PositiveBookreporter.comIf there was ever a book written for the summer, it would be Joyland by Stephen King. It is a beautiful, quietly riveting, multi-faceted work that holds your attention from the jump and evokes the sounds of Ferris wheels and the smells of popcorn and cotton candy from its first pages ...not exactly a hard-boiled work, though there are elements of detective fiction within it. It is additionally a coming-of-age novel, a mystery, a romance, and has a touch of the horror and supernatural ... Unlike many of his books, it is not long, weighing in at just 285 pages ...set his novel in one of the most fascinating places in the pulp universe – a place of fun and entertainment designed to separate the 'rubes' and 'chumps' from their hard-earned cash. But it was a world with its own language, culture and cast of misfit characters... What King has done is transcend genres as only our greatest writers can and tell an incredible human story.