Straight on 'til Morning
A novel by Christopher Golden

Did you ever see From Dusk 'Til Dawn? It was a cool movie. A weird movie. A movie that redefined the concept of what-the-hell?! It started out as your usual, every day "irresistible bad guy evading the law by going on a road trip with Juliette Lewis" same ol' same ol', and ended up being about a bar full of vampires in Mexico. It was incongruous, kinda brilliant, and oh so right. (Let's forget about those prequel-sequels, though. No George Clooney.)

Well, Straight on 'til Morning is the print equivalent. High praise, indeed.

We start out with a coming-of-age tale about young Kevin, a boy a little too mature for his age, who is experiencing the tribulations of teenager-dom in a decade gone by. Of course, his brother, friends, and the gorgeous girl down the street -- on whom he, naturally, has a big crush -- are all along for the ride. (What ever happened to Fred Savage, anyway?) We end up with a bizarre trip across the dark fantastic as Kevin and his cohorts attempt to rescue the damsel in distress from a realm that is both intriguing and faintly repellent, when gorgeous-crush-girl gets kidnapped by... well... Peter Pan.

I know, I know. Huh?

But, it works. It really, really works. The Stand By Me-cum-The Outsiders feel of the first half of the novel is real, and honest, and a great read in and of itself; add the twisted fantasy element, the horror and the gore and the emotion-charged battles, and this book becomes perfectly unique. To weave together the elements of so many standard -- let's face it, cliché -- tales and make something interesting and unusual out of them is no mean feat. Who'd have thought it could even be done outside of a Joss-penned Buffy episode?

This is not, in any way, a Young Adult novel, despite prolific author Christopher Golden's past pedigree of many teen-aimed media tie-ins (including, funnily enough, Buffy) and Jenna Blake stories. (And the comics. Let's not forget the comics.) This is a grown up, odd, compelling journey through adolescence, and heartache -- and of course, Neverland -- that should be completely stupid, considering the premise, but somehow, impossibly, results in a fascinating and completely engrossing book. One that makes you read and read... straight on 'til morning.

Is someone auctioning off pixie dust on eBay, or something? Now, that's a happy thought.

RE-READ FACTOR: Absolutely. After the creeping feeling goes away and I begin to look at cute, mysterious guys the same way again.

STRONG CHICK FACTOR: Hmmm. I guess. They're teenage girls, as seen through the eyes of a teenage boy, and really, they're all pretty teenage girl-ish. However, they do mostly prove themselves brave and resourceful in the end -- and, really, how well would you handle it if you found out that J.M. Barrie actually wrote biographies?

SEQUEL FACTOR: The epilogue dashed all my hopes and wishes for one... but that's a good thing. Nothing like a bit of closure, every now and then (as ambiguous as it may be).

-- Rachel Hyland

Straight on 'til Morning, published by Signet, is scheduled for release, in paperback, April, 2001.

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