Standalone Sunday is a fun feature created by Megan at Bookslayerreads where each Sunday you feature a standalone book (not part of a series) that you loved or would recommend. There’s so much focus on books that are part of a series… she thought it’d be nice to focus on some standalone novels, too!
Feel free to join in on this weekly feature by creating your own Standalone Sunday post! And be sure to check out Megan’s very creative blog and leave a link in her Standalone Sunday comments section so she can add your blog to the list
My Standalone Pick is:
From Goodreads
My Rating 4.5 Stars
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.
A riveting story about love and loss, about growing up and growing old—and about those who don’t get to do either because death comes for them before their time—Joyland is Stephen King at the peak of his storytelling powers. With all of the emotional impact of King masterpieces such as The Green Mile and The Shawshank Redemption, Joyland is at once a mystery, a horror story, and a bittersweet coming-of-age novel, one that will leave even the most hard-boiled reader profoundly moved.
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I really want to do a post soon that centers on books I have loved that I almost didn’t read because of the title and/or cover; Joyland would be included on that post. Even though I really like Stephen King, I passed by this book for so long when it first came out because it reminded me of a comic book with that cover and title. When I finally opened it and started reading…I can only let a Stephen King pass by me for so long without at least giving it a try…I was VERY pleasantly surprised! This is most definitely a mystery and coming-of-age story. The setting is a coastal North Carolina town and Joyland is an amusement park from days gone by. Things happen at Joyland for sure but not in a gory horror way. This really is an emotional mystery story, and highlights one of the things I love about Stephen King…he can truly write unexpected stories in a multitude of genres.
Oh I love Stephen King but haven’t read this one yet. Standalone Sunday sounds like a good idea x
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If you love Stephen King I encourage you to read this one!! It’s so good. It might be my favorite King novel actually
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Now on my TBR pile, thanks 😉
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Great!! I hope you enjoy it as much as I did.
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I really need to read more Stephen King! I’ve passed this one up because of the cover too, but I think I should stop doing that lol. Thanks for the rec!
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I hope you give it a try, it’s not what you’d think Stephen King would write except for the high quality writing. The cover didn’t do this book any favors!
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Yeah, the cover is a bit cheesy. But I’ve gotta quit letting covers determine whether I read a book or not!
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[…] Renee @ It’s Book Talk […]
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I liked this one, but I enjoyed more the coming of age part, because the mystery was a bit predictable in my opinion. But a pleasant surprise 🙂
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I think this is my favorite Stephen King, along with 11/22/63
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Oh, 11/22/63 is one of my favorite books ever 😻
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This book was a good suggestion 😀
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Thanks! I really love Stephen King and Joyland is one of my favorites by him. Have you read it or intend to?
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I have tried to read Stephen King before and I’m just not a lover of his writing style. I always envy those people who do.
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Great choice! I read this one several years ago, and I still remember how chilling it was… x
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Thank you! It really was so good, I’m not sure she wrote anything after this though?
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It has been several years since I’ve read King, though I did enjoy his work (especially Dolores Claiborne)
It looks like I’ll have to pick him up again…
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I hope you do, I really enjoyed this one as well as 11/22/63 and the Mr Mercedes series
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I’ve had this one on my shelf for awhile but haven’t gotten around to reading it yet! I’ll have to get to it soon. 11/22/63 was by far my favorite Stephen King book. I loved it. His new book Sleeping Beauties looks like it will be pretty interesting too. Can’t wait to pick it up!
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I would say 11/22/63 is also my favorite King book as well and I also really liked Joyland and the Mr Mercedes trilogy. I’m wondering how Sleeping Beauties will turn out. Thanks for stopping by!
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