Straight on 'Til Morning

BookBrowser

Do not read [Golden] before going to bed.

Midwest Book Review

I am in awe of Christopher Golden.

Peter Straub

Golden brings into being a world of haunted and perilous fantasy.

Publishers Weekly - Publisher's Weekly

Stoker Award winner Golden's (Buffy the Vampire Slayer: Pretty Maids All in a Row; Strangewood) dramatic and funny coming-of-age story set in the summer of 1981 stumbles off to a slow start as he introduces 13-year-old Kevin Murphy and his delinquent friends. Thankfully, the narrative kicks into high gear midway through, evolving into a horrific and ultimately sorrowful thriller. Kevin has obsessed over his 15-year-old neighbor, Nikki French, for years, and he's crestfallen when she meets and falls in love with a strange older boy named Peter Starling. An avid reader of comic books and fantastic stories, Kevin believes there's something not quite right about Peter. His suspicions are confirmed when, in an abrupt plot shift, Peter kidnaps Nikki and whisks her to Neverland, a grotesque place engaged in civil war and inhabited by slimy seallike creatures, behemoth monsters and others like Peter who are members of a race just slightly less than human. Having witnessed Nikki's late-night abduction, Kevin decides to rescue her and convinces his brother and two foulmouthed friends to journey with him "second to the right... and straight on till morning" the last words Kevin heard Peter utter to Nikki. A bizarre combination of The Wonder Years TV series and The Lost Boys film, this fantastic tale entertains, but a hurried conclusion may leave readers in the dark. Agent, Lori Perkins. (Apr.) FYI: On April 10, Signet will issue this title as a mass market paperback ($6.99 0-45120276-7). Copyright 2001 Cahners Business Information.

KLIATT

This story starts out in the summer of 1981, as 13-year-old Kevin and his friends are figuring out how to amuse themselves during their vacation. One day they run into a group of kids who are unusual characters. The leader, Peter, becomes involved with 15-year-old Nikki, whom Kevin has had a crush on forever. Everything seems normal and you feel like you are just reading a coming-of-age story until Kevin sees Nikki fly with Peter and his gang, "second to the right and straight on 'til morning." The novel abruptly becomes a tale of fantasy and horror. Kevin rounds up his friends and they seem to believe that it is necessary to rescue Nikki. They head off to Neverland where the strangest events happen. Fantasy and horror fans will have to breeze through the first 200 realistic pages until they are ensconced in a fantasy world. This is a suspenseful and surprising story sure to delight both male and female YAs. KLIATT Codes: JS—Recommended for junior and senior high school students. 2001, Penguin Putnam, Signet, 320p., $6.99. Ages 13 to 18. Reviewer: Sherri Forgash Ginsberg; Chapel Hill, NC , September 2001 (Vol. 35 No. 5)

KLIATT - Joseph DeMarco

Golden, a Buffy the Vampire Slayer veteran author and winner of the Stoker Award, has crafted a coming-of-age horror/thriller that doesn't take off until midway or later through the book; but once it does, it takes hold of the reader and doesn't let go. A takeoff on the Peter Pan story, as the title suggests, Golden's story follows the adventures of adolescents Kevin Murphy; Nikki French, a neighbor he's been secretly pining for; and bad boy Peter Starling, who steals Nikki's affections from Kevin. The reader spends a lot of time getting to know Kevin and learning about his unrequited love for Nikki, a girl two years older than he is. Then Peter enters their world, everything takes on new meaning, and the plot begins to move. Kevin is shocked into action when Peter kidnaps Nikki and whisks her off to Neverland—a strange and imaginatively drawn place very unlike Barrie's Neverland. This one is inhabited by odd creatures, monsters, and a race of less-than-human beings; all are at war with each other. Taking along some of his friends, Kevin mounts a rescue and the tale becomes even more fantastic and exciting. An abrupt ending, however, may lead some to feel left high and dry. Perhaps there's a sequel in the works. There's lots of teen angst and an authentic feel for adolescent problems and feelings. But it takes the author a while to lay it all out for the reader, and by that time some young readers may lose interest in what was supposed to be a horror tale.