The Good Son

by Todd Strasser

A Pocket Books tie-in based on Ian McEwan's screenplay of the major motion picture release from Twentieth Century Fox, starring Macaulay Culkin and Elijah Wood. Here is the chilling story of a young boy sent to live with relatives after the death of his mother, and of his prankish cousin, who is responsible for increasingly dangerous "accidents".

Genres: Fiction, Horror, Media Tie In, Crime, Thriller, Horror Thriller, Mystery Thriller

212 pages, Mass Market Paperback

Published January 1, 1993

About the author

Todd Strasser is an American author of more than 130 novels for adults, young-adults, and middle graders.

His most recent novel is Summer of '69

Booklist review: "Drugs, sex, and rock 'n' roll, those hallmarks of the summer of 1969, are all here, but there's so much more. In this loosely autobiographical novel, Strasser introduces 18-year-old Lucas, who is bright and sensitive but also a screw up…. The picture painted of the Woodstock music festival shows the dark side of peace and love, and the prevalence of drugs is on almost every page…The best part of the book, however, is the one that transcends eras: Lucas' introspection as he contemplates his place in the world."

Kirkus review: "Strasser perfectly captures the golden haze of youth and life on the cusp of adulthood. Readers fascinated with this time period will find much to enjoy... Vietnam, Woodstock, road trips, and acid trips: a sweetly bittersweet, surprising, even melancholy bildungsroman set against a world in flux. Groovy, man."

His most recent young adult novel is Price of Duty:
2018 New York Public Library Best Book for Teens
“Compact and suspenseful, the novel raises important questions about war.” – Kirkus 
“This thought-provoking book is both welcome and imperative.” – Booklist * (starred review).
"Rather than attempting to sway the reader, it offers awareness." - VOYA 
“Tightly wound and compelling ... appropriate for an older middle school and high school audience. VERDICT: Highly recommended.” – School Library Journal 

Bio: Todd was born in New York City. When he was young his parents moved to Roslyn Heights, New York (Long Island). Todd went to the I.U. Willets Elementary school and then attended the Wheatley School for junior high and high school. His best subjects were math and science. He also liked to read, but he had trouble with spelling and grammar, and didn't do well in English. His favorite sports were tennis, skiing and fishing. Todd went to college at New York University for a few years, and then dropped out. He lived on a commune, then lived in Europe where he was a street musician.

All the while, Todd wrote songs and poems and lots of letters to his friends back home. Finally he decided to try being a writer. He returned to the United States and went to Beloit College where he studied literature and writing.

After college, Todd worked at the Middletown Times Herald-Record newspaper in Middletown, New York, and later at Compton Advertising in New York City. In 1978, Todd sold his first novel, Angel Dust Blues. He used the money to start the Dr. Wing Tip Shoo fortune cookie company. For the next 12 years, Todd sold more fortune cookies than books.

Todd now divides his time between writing books and speaking at schools and conferences. When he's at home, he likes to spend time with his children and dog, Cooper. He still likes to play tennis and ski, but his favorite new sport is surfing.

Reviews

[Nayra.Hassan]

*ان من اشر الناس من تركه الناس اتقاء لفحشه*
و الابن الصالح يضعك امام الاختيار بين السهل ام الصائب؛ في فيلم كابوسي لن ينساه من يشاهده و لو مر عليه ثلاثين عام؛ انه احد تلك الأفلام القاسية عن:الحوادث

تلك الكلمة
الملتبسة و التي تكون كثيرا ما تكون عصية علي التفسير
و حوادث هنري الفتي ذو الاثني عشر عام ستجعلك تصاب بالجنون حتماً؛ و ما ان يصل ابن عمه مارك ليعيش معه يرتجف قلب المشاهد مما سيراه الصبي المسكين علي ايدي هنري السيكوباني؛ الابن الأسوأ لاي اب او ام
و هذا سيقودنا الي نهاية لن تنساها ما حييت

تقع الام في اختيار مرعب؛ ب عد معرفتها لكم الشرور الساكنة في قلب ابنها؛ و تعرفها علي طرف من جرائمه؛ و منها قتل اخيه الرضيع مثلا؛ لتجد الام. نفسها مجبرة علي ان تنجي طفل واحد فقط من موت محتم؛ و كان الكاستينج لماكولي في دور الابن الشرير صادم للكرة الأرضية كلها في التسعينات



لنتاكد في النهاية إن القدرة علي تميبز الخير من الشر
تكمن في عقل الإنسان؛ لا في المجتمع

[Rocio Voncina]

Titulo: The Good Son
Autor: Todd Strasser
Motivo de lectura: Letras Macabras (Isla Macabra 2023)
Lectura / Relectura: Lectura
Mi edicion: Electronico
Puntuacion: 5/5

Esta es la novelizacion de la pelicula "The Good Son" (1993), pelicula que fue magnificamente interpretada por unos muy jovenes Macaulay Culkin y Elijah Wood. Asimismo me gustaria aclarar que el guion original de esta pelicula fue escrito por el gran talentoso Ian McEwan. El trabajo de Todd Strasser fue novelizar ese guion.

Aclarado todo para que cada uno tenga su merecido credito, me voy a adentrar en esta novela.

Esta historia gira alrededor de dos niños, el autor retrata personalidades muy distintas (niño bueno, niño malo) y lo hace de manera formidable. Desde el inicio notamos que uno de los niños no es "normal" y presenta rasgos alarmantes de maldad. Este es un topico fascinante para mi (la maldad) sobre todo cuando se presenta en niños, porque si, los niños son capaces de cometer actos atroces (aunque ciertas personas tiendan a romantizar la imagen de los niños y piensen que son angelitos en la tierra).
Los niños que sufren de trastorno disocial no conocen de limites con respecto a cometer actos de maldad, el remordimiento no es parte de su esencia (por eso pueden mentir, robar, torturar animales o hasta matar y no sentiran culpa).
Una de las cuestiones mas peligrosas de ese comportamiento disocial es cuando el adulto a cargo de ese niño no reconoce que existe un problema, y la parte mas dolorosa es cuando llega el momento de reconocer y aceptar que el niño presenta rasgos que lo excluye de lo que se conoce como apto para convivir en sociedad.



Esta historia es de lectura adictiva, ambos personajes estan en continuo movimiento, en una carrera demencial del gato y el raton. La construccion de los personajes no es profunda, porque me da la sensacion que el autor se apoya mas en la interaccion y dinamica entre ambos, pero es en esa interaccion donde encontramos la profundidad, la cuota emocional a flor de piel.
La maldad, la deseperacion, la perdida y la manipulacion emocional es moneda corriente durante la trama, generando una ambientacion angustiante y asfixiante.



Cuando llega el momento de enfrentar la verdad, cuando todo lo conocido se vuelve desconocido..no quisiera estar en los zapatos de esa madre..
No puede haber luz sin oscuridad..

[Rose]

"The Good Son" is an example of a direct novelization that worked extremely well in its basis from the movie, and even added a few key scenes that were missing from the movie that helped identify the characters within it better. On the whole, however, the characters were clearly defined, the setting established strongly, and the diction very sound and easy to follow.

The story revolves around a young boy named Mark who goes to stay with his relatives after his mother's death. But his world changes as he gets to know Henry, a boy who seems to take pleasure in a number of so-called accidents, even holding a fascination with death that makes Mark very weary of him. However, when some of these accidents at Henry's behest become very prominent, Mark tries to warn everyone around him that something's "not right" with Henry. Alas, this is not taken very well by the people around Mark, to the point of simple dismission to hostile disbelief. I felt sorry for Mark throughout this work because it honestly portrays his sense of futility in the situation, and compares very well to the movie. Henry is just downright evil - alluring when the reader first comes to know him, but by the time several of these "accidents" take place, you gain an understanding of just how twisted he is.

The final tense scenes of this book still resonate with me today, even years after I've read it. It's a great story, and very well told in the alternating spurts of tension, suspense, and portrayal of its cast.

Overall: 3.5/5

[Megan]

The first book I ever remember buying & reading on my own. I was about 10 and I remember how fast I read through it and loved it, but got upset at the movie for missing a few parts that were key to me. I felt so bad that no one would believe the boy & it aggravated me that someone could manipulate other people so well (I think i might have had a friend like that, which bothered me).

lol, now that i think about it, it's such a strange book for a 10 year old to pick out & read; must have been the Macaulay Culkin factor.

[Belkis Yaiche]

WITHOUT DARKNESS
..THERE CAN BE NO LIGHT !
💭
"If I let you go, do you think you could fly?"



The " accidents" of Henry are nightmares !
I hope I'll never meet someone like him in my whole life !

[Kya Boocks]

I watched this movie many times I think on lifetime or a channel similar and absolutely love it and I was at a book sale the library was holding and came across this jewel and knew immediately I had to read it because I didn't know there was a book. Turns out this isn't a book turned into a movie, it's a movie turned into a book and I even did research to make sure. The movie is written by the talented Ian McEwan.

The Good Son is about a boy named Mark who lives with his aunt and uncle for a couple weeks after his mom does and his dad goes to Japan to save his business. Mark has two cousins, Henry and Connie and Henry is basically the devil inside a child's body and all these events happen and basically the kid has no remorse for anything he does.
I give this book 5 out of 5 Macaulay Culkins because the movie is the best.

[Katiem]

Like most other reviewers here, I picked this out when I was fairly young. To be totally honest, the biggest reason I wanted to read it was because of my huge crush on Elijah Wood at the time.

The novel itself was fine, very much like the movie but with a few added details that made me feel like I knew a bit more than the average movie goer. I think during the few years of my crush I re-read this book a good 10 times.

[michelle]

I recall the pure evil of the child in this film. Henry constructed a dummy to throw over a bridge and kill drivers. He tortures his cousin Mark. The film disturbed me because I couldn't erase the notion that a child could be so malicious and tormenting.
The movie is also very well done.

[Hannah Janeway]

I really enjoyed this. I've barely started reading horror and in general branching out from the YA I used to burn through and from my inability to read anything but long series' and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed this book. I saw the movie a long long time ago and loved the plot and the characters, and I just discovered that this book was written as a tie in to the movie but the author did such an amazing job. I read the last 80% in a day because I never felt bored with it; it's well written and lays out the progression of the story wonderfully and really captured the aura of each character. Which is basically the crux of the story; Henry's creepiness and Mark's grief, anxiety, and desire for kinship were flushed out but not laid on super thick and sloppy. All the characters felt well written, well crafted - their features weren't forced and over-explained, they showed.

My one gripe is the author's misogyny that seeps through. Wallace and Susan are the picture perfect parents. Wallace brings home the bacon and Susan is constantly portrayed as the perfect mother, always cleaning and cooking and dropping everything to tend warmly to her kids. Which is fine - I liked Susan, and I think the author did a great job making ME feel her warmth and kindness. But he also wrote her like she was the definition of the proper mother because of all the cooking, cleaning, the tenderness and different mothers were bad mothers. Also, at some point Mark literally thinks "Wallace was... *in charge*. He was the father, the boss. He'd know what to do." Needless to say I knew that quote would show up in my review the moment I read it. And he also at one point presents Wallace as the reasonable man and Susan as the emotional, irrational woman. It was enough to make dislike Wallace.

But yeah, overall I super enjoyed the read.

[Shaikha]

been wanting to read this for the longest time. very disturbing!
2.5/5

[Clara]

This entry will be entirely dedicated to the first digital book I’ve ever read 'The Good Son' by Todd Strasser. It is originally a psychological thriller movie, but is adapted into a book. The book is set in the coast of Maine during winter months, it will be useful for the plot. Furthermore, the book centres around a grieving boy called Mark who tries to stop his charismatic yet sociopathic cousin named Henry from killing his own family. Meanwhile, the adults believe Mark is the unstable one.

The novel begins - 12-year-old Mark’s mother dies from illness recently, and he is sent to live with his Uncle (Wallace), aunt (Susan), and cousins (Henry & Connie). This is because his dad’s company is in danger and requires him to go to Japan.

At first, everything seem perfect. Almost perfect. While climbing Henry’s treehouse, Mark slips, turns out Henry had purposefully broke it. Before Henry pulls Mark to safety, he smiles —
"If I let you go, do you think you could fly?" Mark thinks Henry is rather mad, but dismisses it due to Henry’s charm. The pair later have a happy moment — they sing jolly songs.

The other day, Mark is forced to meet Alice Davenport, a therapist. At first, Mark isn’t comfortable with saying anything. But soon grief fills him, he says everything outloud.

That night, Mark sees a figure wearing a flowing white dress. The dress his late mother used to wear.

"It was his mother!" - pg. 82.

The figure turns her head, only then did Mark realise it is his aunt Susan. Mark bursts into tears, and convinces himself that his mother’s soul has entered Susan’s body.

"Whosoever liveth & believeth in me shall never die."
SHALL NEVER DIE -- the line causes Mark to think that way.
Susan hugs the crying child, while Henry watches in jealousy, realising he will lose control over his mother.

A series of chaotic events follow Mark and Henry. Henry shoots a dog dead with his handmade gun. Moreover, he drops a dummy (which he innocently calls as Mr. Highway) down the road. Cars mistake it as a living, causing them to stop abruptly. As a result, car accidents happen. Fortunately, nobody died.

Mark feels terribly guilty and thinks Henry as sick.

"Someone was going to be killed... and all because of him.... he could see Henry, his arms raised triumphantly and an exultant expression on his face"
— pg 107

Henry acompanies Mark to confess to Wallace. What Mark didn't know was that Mark planned to frame him as the violent one. Wallace, of course believes Henry, despite all Mark's desperate words. It appears that Henry has successfully tricked Wallace into thinking Mark has gone crazy due to his mum's death.

One night, Mark gets into a fight with Henry — a rough one. Henry suggests to Mark that he would murder his little sister, Connie, just like how he did to Richard, his little brother.

Henry hissed..." If she got hurt. You'd be sad, wouldn't you, Mark?"
— pg 122

Therefore Mark companies Connie for the following days, afraid that she might die. There are many false warnings; Connie is still unharmed. STILL.

One day, upon knowing Henry took Connie to ice skating, Mark panics and rushes there.

"Connie!" Mark launched himself from the tree trunk and started running again.
— pg 158

When he arrives there, only to witness Henry is pushing his sister to the thin ice! Connie slips, and stands up, the ice breaks, and she falls within it. Luckily, she is saved, but again Henry is seen as a kind brother, who did not try to kill his sister.

After Connie enters the hospital, Mark bursts out all the truth about Henry to Susan privately. He can't hold it in anymore. But all he received... was a fierce slap.

"No!" Susan shouted. Her hand flew out, smacking Mark across the face... "You're lying! Henry's my son. I love him.
— pg 169

Mark brought his hand up to the tender, stinging skin on his face... She'd never believe him.
— pg 170

NOBODY WILL EVER BELIEVE HIM
It takes Susan a while to calm down. When her
mind is clear, she reflects on what Mark said... and
what Henry's behavior was like.

She enters the hospital room, just in time to witness
Henry preparing to smother Connie to death. As the door clicked, Henry is surprised, but quickly recovered and grinned.

• ... gazed at the heart monitor. The reflection of the
blinking light was like a line of war paint
across his darkened face.
• Why was he staring at it like that?
What strange fascination did it hold for him?
Suddenly, Susan felt afraid.
• ... his surprised expression caught in the light of
lamp... but then he quickly recovered his
composure & smiled his most charming,
boyish smile.
• But the smile disconcerted Susan. - pg 171

Susan finally believes in Mark's warnings and
realise that her son is pure evil. Her son, who
killed Richard.

Meanwhile, Henry continues to manipulate adults
into thinking Mark is a crazy, sad boy. First, he
talks to Mark's therapist, Alice Davenport. Then, Henry
claims he poisoned food in the fridge. To protect
the family, Mark throws all food down the sink.
Henry calls the adults to witness the scene.
As a result, his plans have succeeded.

To Henry
"It's not your fault," Alice said with a sigh. "Mark is
having a tough time. He's going through some very
difficult times." - pg 178
• They didn't get it at all! They thought he was upset about
his mother! - pg 185

Henry smiles in satisfaction.

• "We'll talk in the morning," Wallace said.
• "What for?" Mark asked, boiling with frustration.
"Nobody believes me." - pg 186

All the proofs Susan received forces her to search Henry's backyard shed in the next morning. There she finally discovers the definitive proof: the rubber duck belonging to her late infant son, Richard, confirming that Henry "was" indeed a killer.

Henry sees it, and roughly tries to snatch it back.

"It's mine," he hissed.

"Who are you?" she blurted out.
Henry smiled faintly. "I'm your son.
PG-192

He then dumps it away, destroying the evidence.

Mark later spots him and confronts him. They get into a fight, with Mark shoving Henry against the wall while holding a screw driver.

Henry shouts in time for Wallace to come for 'rescue'. Wallace forcefully locks Mark into the study, stubbornly thinking the child is mad with grief.

"Wait!" he cried, banging as hard as he could on the door. "You've got to let me out! He's going to kill her! Don't you understand?"
No one answered.
No one understood.

pg 199

In desperation, he breaks the window but is stopped.
His father Jack urgently arrives after Wallace's callings, only then Mark escapes with Jack's mercy.

Meanwhile, at the cliff, Susan confronts Henry about the truth. Henry, at first, acts innocently. But later he realizes Susan is aware of his lies and he puts on an act.
Down below, his act ->

"We'll get you help," Susan said. She had to get through him.

"You want to put me in one of those places," Henry said with unnering certainty.

"I'd rather die!" he shouted at her. "You hear me? I'd rather be dead!"

pg 204

Henry turns and runs toward the edge of the cliff. Susan, afraid of another death, runs after him. She reaches there, but no one is yet to be seen. Assuming the worst, she looks down.

Out of blue, a pair of hands push her down! All the "Suicide" act was a trick.

Luckily, she managed to grab onto the edge of the cliff.

At that moment, Mark grabs Henry from behind. They wrestle on the ground, punching each other with their fists. This gives Susan time to pull herself up, and scramble towards them.

Just as she reached them, they begin to topple over the cliff together. Susan dove forward & both boys grab her. The weight pull Susan down onto her stomach, and both boys are hanging in the void as they cling to her arms.
Susan tries to pull them both, but it is impossible; together, they weigh too much. She must sacrifice one to rescue other. Who?

Mark’s mouth was open in a silent cry, his breaths short and rapid.

Henry’s expression was sweet & imploring. How could you? it seemed to ask. I’m your son!

Susan looked from one boy to other.
Mark
Henry
Her son...
Her choice...
Richard...
Six inches of water.

pg 208

Susan suddenly jerk her hand out of Henry's grasp and grabbed Mark, stopping his side.

As Henry’s eyes widened in surprise, Susan look away. Mark clung to her, reliving the terrible moment over & over.

Henry plummeted downward, his arm and legs spread like a sky diver’s. With a sickening smack he hit the rocks below and bounced off them like a rag doll. A wave crashed over his body. A moment later he was gone.

She’d done the worst thing a mother could do. And she knew it was right.
*pg 209

In the epilogue chapter, Mark with his father Jack visit the coast of Maine, without Henry's presence. Connie has grown tall and pretty, while Henry remains at the same age a year ago.
Mark visits Henry's tombstone with Susan.
The bond had begun before Henry had died, and Henry's death had only strengthened it. Mark places fresh yellow flowers on the tombstone.

"No matter what, I still love him," Susan said, wiping a tear out of her eye with a finger.

"We'll never forget him," Mark said.

She was his mother now, or as close as he was ever going to get again.
*Pg 212

The tombstone read:
HENRY EVANS
1981-1993
WITHOUT DARKNESS
THERE CAN BE NO LIGHT

I am finally done with the summary part! It took me four days. Now, I’ll tell you about the three main characters.

Mark Evans is the main character of the book, and undoubtedly also the emotional centre of it. He is a strong, sharp, and resilient boy; he is my favourite character. His mother has died, and the grief blinds him, making him to miss the early signs. While reading the book, I can sense that, at first, he desires to fit into his relative family. Later, his desire becomes to protect the family. Throughout the story, his wish is to meet in his mother’s arms again. He falsely believes that her soul has entered Susan, which at the end of his story, realizes that Susan is not his mother but is yet a loving lady. He moves from a desperate, grieving boy to a young lad that accepts his mother’s death and move on.

I shall introduce you to the story’s villain – Henry Evans. He is the same age as Mark, yet he is ruthless, calculating, and intelligent. Nonetheless, he isn’t the perfect villain type. Henry also has some weaknesses, such as overconfidence (which leads to his downfall – he does not calculate Mark’s part while trying to kill Susan). He is also ego-seeking and possessive of his property, such as being jealous when Mark snatches Susan’s love. Another example of him being possessive is when Susan takes Richard’s rubberduck (a sign of his first murder) from his shed. This boy desires to remain in control forever. Pretty classic, huh?

The last character I’ll share about is Susan, Henry’s mother. Similar to Mark, she is manipulated by grief. She has defensive denial, which makes her slow to accept the truth. Despite these negative traits, she is terribly loving and loyal to her family. She develops from mother protecting her happy fantasy to a woman who is willing to sacrifice her son for better good.

Finally, the character part is over, and I shall dive deeper into the story.

Let's talk about the themes of the book.

The first theme that stood importantly is – grief & vulnerability. The story constantly shows that grief makes people easy targets for manipulation. The example are Susan and Mark (early), and how Henry controls their view of events.

Another notable theme is – the incompetence of adults. Despite all the red flags Henry has shown, the adults choose to believe in Henry instead of Mark.

The last theme I found in the novel is the burden of choice. This theme reflects on Susan's decision to save good outsider rather than to save an evil son. Despite doing the right choice she still feels a heavy burden.

Moreover, as I said earlier, this book is adapted from movie. Therefore, the book has a cinematic realism writing style, which I thoroughly enjoyed it.

In addition, the narrative voice is Third-person limited voice, yet jumps into different perspectives at times. Usually, the book is told from Mark's POV, but sometimes from Susan & Henry.

Below I shall list down the strengths & weaknesses I found in the book.

Strengths:

Engaging plot

Interesting dialogue

Talented adaption from movie to book.

Weaknesses

Ending's pacing is awfully fast compared to/ the earlier & middle parts of the book.

Repetitive plot

Lastly, I shall analyse the messages the book gives.

The book gives us readers a notable message – Good deeds requires sacrifices. To protect Mark and save future victims, Susan has to make the ultimate sacrifice -– to let go of her child on the edge of the cliff. Doing the right thing costs her everything.

The second meaningful message is – Never give up. Despite all the struggles, Mark never gives up, and due to his nature he saved Susan's life.

The last message the book tells us is to move on from the dark past and grief, and to the light. At the end of the story, Mark accepts that his mother will never come back, and finds new peace with his aunt, and the family.

In conclusion, I think Todd Strasser's 'Good Son' is an entertaining piece of work, and everyone should read it in their free time. 4.5 / 5!

[Amy B.]

A quick, straight-forward suspense. Like in the movie, you definitely do not feel bad about the outcome; in fact once you find out what a sociopath Henry is (and it is especially fun imagining Macauly Caulkin acting this all out, which Strasser did an excellent job capturing in words), you wish it came to a head a lot sooner. Classic dramatic irony is major in this - you wish you could just shake Henry's parents and tell them to believe Mark. The suspenseful uneasiness evoked in the reader might be a lot stronger if you've never seen the movie and don't know what to expect; but not having seen the movie in over a decade, I found the same pleasure as seeing the movie.

[Mark Hansen]

Some books are worth less than the paper upon which they are printed. This is one such example.

I don't have any particular moral or literary qualms about this book. It's a decent bit of writing, though I've never seen the movie (and won't), so I can't compare it. My objections are strictly philosophical, since in my view writing is meant to educate and edify. Certain topics inherently can't do either, and much like a textbook on the physics of darkness or cold would be useless, so is this book.

Unless you're only looking for cheap thrills and the feeling you need to take a long shower after reading, it simply isn't worth your time or money.

[Robert]

Read this book in forth or fifth grade on the recommendation of my friend mike. I think that it scared both of us a little too much. It did however show both of us the power that the written word has to entertain and to evoke emotion.

The sentimentality I have regarding reading this book leads me to give it a four star rating. Whether I would give it that rating now or not I am not sure.

[Kristel]

I used part of this part for a serious oral interpretation speech one year when I was in high school. Not sure I would actually recommend reading this...you should just watch the movie...or have me interpret the book for you, seriously.

[Lusia Cahyaningrum]

i love novel the good son

[Ezra Zathen]

I never thought a 12 year old boy can creep me out this much, teared up at some points. I wish it could've been explained why Henry was the way he was. The ending is very sad though.

[Kelsey]

Very good movie tie-in novel. There are scenes that aren’t in the movie which is cool. I also liked that the POV changes (although mostly staying with Mark).

[BRNTerri]

Though I'd seen the film a few years ago I didn't realize until recently it was novelized at the time of its release. I read it since I like the film. The novel's better. I don't like Macaulay Culkin in this role at all. I think he's quite awful. Fortunately when I read it I didn't have trouble picturing someone else as Henry/Macaulay. Henry comes across as more sinister in the novel and that's another reason why novel is better than film. Since the novel is only 212 pages, it's pretty condensed, going from one incident to another. Had it been longer, with more dialogue between incidents, I think it could have been a 5-star read for me.

Some dialogue from the book is missing from the film and it hurts it.

-There's a scene in the novel when Mark is climbing the tree where Henry is and the piece of wood he's stepping on breaks, causing Mark to dangle. He later looks at the piece of wood and sees that it had been partially cut with a saw, making it easier to break when stepped on. That part with Mark discovering what Henry had done wasn't in the film.

-Richard, Henry's dead two-year-old brother who died in the bathtub, his whale toy that he'd play with in the tub was changed to a yellow rubber duck in the film.

-Henry and Mark are playing on train tracks before Henry hurts the dog. A train's coming and Henry waits until the last minute to get off but that scene's not in the film at all.

-Later, Mark threatens Henry with a screwdriver but in the film it's changed to scissors. I think it's during that scene in the novel when Henry threatens to harm his mother but it's not really said in those words in the film.

Henry's Freddy Kruegeresque green and red jacket wasn't lost on me

[Jenna D.]

Crazy movie, disturbing, sad, with a fairly well-written novelization. While there is no true reconciliation of closure as far as the emotional aspect to the story, the build up to the climactic end is enough to keep the pages turning. You’re just barely able to regain your breath before it has ended...

[Brooke]

I didn’t expect to like this book as much as I did. It’s been a good 15 or 20 years since I’ve seen the movie. I never really expect a novelization of a screenplay to knock my socks off. However, I really enjoyed this movie tie-in novel.

It’s a super quick read and a great way to kill a few extra hours with a gripping story.

[Chris Seals]

I wanted to see if this book was ok for a sixth grader to read. I think it's a perfect thriller for the age.

[Mariah L. Napier]

This was a pretty good novelization! Quick, enjoyable read.

[Matt Gold]

I would have loved this as a kid. Written from 12-year-old Mark's perspective, it has a lot in common with a Goosebumps book but is a bit longer and more mature.

[Majiri]

Published and released after the film it was nearly a play by play of the movie but with extra content. It is told entirely from Mark's perspective so we get to view his processing of Henry from the start.

One thing I didn't like, the line was changed...thee line "Don't mess with me." He also changed Mark's reaction to the warning.

[Jus]

I read this book “The Good Son” by Todd Strasser, as a child (teenager), and had a copy of the book. One of my favourites. The story is about a boy (Marcus?) who leaves Maine to stay with his uncle’s family as his mother has passed away and his father has to go on a job. The boy befriends his cousins(a little girl Connie?) and her brother (Henry?)who’s the same age as him.

Sorry I can’t remember the names of the characters!

Marcus learns that his cousin Henry is not a normal boy to the eye. His parents can be fooled but not him. Henry was the reason why his younger brother died. Henry is intelligent but has a screw loose, he tries to kill his sister. Injures a dog, nearly causes a car crash, then tries to hurt his own sister. Will Henry’s mother believe her nephew over her son, her own flesh and blood?!

Suspense, thriller, psychological horror. I’ve never seen the film, but the book was terrific and I don’t know where my copy has gone. I would love to read it again.

****

Rereading my favourite childhood book “The Good Son” by Tod Strasser on September 17, 2026, in one reading, I noticed a few things.
- Mark’s dad Jack Evans, is in his early forties (when you’re little that age sounds so old) lol! It really isn’t!
- I didn’t realise Mark was playing soccer, for some reason I thought he was playing baseball?
- Wife: Janice
- Jacks older brother Wallace, wife susan.
- Didn’t realise jack was away for 2 weeks it felt longer than that
- Henry also 12 years old.
- Connie, Henry’s little sister.

It’s heartwarming reading this book as an adult as I recognise the states, and national parks they mention in book. I’ve been fortunate to go and travel and see these places. So it’s amusing.

“It’s okay, except the flat parts.” - mark talking about the Midwest. How true!

I visited maine because of this book. Didn’t realise though the location was set in Rock Harbor, ME (fictional town), not Rockland or Rockport, in ME.

It’s still as powerful and terrifying it was when I read this as a child and again as I an adult*. I missed placed my hard copy when I moved around but was extremely excited to find another hard copy in a thrift store on my travels.

#Horror
#Maine
#Arizona
#50stateschallenge

[Jessie Drew]

* THIS IS NOT A SCREENPLAY. THIS IS A NOVEL BASED ON THE SCREENPLAY.*

Another fun novelization! A fast and compelling read. I would definitely recommend it. TGS doesn’t get enough credit for its crazy AF storyline. And Macaulay Culkin plays a sociopath perfectly. The book captures it correctly.
Really excited to rewatch the movie. 🍿

[Christina]

One twisted, crazy story. I read this book a long time ago, but I still remember the story.

[Leslie]

Great first novel!!! Loved it.

[Rebecca Granfield]

Read it when I was 10 or so - terrifying, good.