Kevin is a newspaper distributor. He decides to take a bunch of his paperboys to the Milwaukee suburb of Hampton Heights to try to sell some subscriptions. This is not his wisest decision. Hampton Heights is no ordinary neighborhood, and the boys find themselves facing werewolves, witches and trolls as they wander the streets.
This is more of a short story collection than a straight novel. Kevin has his story, and the three pairs of boys he sends off around the streets each have their own segments, which only really merge into one story in the closing pages.
I wasn't finding much to love about the book in the first two stories. There wasn't anything to hate either, it just wasn't pushing any of my buttons. Then the Mark and Ryan story started. This was a radical departure from what had come before, with a sleek fairy tale feel to the narration which was just brilliantly handled.
That segment saved this book for me. Dan Kois can really write when he wants to.
Kevin stars in the first story, meeting a mysterious woman in a bar and falling for her otherworldly charms. The weirdly named Sigmone (I assume pronounced Simon) and Joel meet up with warring gangs of werewolves. Ryan and Mark encounter a pair of witches who have a story to tell them. Al and Nishu run foul of a mischievous troll with an appetite for memories. then they all go to Burger King for the final short segment that ties the narrative together.
This is never scary. It's almost a YA novel and I would hesitate to call it a horror novel, despite all the tropes in play. It's more of an urban fantasy crossed with a coming of age story. I had fun with it, and the last half is very good indeed.
If you're looking for something a bit out of left field, give this a try.
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