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Reunion
It’s the end of August. Summer’s almost over, and the carefree time of a young boy’s summer vacation is rapidly and inexorably slipping away from him.
With his first day of junior high school looming ever closer, thirteen-year-old Jackie Stone and his best friend, Chris Hooper, want to make the most of their freedom.
They have one last Saturday night to camp out in the tent in Jackie’s backyard... one last night to goof off in ways only two thirteen-year-old boys can.
But as much as Jackie wants to go along with his friend’s idea of what would be “fun,” he is filled with unaccountable apprehension. He senses that something is wrong... He has a uncanny feeling this may be the last night — ever — that he and Chris will fool around like this.
With his first day of junior high school looming ever closer, thirteen-year-old Jackie Stone and his best friend, Chris Hooper, want to make the most of their freedom.
They have one last Saturday night to camp out in the tent in Jackie’s backyard... one last night to goof off in ways only two thirteen-year-old boys can.
But as much as Jackie wants to go along with his friend’s idea of what would be “fun,” he is filled with unaccountable apprehension. He senses that something is wrong... He has a uncanny feeling this may be the last night — ever — that he and Chris will fool around like this.
116 pages, Hardcover
First published January 1, 2009
3 people are currently reading
53 people want to read
About the author
Rick Hautala
137 books126 followersAKA A.J. Matthews
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
Rick Hautala has more than thirty published books to his credit, including the million copy, international best-seller Nightstone, as well as Twilight Time, Little Brothers, Cold Whisper, Impulse, and The Wildman. He has also published four novels—The White Room, Looking Glass, Unbroken, and Follow—using the pseudonym A. J. Matthews. His more than sixty published short stories have appeared in national and international anthologies and magazines. His short story collection Bedbugs was selected as one of the best horror books of the year in 2003.
A novella titled Reunion was published by PS Publications in December, 2009; and Occasional Demons, a short story collection, is due in 2010 from CD Publications. He wrote the screenplays for several short films, including the multiple award-winning The Ugly Film, based on the short story by Ed Gorman, as well as Peekers, based on a short story by Kealan Patrick Burke, and Dead @ 17, based on the graphic novel by Josh Howard.
A graduate of the University of Maine in Orono with a Master of Art in English Literature (Renaissance and Medieval Literature), Hautala lives in southern Maine with author Holly Newstein. His three sons have all grown up and (mostly) moved out of the house. He served terms as Vice President and Trustee for the Horror Writers Association.
Sadly, Rick died on March 21, 2013.
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Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews
August 10, 2023
Intriguing! What if that could really happen...
I did notice that the two boys' ages are variously given as 12, 13, and 14.
I did notice that the two boys' ages are variously given as 12, 13, and 14.
March 8, 2010
Is it egotistical to post one of my own books? ... Even if it is, I want people to read and enjoy this new novella. ... Especially people who knew me growng up will see this as "autobiorgaphical fiction." Why four stars instead of five? Because I don't think any book I've written couldn't be better ... So if you read and enjoy it, let me know ... Writing is a lonely enterprise ...
February 29, 2020
Ladies and gentlemen man, my second 5 star of the year!
How the hell did I not discover Rick Hautala sooner? I had no idea what I’d been missing. I’m now going to make up for lost time and read everything last thing of his that I can find.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I’ve thought about a book this much, while I was reading it I couldn’t wait to get home from work, or finish doing whatever I was doing so I could get back to it. And once I finished it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it even more so. It was only on a whim that I ended up with the signed deluxe PS publishing edition of Reunion, a good friend of mine was selling a few from his amazing collection and the cover might have well of jumped out and slapped me in the face. Then I saw it was a coming of age story set in summer? Game over!!
Boy am I glad I discovered this. While it’s only short at 120 pages, it’s so damn powerful. The writing is beautiful and the story is absolutely amazing. It’s very creepy and unsettling, but that at the same time amazing and wonderful. It’s one of those books where you just HAVE to know what is happening! I can see why people compare Rick to king. It helps that he went to Maine university I guess? Anyway, I’ll stop rambling but do yourself a favour and read this book! Go in blind and come out with eyes wide open and maybe sprinkle in a tear or two for good measure. It’s got an emotional punches. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got to go find some snacks to deal with these post book blues.
How the hell did I not discover Rick Hautala sooner? I had no idea what I’d been missing. I’m now going to make up for lost time and read everything last thing of his that I can find.
I honestly cannot remember the last time I’ve thought about a book this much, while I was reading it I couldn’t wait to get home from work, or finish doing whatever I was doing so I could get back to it. And once I finished it, I couldn’t stop thinking about it even more so. It was only on a whim that I ended up with the signed deluxe PS publishing edition of Reunion, a good friend of mine was selling a few from his amazing collection and the cover might have well of jumped out and slapped me in the face. Then I saw it was a coming of age story set in summer? Game over!!
Boy am I glad I discovered this. While it’s only short at 120 pages, it’s so damn powerful. The writing is beautiful and the story is absolutely amazing. It’s very creepy and unsettling, but that at the same time amazing and wonderful. It’s one of those books where you just HAVE to know what is happening! I can see why people compare Rick to king. It helps that he went to Maine university I guess? Anyway, I’ll stop rambling but do yourself a favour and read this book! Go in blind and come out with eyes wide open and maybe sprinkle in a tear or two for good measure. It’s got an emotional punches. Now if you’ll excuse me I’ve got to go find some snacks to deal with these post book blues.
April 14, 2013
Reunion is the story of a 12 year old boy who, with his best friend, sneaks into town late one night to check out a high school reunion taking place at the local country club. It is also a story about a 58 year old man who is attending his high school reunion, not because he wants to but because he made a promise to be there. He hopes his attendance can influence change the course of lives. This is a very well told story.
September 1, 2011
A lovely novella about the end of childhood and whether we would do things differently if we had the chance. Recommend.
March 30, 2017
I tried re-reading Rick Hautala's books last year, but gave up on them three books into his bibliography. They weren't that substantial, and I questioned his portrayal of women in his stories, so I moved on to other writers. This year, I discovered I had a novella of his among my e-books, and figured I would give him another shot.
Reunion is the story of a young boy, thirteen, who's out camping with his best friend when they get it into their head to crash a party out at the country club. Parallel to this story is one involving John, a man in his mid-forties who's desperately trying to attend his class reunion. The two stories intersect in strange ways, and Jackie, the thirteen-year old, is given much to consider.
This isn't a horror story, though it has some supernatural elements to it that probably make it fantasy, though even that is a judicious use of the term. Hautala has to bring his two main characters together, and he uses the simplest method possible to do it. The story isn't about its fantasy, though; it's about the lesson Jackie has to learn.
One of Hautala's skills is in capturing the emotions of his characters (I still have a vivid memory of how menacing a croquet mallet was in Dark Silence), and he uses them to great effect in this story. We have to understand John's emotions to understand his part in the story, and we have to understand Jackie's emotions to understand the consequences of the events, and we get them through the story. That the story is a little underwhelming isn't the fault of the emotions as much as it is the structure of the story.
Hautala spends a lot of time creating John, the adult character, though the structure suggests he's a bit of an incidental character. The story starts out alternating chapters between Jackie and John, but once John has served his purpose, his chapters stop, even though we're only about halfway through the novella. I expected the novella to maintain that structure, so it was odd when it veered off in a different direction. It's necessary to get John's point of view to get the whole story, but how Hautala incorporates the two stories doesn't feel natural.
Reunion shows me I shouldn't dismiss Hautala due to his earlier works, but neither does it make me want to run out and read everything else he wrote. I have a couple of his later novels in my to-read stack, which I still plan to read, but beyond that, I'm just not that interested. Maybe those other novels will change my mind (especially if they're structured more naturally).
Reunion is the story of a young boy, thirteen, who's out camping with his best friend when they get it into their head to crash a party out at the country club. Parallel to this story is one involving John, a man in his mid-forties who's desperately trying to attend his class reunion. The two stories intersect in strange ways, and Jackie, the thirteen-year old, is given much to consider.
This isn't a horror story, though it has some supernatural elements to it that probably make it fantasy, though even that is a judicious use of the term. Hautala has to bring his two main characters together, and he uses the simplest method possible to do it. The story isn't about its fantasy, though; it's about the lesson Jackie has to learn.
One of Hautala's skills is in capturing the emotions of his characters (I still have a vivid memory of how menacing a croquet mallet was in Dark Silence), and he uses them to great effect in this story. We have to understand John's emotions to understand his part in the story, and we have to understand Jackie's emotions to understand the consequences of the events, and we get them through the story. That the story is a little underwhelming isn't the fault of the emotions as much as it is the structure of the story.
Hautala spends a lot of time creating John, the adult character, though the structure suggests he's a bit of an incidental character. The story starts out alternating chapters between Jackie and John, but once John has served his purpose, his chapters stop, even though we're only about halfway through the novella. I expected the novella to maintain that structure, so it was odd when it veered off in a different direction. It's necessary to get John's point of view to get the whole story, but how Hautala incorporates the two stories doesn't feel natural.
Reunion shows me I shouldn't dismiss Hautala due to his earlier works, but neither does it make me want to run out and read everything else he wrote. I have a couple of his later novels in my to-read stack, which I still plan to read, but beyond that, I'm just not that interested. Maybe those other novels will change my mind (especially if they're structured more naturally).
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October 6, 2016I'm finished with Reunion: getting further into the book im getting bored & finding myself wanting to read just the dialogue. most of what's happening now is predictable and cliche in ways. i felt at the beginning it had potential as i enjoyed transitioning. unfortunately it hasn't held that throughout. -- also, chris' death was easily guessed after the crash. and jackie's, now john's, guilt is to be expected and this shows maturity as well. — 4 hours, 34 min ago — update status
wanted or not, john matured and this is a good lesson on enjoying childhood. when we get older most of us probably want to be able to tell our younger selves to enjoy it while we have it........ somewhat of an existential crisis i didnt ask for thanks to this book. it wasnt terrible, however. beginning was good, middle not so much, end had a good message.
i love the direct message at the end as well. lessons like this, about life, always capture me because i love learning and almost having an extra step in life.
wanted or not, john matured and this is a good lesson on enjoying childhood. when we get older most of us probably want to be able to tell our younger selves to enjoy it while we have it........ somewhat of an existential crisis i didnt ask for thanks to this book. it wasnt terrible, however. beginning was good, middle not so much, end had a good message.
i love the direct message at the end as well. lessons like this, about life, always capture me because i love learning and almost having an extra step in life.
Displaying 1 - 7 of 7 reviews