May 24 - "Graduation Afternoon"

Sundays with Uncle Stevie“Graduation Afternoon”
by Stephen King
Just After Sunset (2008)

* * * * (Great) Realistic

Janice contemplates the end of her relationship with Bruce – Buddy – at his graduation party, the backdrop for an unexpected nuclear attack on New York City.

Lacking any horror, except for the true horror – a conceivable horror these days – of a nuclear attack, the story is still a great study in character. Janice is believable as a graduating high school student. She’s hopeful, realistic, and honest. She knows what’s best for her, even if it includes the loss of her rich boyfriend – no real loss she understands. And then the unthinkable happens – the bomb – and you feel so terribly bad for this girl you know was on her way toward a happy and successful life. The shock of the bomb hits the reader nearly as hard as it does the character, a sign the author has done justice to his creation.