Joyland

Joyland is truly a joy to read or listen to. In this short novel King tells a story filled with mystery, romance, the supernatural, a bit of horror, and a nostalgic look back at what it was to be 21. Dev, a college student at UNH, takes a summer job at Joyland - a North Carolina amusement park filled with the old carnival spirit - where he discovers more than he could have ever bargained for. The first part of the book felt super wholesome and focused on having a summer job, finding one's self, being in love, etc. As the book progressed things started to get a bit more weird and Joyland quickly began to make connections to the lore of other King books. While it might be fair to say that King does little here he hasn't done in some of his previous books, I do think it's noteworthy that he's packed so many themes, tropes, and other elements from his other work into a shorter volume with a New Adult protagonist. Overall I had a great time listening to this book and highly recommend it. ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️