College student Devin Jones took the summer job at Joyland hoping to forget the girl who broke his heart. But he wound up facing something far more terrible: the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and dark truths about life- and what comes after- that would change his world forever.
I checked this book out thinking it would be your typical Stephen King horror story. I heard it was a story about a ghost living in an amusement park haunted house ride. That has to be scary, right? It was so much more than that. Yes, there are some "supernatural" aspects to the book, although I personally didn't find it to be all that scary (but again, I like scary stuff).
The part that stands out most to me is how real the characters become to you. This hasn't happened with a lot of the Stephen King books that I've read. He takes the reader beyond the supernatural stuff. Yes, there is some "supernatural-ness" to it, but it was not your typical "Stephen King weirdness" (readers of his work will understand what I mean by that). I would like to read another story like this from him. I will confess it's the first time I've ever cried while reading a Stephen King novel. And I'm not talking about a little sniffly cry either. I'm talking mascara-running-down-my-face kind of ugly cry. It's almost embarrassing.
If you keep away from Stephen King books because you don't like scary novels, I think you would enjoy this book. Honestly, the ghost and "scary stuff" ends up being a very small part of the novel.
XOXO!
I've never read any Stephen King because horror isn't my thing, but maybe I'll give this one a go.
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