Boy's Life is truly a remarkable book that defies easy description. The plot is so intricate and multi-faceted that it's nearly impossible to summarize in a few sentences. The best way to describe it, as I've read so far, is that it is purely magical.
See, this is my opinion: we all start out knowing magic. We are born with whirlwinds, forest fires, and comets inside us. We are born able to sing to birds and read the clouds and see our destiny in grains of sand. But then we get the magic educated right out of our souls. In Boy's Life, Cory, the main character, experiences the wonders and mysteries of growing up in a small town in Alabama in the early 1960s. He encounters a diverse cast of characters, from wild west gun slingers to everyday milkmen to larger than life old ladies. Through his adventures, he discovers love, kindness, grief, and much more.
I could try to tell you more about Cory and his experiences, but it wouldn't do justice to the complexity of the characters and the depth of the story. There are things in this book that are much worse than monster movies. There are horrors that burst the bounds of screen and page and come home all twisted up and grinning behind the face of somebody you love.
That's where I'll leave it. I highly recommend Boy's Life to anyone who loves a good story filled with magic, mystery, and heart.