The Good Son

by Todd Strasser (Screenplay)

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, Horror Thriller

212 pages, 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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

*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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

"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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 Young · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 2 out of 5]

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

[Amy B. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 1 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[M0rningstar · Rating 3 out of 5]

I didn't get to see the movie when it came out, but lucked onto the book at the library sometime later. The story is interesting and suspenseful. The book itself is surprisingly well written for a film novelization. Overall a pretty good read.

[Lusia Cahyaningrum]

i love novel the good son

[Ezra Zathen · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Jus · Rating 5 out of 5]

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.

[Jenna D. · Rating 4 out of 5]

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 · Rating 5 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Matt Gold · Rating 3 out of 5]

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 · Rating 3 out of 5]

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.

[Jessie Drew · Rating 4 out of 5]

* 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 · Rating 4 out of 5]

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

[Leslie · Rating 4 out of 5]

Great first novel!!! Loved it.

[Rebecca Granfield · Rating 3 out of 5]

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