John Boden

This book has been kicking around for a while, in one incarnation or another, and I've glanced at it here and there from more than one publisher. It never seemed to be the right time to read it but it has been on my radar. To be honest the first time I glanced at it the title put me off. What is this? I thought, something about boys and their Star Wars obsession? (Fear not, it isn't!)

Sometimes I take a break from reading horror. Sometimes I end up disappointed and other times, I come away from my break remarkably satisfied. This is one of the latter.

Jedi Summer is a coming of age tale set in a small town in 1983. It is part fiction, part recollection of the author's childhood and entirely spellbinding. It is a memorable summer in the lives of Johnny and Roscoe, two brothers growing up in a poor town, where their mom works 3 jobs just to keep them fed. It's a summer of good times, growing up, and the bittersweet knowledge that nothing can last forever, whether it is the good or the bad times they all must eventually end. This book spoke to me on so many levels. Much like childhood, it passed by quickly and now I don't want it to be over.

I received a complimentary copy from the publisher with no obligation to write a review.… (meer)

I received a paperback ARC of Jedi Summer, authored by John Boden from Silver Shamrock Publishing for review consideration. Front cover design: Kealan Patrick Burke/Elderlemon Design. Interior art: Bob Veon. Format/edits: Kenneth W. Cain. What follows below is my honest review freely given.

I rated this novella 5 stars. In the foreword we are told that some of what we will read really happened while some is fictitious, pretty standard. After reading I can say, with certainty, that in my heart, all of what is written withing these pages happened as the author wrote it verbatim.

I have seen other reviewers compare, spoiler free and on social media, this novella to the coming of age juggernauts Boy’s Life by Robert R. McCammon and It by Stephen King, lofty praise. But here’s where it gets even crazier people, because this is a novella coming in at 82 pages total length, and Boy’s Life clocked in at 625, It at a whopping 1116 pages; the emotional impact has Jedi Summer going off like a nuclear bomb. This bad boy had me caught up in all the feelings, shiny eyes throughout and free fall tears for several parts. Several. And the whole time I felt like I was reading a personal letter to me, filled with precious memories that were now precious to me as well. The writing seemed as smooth as listening to him speaking, though I have not. If you have a sibling, as I do, I believe it will make you think on that relationship, as I did. I have Out Behind the Barn, which is written by him and Chad Lutzke and I don’t know how to prepare for that now that I have read their work separately and been beautifully broken by them, but I’m ready for the pain. I need to read everything by John Boden—and you do too. Past and future and evermore. Just transcendent.… (meer)