnung, das hat nichts Stranger Things - mäßiges. Das ist nicht mal retro - das ist Mist.
Es zieht sich alles wie Kaugummi. Weil es um Tornados geht, bekommt man oft einen meist völlig belanglosen Wetterbericht von Wichita Falls ins CAPSLOCK! Seitenweise!
Und auch noch in Fahrenheit, wo der gemeine Mitteleuropäer nicht einmal weiß, ob die Wüste nun brennt oder friert.
Die Charaktere sind wandelnde Klischees. Und das bisschen Übernatürliche wird weder ausgebaut noch erklärt oder irgendwie zu einem Ende gebracht, das den Namen verdient hätte! Ich kann die Intention von keinem der Charaktere nachvollziehen. Alle sind irgendwie unsympathisch und verhalten sich merkwürdig.

Dieses Machwerk ist nicht einmal den Speicherplatz wert, den es belegt!

[Kate · Rating 4 out of 5]

I was surprised at how much I actually enjoyed this book considering it was labeled as a "science fiction" book and I rarely ever venture into the world of sci-fi. I found this title online after my son was sick for 3 days and I ended up binge watching "Stranger Things" (yes, I do watch tv on occasion). I loved the show so much, and like a true bookworm, was devastated to find out that such a great show was not backed by a great book. That being said, I set out to find books that were similar to the show and stumbled upon a "List of Books You Should Read After Watching Stranger Things" and on that list I found this gem of a sci-fi thriller. Now that you know the back story as to why someone who typically reads fiction and thrillers got sucked into the world of sci-fi, I can get on with my review...

This book goes back and forth between 1983 and 2008. Similar to Stranger Things, the characters (in 1983) are a group of boys and one girl who find themselves getting mixed up in some pretty serious business. The boys "disband" after one particular incident (keeping this spoiler free!) and we are thrown 25 years forward where some unfortunate events bring them back together. Just when I thought I had some of these characters figured out, I realized I did not at all and that is one of the reasons I liked this book is because I was left guessing until the end. I guess you could say I am still left guessing to a certain extent even after the ending which to me was the "sci-fi" portion of it. Did I really just read these boys story? Or did I read a story that was written about these boys? Does that even make sense? Needless to say, this book will play mind games with you and is truly full of twists and turns.

Overall, I was impressed and it was a great cross between thriller and sci-fi for someone who is just starting to step into the sci-fi genre. I definitely recommend reading it if you are looking to start reading sci-fi novels, and if you watched (and loved) "Stranger Things" as much as I did.

[Mike · Rating 1 out of 5]

The book had a good premise and fine start. From there, I don't know what the author was thinking. It felt cliched and hollow. There was good potential in the early pages and then it floundered. The writing style left much to be desired of the characters, as there wasn't much to care about them. Switching time frames and character perspectives can work, but not in this book.

[Chrissie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Man sollte einfach vorsichtig sein, wenn Bücher mit großen Namen oder großen Produktionen verglichen werden...
Richard Cox beschreibt hier das Leben der Freundesgruppe "The Boys of Summer", deren Leben sich allesamt durch einen Tornado und dessen Folgen verändert hat. Alle haben sie etwas während dieser Katastrophe verloren und manche auch etwas dazugewonnen, was ihr weiteres Leben bestimmen wird. Und einer unter ihnen scheint Dinge zu wissen, die er noch gar nicht wissen dürfte.
Cox schreibt diese vermeintliche Coming-of-Age-Story in einer flüssig zu lesenden und eingängigen Sprache und bewegt sich ähnlich wie Stephen King in seinem Roman "Es" in mehreren Zeitebenen. Dies ist meines Erachtens aber auch schon der einzige Vergleich, der sich zu ziehen lohnt und eine Parallele zu Stranger Things war für mich auch nicht wirklich erkennbar.
Nach und nach erfährt der Leser mehr über die Hintergründe und was damals bei dem Tornado wirklich geschehen ist. Zudem scheint es noch mehr zu geben, da Cox des Öfteren mit der Perspektive spielt und diese scheinbar wechselt.
Obwohl diese Geschichte eigentlich alles hat, was mich anspricht und mich begeistern kann, hat sie dies leider doch nicht geschafft. Der Funke wollte nicht überspringen und ich fand weite Passagen eher langweilig. Den einzigen Garant, den man mit diesem Roman bekommt, ist der für einen Ohrwurm, der einen tagelang nicht mehr verlassen möchte.
Kein schlechtes Buch, das nicht, aber eben leider auch keines, das mich in sich hineinziehen und begeistern konnte.

[Kathryn · Rating 2 out of 5]

I liked the idea of this book, but I was disappointed. It seemed almost like a lot of other books. It had the life changing disaster that impacts a whole town of Judy Blume's "In the Unlikely Event". Still, the author didn't explore any deeper character development.

It progressed almost like Lauren Beukes' "Broken Monsters", seemingly mostly normal except for one character. Unfortunately, it missed the spectacular ending that turns the story on its head.

The whole book seemed "almost". At the end the author tries to tie it back together with a creepy bow, but fails. His evaluation of his work, as seen through the eyes of one of his characters, as "high concept" is not very accurate from my point of view. Also, high concept books require incredible characters to bring forth the story, and this book did not have any spellbinding characters.

[Joel · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not sure how I ended up with this on my TBR, but I can't say I'm sorry about it.

Definitely a lot of Ste[hen King vibes about the book. Reminds me of It, specifically. But also a little of Paul Tremblay.

This was a good example of an actual event being used in a fictitious manner. I think some people might be turned off by the bouncing around in time, but I found these sections to be clearly demarcated and easy to follow.

As someone who grew up around the same time as the events of the novel, I think the male adolescent experience of the day was captured pretty well. A minor complaint (and a major deviation away from the King comparison) is that some of the female characters weren't written very well, and seemed like they were there more for expository devices than anything else.

Overall, though, I found this to be a pretty solid book and I would be interested in reading more from the author.

4 out of 5 stars.

[Abbe Macbeth · Rating 3 out of 5]

This one was...hit and miss. 2.5 Stars. Some of the sections were so good. I enjoyed most of the characters, and the idea of the story was great. I even appreciated how much the author seemed influenced by Stephen King. But then so many other things were just....uggghhhhh. The constant references to “The Boys of Summer” lyrics. The wink-wink comments the characters made about being in a book. Even the way it ended, with that ACTUALLY being the case... each chapter was full of promise that then would trail off. I sped through it quickly, and was entertained, but I’m not sure I would read another by this author.

[Michelle · Rating 4 out of 5]

SCIENCE FICTION/FANTASY
Richard Cox
The Boys of Summer: A Novel
Night Shade Books
Paperback, 978-1-59780-878-1 (also available as an ebook), 436 pgs., $15.99
September 6, 2016

The tornado that struck Wichita Falls, Texas, on April 10, 1979, serves as the catalyst for this coming-of-age story. The Boys of Summer are Bobby (the jock), Jonathan (the brain), David (as in King), Adam (the born-again), and Todd (the cipher), nine and ten years old when the storm alters the trajectories of all of their lives. Todd is so traumatized by the tornado that he enters a catatonic state. When he surfaces four years later, he possesses a maturity beyond his years, and a creepy knowledge of events that have not happened yet. Twenty-five years later history begins to repeat itself, and the boys, now men, must face the consequences of their actions and account for how they’ve spent their lives.

The Boys of Summer by Richard Cox is difficult to qualify. It is speculative fiction, science fiction, historical fiction, and fantasy, incorporating political, economic, and religious philosophies. It reminds me simultaneously of Stand by Me (1986), The Omen (1976), and The Truman Show (1998). The Boys of Summer deals in free will and predestination, asking whether the individual can rewrite the ending. And maybe the beginning.

Cox’s plot feels labyrinthine, but this is deceptive. It’s really quite simple, unfurling at a steady pace while Cox insidiously doles out puzzle pieces. A subplot involving a Wichita Falls detective whose wife has the same diagnosis as Todd had—catatonic schizophrenia—executes the rare feat of enhancing the main plot. It meshes seamlessly. The story moves back and forth in time from the afternoon of the tornado, to events immediately following Todd’s re-emergence into the world, and the reckoning for those events twenty-five years later. The ominous weather forecasts that begin each section of the novel are an inspired touch. It is possible to go crazy from the heat.

Cox is particularly good at channeling early adolescent angst. “Darth Vader turned out to be Luke’s father, Princess Leia was his sister,” Todd thinks when he awakes, “and the whole world seemed to have lost its mind.” These boys are complex, authentic, and relatable. The lone girl in the group, Alicia, is a well-developed character, but seems to serve merely as a token female. Her significance is unclear. As adults, these characters are less well-defined, with the exception of King David (who “shed his Texas accent and sheath of Middle American fat and his antiquated social conservatism”) who is terribly definite, motivated by the ultimate in insider information.

Wichita Falls itself gets knocked hard by Cox. Riven with class issues, the town is portrayed as a cultural wasteland populated by rednecks and a few wealthy, pseudo-religious hypocrites. On the other hand, his portrait of the ’80s is atmospheric, with its references to the multi-sided dice of Dungeons & Dragons, Atari video games, and Don Henley lyrics. Cox is capable of arresting imagery. During the 1979 tornado, the sky “looked like it had fallen to the earth.” The bleached, white-hot sky of the Wichita Falls summer resembles “overexposed film.”

Cox has created a strange and intriguing mix of elements which, with liberal use of foreshadowing, engenders genuine curiosity and keeps the pages turning. I am flummoxed, but happily so, still at a loss as to what The Boys of Summer is. I do know that it is compelling and a little maddening, and the space-time continuum has been spectacularly compromised.

Originally published in Lone Star Literary Life.

[Amy Casey · Rating 3 out of 5]

The Boys of Summer is a suspenseful page-turner to be certain. The concept of the novel is strong, and the characters' struggles are deeply compelling. It's a very Southern Gothic landscape, riddled with fire, booze, psychotic breaks, and the occasional monster tornado. Cox steadily builds our sense of concern for the characters, who feel and act very real... at first. While reading, I became obsessed over the mystery surrounding the disturbing secret that shifted reality--albeit just slightly enough to be noticeable--in the world of the novel. The ending though, is a gigantic problem. It's engineered as one of those "big reveal," mind-blowing revelations, but it feels like a rip-off to the invested reader. The tragedy of this misstep, to me, is that I feel Cox might've created a really showstopping piece of metafiction, had he just shown us his hand from the get-go. This is a text with a lot of potential to consider the relationship between writers and their fictional creations, but it isn't realized because Cox packs away the big secret until the last few pages (although I saw it coming far before that, thanks to a wealth of heavy-handed foreshadowing). Instead, the ending cheapens the otherwise very intimate experience of this book, leaving us feeling a little bit silly for caring so deeply about the cruelties, small and large, endured by these five boys from Wichita.

[Addy · Rating 2 out of 5]

I was attracted to this book because of the alleged similarities it shared to Stephen King’s IT. I was disappointed to discover that these similarities only existed in the premise. Otherwise, this is a far inferior novel.
The first part (“April 10, 1979”) and the last part (“July 4, 1983”) were interesting. Perhaps if there was more of a focus on the lives of Todd and his friends as children, author Richard Cox might have a more compelling novel. Unfortunately, the intervening pages deal with a very artificial story, one that I feel as if I have read hundreds of times before. All the characters are about as contrived as can be, and the action unfolds in a predictable, uninteresting fashion. Even the sentences feel as though they were constructed by an author-bot; putting words together in the most arbitrary and bland way to get the point across.
And the author is so smug about his writing. Ugh. He has put in all these little meta moments, nods to the fact that these characters were potentially aware of the fact that they existed in a novel. I feel like he thought this was “cute” and maybe if it was used more sparingly, it would’ve been a nice little inside joke between the characters and the reader. Instead, it’s just a slap in the face. I know I’m reading a novel, and I know this because the characters and the story never fully took me in.
All this to say that two stars might be a generous handout for this book.

[Bibliophile · Rating 2 out of 5]

Thin characters and a nonsensical plot. The story had potential but ended up being a dull "It" rip-off.

[Danny DeAngelis · Rating 1 out of 5]

I should expound upon this. To me, the author seemed far more concerned with "meta" tricks with the story, than writing anything compelling, foreboding, scary, or even...interesting? The gimmicks superceded the story.

I understand that the author is "ironically" telling us in a very cheesy way that the events occurring are major and grand and scary, without making them any of those things, but you're still DOING those things (that is, writing a bad story) even if you know you're doing it. Fuck this book.

[Spence · Rating 2 out of 5]

This was a 2-star novel of a 4-star idea.
First, let's address the elephant in the room: the author's name is Dick Cox. That's hilarious.

I don't know how I feel about this book overall. The concept is strange in a great way and very creative, but I feel that Cox simply isn't a good enough writer to fully explore it.

For one, two of our "main characters" here were more or less pointless:
A.) Alicia existed for no real reason other than to give Johnathon a love interest and be a +1 of the group affected by the arson crimes. Take her out and the story would be the same. Even the fact that she, Johnathon, and David had a repeated love triangle (once in the past, once in the present) doesn't really matter because the author just tells us that it happens without exploring the tension it causes and its aftermath on the relationships of the three people involved.
B.) Bobby. This one is more arguable considering he is the one that kickstarts the plot, but I feel that this could have been anyone else and again the story would have progressed the same way; hell, it could have been Todd himself—his sudden reappearance at the end of the novel (in the present) amounts to nothing more than shock value anyway.

Furthermore, the entire sub-plot of Adam murdering Joe felt wasted and unnecessarily. Not only would Joe's disappearance remaining unexplained have better fit with the overall narrative of the book, but again, this revelation did nothing for the plot and seemingly existed only to fill pages.

Finally, I can't shake the feeling that this is just a poor man's retelling of King's *It*... except instead of a horrifying alien-clown-cosmic monster and the likable, interesting, fleshed out Loser's Club, we have a tornado and a group of characters who are only just interesting enough to keep one reading but ultimately fall flat.

I'm sure there's more I could say here if I thought about it longer but I'm ready to put this book behind me and never think of it again. What a waste of a great idea.

Love that Don Henley song though!

[Mailo · Rating 1 out of 5]

This book was mediocre at the best of times. I love the concept of the story, but the way it was realized here just leaves a lot to be desired. I didn't really find myself being drawn into the story, even in the most tense scenes I just kind of didn't care, the suspense wasn't really there.

Und an jeden, der gerne die deutsche Übersetzung lesen möchte: Tut es einfach nicht. Die Übersetzung ist grausam und schlampig, es fehlen teilweise Wörter, Namen wurden vertauscht, und der Übersetzer hat anscheinend keine Ahnung, wie Kommasetzung im Deutschen funktioniert und bringt einen damit oft aus dem Lesefluss.

[Kelvin Pau · Rating 3 out of 5]

This book had cool ideas, but ultimately half-way through the characters and plot started feeling consumed and overwrought by the same ideas, leading to a disconnect with the book in general. That might have been the intention, but it led to the book not leaving so much of an impression on me overall.

[Rob Solka · Rating 2 out of 5]

We were all rooting for you! How dare you?! When my mother yells at me like this it mean she loves me!! I've never yelled at a girl like this in my life! Learn something from this!! -- All joking aside, most of the time I was reading this book I couldn't understand how it got three stars and then I got to the last 100 pages. Interesting start and premise but the execution just didn't hold up.

[S. Price · Rating 3 out of 5]

You're gonna have this suspicion about the way this thing is gonna end, and you'll think to yourself, "No, no way is he gonna go there."

(SPOILER: He goes there.)

[Joel Edminster · Rating 4 out of 5]

4.25 stars actually.

December 31, 2020

Just finished my final read of the year, The Boys of Summer (2016), by Richard Cox. A couple of weeks ago I added the novel to my Christmas book wish list at the last moment, having come across it on Amazon while looking over stuff about another book. A suspense novel drawing heavily from the Don Henley song of the same title—its haunting melody a perpetual part of the soundtrack of much of my life in the decadent 80’s—as well as from one of the fixtures in my life since teenhood, the immortal Stephen King, the story’s setup appealed to me. And it still does, though the meta-narrative aspect gradually revealed and then overtly exposed by the end feels cutesy and a tad forced.

A novel about the sinister gravitational pull a middle America home town has on its residents (a pull this reader sure experienced), the book is set on the north Texas prairie in the town of Wichita Falls (not to be confused with the more familiar city of Wichita, Kansas)—tornado country. And the tornado motif plays a key thematic/symbolic role throughout. Well, two tornadoes do: they link the central characters when they’re young teens and near-forty adults. As kids in 1983, these characters form a friendship and give themselves the name of the song that one of them, the talented Todd, plays and sings. From the outset, Cox gives us lyrics from the piece over and over, and readers (at least readers of a certain age, readers who lived and listened and loved through the 80’s, ahem) recognize it soon enough as the Henley hit noted. The thing is, said Henley song didn’t appear until the next year, in the fall of 1984. This discrepancy had this reader scurrying to the internet to confirm, but author Cox advises us eventually of the impossibility. Todd (as well as another key minor character who becomes important later) experiences a blow-to-the-head-induced walking coma from the opening tornado that somehow allows him to tap into the future. This knowledge drives the narrative.

It’s a pretty cool setup, and we get to know these characters well. They each experience their troubles with the town and their families, and Cox brings out the interrelationships keenly. The boys (along with a girl—the similarities to SK’s monolithically seminal It (1986) are unavoidable), urged on by the prescient Todd, get into some big trouble (the fire on the cover should signal what kind) as kids, trouble that tracks them into adulthood. Flawed as adults, they all converge back to Wichita Falls twenty-five years later to finally face that trouble.

I was pulled along fluidly with the story and enjoyed the book overall. However, I wanted more on Todd’s connection to the time paradox. It is simply described as a “white void,” which is way too generic. [Also, the parallels to the driving structure of another iconic King novel, The Dead Zone (1979) are obvious. Cox seems to assume that if he references that book (which he does so not once, not twice, but three separate times), then readers will give him a break. Hmmm. This reader is not so sure.] Sure, readers can fill in details for themselves, but given the importance to the story overall that Todd’s void plays, especially to the climax (which includes some good twists), more clarity is needed. The tornado symbolism with its fantasy-lit overtness (think The Wizard of Oz, think King’s The Dark Tower saga, in particular The Wind Through the Keyhole)—the big bad storm transports us into other realms—isn’t enough. We need clarity.

And speaking (further) of Stephen King, there’s a scene midway through wherein aspiring writer Jonathan, arguably the group’s leader, gets inspired to write his best work, a story identical (Cox gives us excerpts) to one of King’s earlier famous novels (which I won’t spoil here, except to say that it’s neither It nor The Dead Zone). Jonathan’s draft gets ruined, and the matter is dropped. What? This, combined with the aforementioned metafictional element (which King also has mined to great effect in the Dark Tower cycle), confuses more than thrills.

And really, thrills are what readers of books like The Boys of Summer are looking for, right? Entertaining events that bring shivers and sighs, that transport us away from our mundane lives? Cox’s novel, as noted, builds and builds, and matters get wrapped up okay—but ideally no “however” should exist.

I liked the book, and I recommend it. Except for the noted issues, the climax fulfills; in particular, Cox’s descriptions of the tornadoes are awe-inspiring. I really liked the connection to my own life and interests, also noted. The idea of how a home town can haunt you for the rest of your life resonates. But still. The story ultimately didn’t grab me by my lapels and shake me—didn’t grab me the way tales of another certain author always do.

[Joe Piccoli · Rating 4 out of 5]

A fifteen hour tribute to Don Henley's The Boys Of Summer!
I'll admit I listened to the song about a dozen times while reading. I thought it was a great book, well written, creative and it held me captive until the very last clever line. A solid four stars. I will try another Richard Cox novel.

[Lucy Leitner · Rating 3 out of 5]

I was invested in the story, able to look past the stilted dialogue and the cliched characters, until the final 100 pages and its cop-out of an ending.

[David Veith · Rating 3 out of 5]

Overall an fun read, but a bit off. I did not mind the back and forth in the time line the chapters did (even though it did sort of spoil a things, took the shock value out of it) but it just seemed to be spotty. Story didn't always flow the best and in the end sort of anticlimactic. Author has a S.K complex it seems too.

[Thomas · Rating 3 out of 5]

I picked this book up about a year ago, thanks to reading a lot of good buzz about it. Aside from its comparisons to King, it also was mentioned on a couple of the "Books to Read if You Liked Stranger Things" lists, which helped it make the cut. As a result, my expectations were pretty high.

Beyond it being set in the '80s and featuring a group of kids (one of them psychic) returning to their home town to battle something that affected them as children (and, now that I think about it, some of them straight-up forgot about the events), I didn't see much for either comparison. I didn't expect it to feel like a King book, but the structure of the story was different enough from Kings' that it made the story stand out to me. It didn't feel as organic. The story read well, and kept my attention (I was surprised how quickly I finished it), but it never had the ZOMG feel I've felt from some of my favorite works.

The hook of the story revolved around a character who survived a massive tornado, only to fall into an odd state of conscious-but-sleeping after some head trauma. He's not in a coma, but neither is he communicative; it's like he's sleepwalking. Once he comes out of that state, he knows about things that will happen in the future, and demonstrates it by playing a song to his friends -- "The Boys of Summer" by Don Henley. He plays it for them one year before the song comes out, claiming it as his own.

For much of the story, his ability to see into the future is unexplained, and it works well that way. At the end of the book, Cox attempts to explain it, but how he explains it is too ridiculous to accept. It removes the mystery around the story, and lessens the impact of the book overall once we understand what's happened. It felt like a fumble at the end of a solid game.

Before the ending of the book, I was willing to give it four stars, but afterward, the best I could do was three. It's a shame the author chose to explain away that character's ability, because the story worked just fine without it. Hardcore horror fans should give the book a read, but I don't know if casual readers would take to it. At the very least, this shouldn't be a Stranger Things-alike book.

[Paolo del ventoso Est · Rating 3 out of 5]

Libro a tre marce; parte benino, scala paurosamente nella fase di presentazione dei personaggi, si riprende col terzo atto. Una storia che pesca qui da Lansdale e là da King andando a inserirsi in quel filone dei revival anni '80 con sfumature nere ed esoteriche, un po' alla Stranger Things.
Cox dunque è un epigono temperato di questi rovistatori della cultura pop, dotato di uno stile abbastanza ordinario per quanto abile nel gestire la sovrapposizione delle fantasmagorie alla storia reale (il tornado a Wichita del 2008). Presenta una evidente debolezza proprio nella fase più delicata del romanzo, quella in cui al lettore dovrebbe risultare chiaro e immediato "chi è chi"; solo a svolgimento inoltrato infatti si riesce a tratteggiare un contorno sommario dei vari personaggi maschili, rischiando così di aver già perso l'interesse di chi legge. La classica indagine del solito gruppo di "investigatori per caso" è invece più efficace, sebbene poi si vada a slavare in un epilogo stravisto. Se l'avete già preso ok, posso comunque rassicurarvi che qualcosa di buono troverete; tuttavia se siete ancora alla ricerca della vostra lettura da ombrellone, ritengo onestamente che possiate trovare di meglio.

[John Zeleznik · Rating 4 out of 5]

I went completely hot and cold on this book. There are parts of this book that I'd rate a 5 and there are parts that I'd rate a 1. It's a good thriller and I agree with some of the comparisons to STRANGER THINGS and Stephen King that it's garnered, but it lacks the overall heart of STRANGER THINGS and the creepiness of King. It feels like Cox was trying to write a coming of age novel mixed with a thriller and then threw in some of the supernatural stuff to hand wave some of the things that happen. I almost feel like no explanation at all would've made this a better book. There are gratuitous parts that completely grind the book to a halt and undo some of the brilliant thrills, but they are few enough not to completely deter from enjoying the book.

[Schwarzer_peter · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well, it started good, classic story with bunch of kids and something paranormal. But the book was too long , too long for this story. Characters sometimes feel flat, especially towards the end of the book. Nothing is explained in the end, I still have no idea why it all happened.

[Erik Koster · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just could not get into this one. Admittedly though it lost me by naming a character "Bobby Steele". Come on.

[Melanto Mori · Rating 3 out of 5]

Voto: 3,5/5

Ci sono spoiler da qui in avanti!

Che Cox ami Stephen King penso sia palese fin dalle primissime pagine di questo romanzo, che strizza moltissimo gli occhi a IT (per la sua struttura e per il risvolto un po' soprannaturale - ma senza clown. Grazie, Cox XD) e si lancia in milioni di citazioni Kinghiane che, Cox, avemo capito che se 'na groupie XD
Per questo suo "dualismo narrativo" lo tratterò come fossero due libri separati.
La parte YA, ambientata nel passato, VINCE A MANI BASSE TUTTO. Bella, interessante, piena di mistero, che ti fa arrabbiare e che ti incuriosisce allo stesso tempo. Bella la scena del tornado, bello tutto ciò che ne segue: le conseguenze, gli sviluppi dei pg, le situazioni. Personaggi caratterizzati bene, riconoscibili. Bella veramente. Che se fosse stata solo ambientata nel passato 'sto romanzo si prendeva 5 stelle e ciaone.

Poi però Cox intreccia la vicenda passata con quella presente...
E la versione adulta dei protagonisti merita solo di essere presa a sassate sui denti.
Il fatto che fossero tutti degli irrisolti va anche bene... se riescono a risolversi, però! E qua non si risolve nessuno, nemmeno Jonathan che si ricorda di alzare la testa solo perché riesce a piazzare finalmente un libro. Non c'è un reale confronto tra i bambini che sono stati e gli adulti che li hanno resi così, i dialoghi sono di un imbarazzante che la metà basta: piatti, zero spessore, talmente banali che io boh. Non c'è un filo di tensione, tutti vuotano il sacco nel giro di uno sputo. Sembra un compitino svolto. La conclusione è un enorme WTF, che okay che poteva andare solo in quella direzione, ma signoremio, mi ci devi CONVINCERE!!! Invece fanno cose a caso, gente muore a caso e così si risolvono i problemi lasciati in sospeso perché almeno gli unici due fessi possano salvarsi e vivere felici e contenti.
Seriamente. No.
L'unico personaggio con un minimo di brio in più anche da adulto è David. Ma David pure a una certa fa le cose totalmente a caso fino al finale.
Finale di cui salvo solo lo spunto metaletterario e il tornado.

Lo spunto sovrannaturale era interessante davvero, ma non viene spiegato niente del fatto che, boh, ce l'abbiano praticamente tutti a Wichita Falls?! Cazzo c'è nell'acqua della cittadina?! XD Rimane troppo aleatorio e poco chiaro. Perché dovrebbe essere una conseguenza del tornado? Mah, David lo stava già sviluppando... a meno che non sia stato l'effetto della grandine XD E anche lì: cazzo è fatta sta grandine?!


Ripeto un libro godibile, ma se metto a paragone le due parti davvero è impietoso, perché non posso pensare che, nello stesso libro, ci sia una parte così figa e una così tremenda. O_O

[Julia · Rating 2 out of 5]

Just finished... And it's an ugh from me... I'll write more details later.

24 hours, still salty... Adjusted rating from 3 to 2 stars. Still processing. I give the author a lot of credit for very compelling storytelling and really allowing us to fully live in the heads of these nihilistic characters... But if you don't have a good ending, you don't have a good story.

I'm not a complete stick in the mud, I love meta humor, and self aware characters, Rick drunk screaming at Morty about how many seasons he wants, Squidward dramatically falling on his knees crying "why must every 11 minutes of my life be filled with such misery?!?", or that one bit in Dragon Age Origins when two NPCs off the beaten path are talking about how they are in a simulation and how much it sucks because one of them has had a painful wart for weeks and who would design a world where this would happen and happen specifically to him? These are all great and I love them. Where this lost me was that the whole plot, the whole mystery I was invested in was this meta concept. It feels cheap, unsatisfying. The whole point of stories is to suspend your disbelief for the time you are consuming that piece of medium, and the reasons the other examples work is because they are so removed from the thing, they don't effect it at all. If Todd had only made one or two cryptic hints that he knows he is in a novel, like the Cartman comment, that would have worked better, I think. To have so much of the plot revolve around the fact that they are in a novel is just... it doesn't work. Also, it's a small note, but come on man, Alicia had such strong potential as a character, but she ended up doing barely anything accept motivating the two boys. Ugh. THEN, when she is taking shelter, she takes the time to complain about a spider? What? Have more than one woman, please, or allow her to play a role outside of hooking up to the plot... have her knowledge of storms come in handy, or have her skeptic eye point out something unseen. Or, just not have a random girl there if you really just want to tell a story about boys becoming men and all that. I was HOPING that once everything had calmed down she would have kicked Jonathan to the curb after pointing out that he basically lied about how involved he was in the arson when they were kids. He lied a lot by omission. It would have been in character for her to do that. As it is, I guess this is fine? I certainly wouldn't trust him honestly. Ugh. Such an interesting mystery with so much suspense. Just. Ugh.