"Like a Reagan-era Ice Storm, Emily Schultz's novel Joyland captures the
confusion of adolescent sexuality in a tangle of pixelated icons via the
video-game generation. Set in the summer of 1984, this book will have
you thinking twice about the video-game generation and the power of
pining and Pac-Man." -- Flare Welcome to 1984 and the town of South
Wakefield. Chris Lane is 14 and he's sure that he can see the future, or
at least guess what's inside of Christie Brinkley's mind. But he can't
foresee the closing of Joyland, the town's only video arcade. With the
arcade's passing comes a summer of teenage lust, violence, and a search
for new entertainment. Never far away is Chris's younger sister, Tammy,
who plays spy to the events that will change the lives of her family and
town forever. Joyland is a novel about the impossibility of knowing the
future. Schultz bring the Cold War home in a novel set to the digital
pulse of video games and the echoes of hair metal. Joyland is
illustrated throughout by graphic novelist Nate Powell, whose work has
been praised by Sin City creator Frank Miller as "observant, intimate
cartooning [that] surgically cuts to the bone." BackLit bonus material
includes an alternate ending and an author interview.