Out now!
New York Times: “The joy of this book is in Kois’s warm, thoughtful depictions of the boys and the neighborhood. ... There’s magic to be found everywhere, the book seems to say, especially where you least expect it.”
They just wanted to get Burger King, and maybe make a little money. But middle school paperboys Sigmone, Joel, Ryan, Mark, Nishu, and Al are in for the adventure of a lifetime one winter’s night in 1987.
Meanwhile, their manager, Kevin, is totally about to score with this neighborhood chick. There’s something weird about her sister, though …
Funny, thrilling, filthy, and sneakily beautiful, Hampton Heights captures without sentimentality the dreams and fears of teenage boys in a tender horror-comedy about camaraderie, bravery, vulnerability, and the terrifying prospect of growing up.
“Marvelous, tender, and unpredictable, Hampton Heights captures the uncanniness and discomfort of early adolescence. There’s a pinch of Ray Bradbury, a soupçon of Stephen King, a dash of fairy tale logic, but Dan Kois makes something entirely his own out of this familiar and always pleasurable territory.” –Kelly Link, author of The Book of Love
“A dark fairy tale with blood in its teeth, a vintage Iron Maiden T-shirt on its hairy back, and a big, beating heart.” –Grady Hendrix, author of How to Sell a Haunted House
“Written with verve, insight, heart (but not an indiscriminate one), and wit, Dan Kois's Hampton Heights is the wild reimagining of the coming-of-age novel I didn't know I needed right now.” –Paul Tremblay, author of The Cabin at the End of the World
“This betamax beaut of a book blends the best of Bradbury with a Spielbergian lens flare, taking on the terrors found in folklore and letting them rummage through the suburbs. There are most definitely stranger things to be uncovered in Milwaukee, and thank goodness Kois chronicles them all.” –Clay McLeod Chapman, author of What Kind of Mother and Ghost Eaters
“Like Stand by Me mixed with Stranger Things and The Twilight Zone, Hampton Heights is a rollicking chronicle of youth set loose among mystery and monsters. Dan Kois deftly conjures a boundless world that's chilling, wondrous, and delightful.” –Adam Sternbergh, author of The Eden Test
Kirkus Reviews: “Delightfully immature and authentic dialogue, a refreshing lack of cynicism, and some genuinely unnerving threats all help elevate an engaging and eerie adventure.”
Booklist: “Splendid. The story is genuinely frightening and written as well as anything you’ll see from a veteran of the genre. But what really sells this imaginative, scary, verge-of-growing-up tale is its characters, each with a distinct voice and personality. … The Milwaukee setting is also a plus, as are the confounding barriers the teens encounter associated with class, race, immigration, and sex.”