Déjà View: A Kid Nightmare

Déjà View: A Kid Nightmare

Twelve-year-old Bobby Dalton doesn't want to grow up. All his life, he has relied on the imaginary games of childhood with his best friends Joe and Max to get him through the tough times. But this all changes when his Seventh-Grade class buries a time capsule to commemorate the end of the 1980s. Now Bobby is being haunted by visions: ghostly doppelgangers of himself, his friends, and others. He calls them "déjà view." Are these visions real, or has his imagination finally gotten away from him? And if they're real, what do they want? Bobby needs to figure this all out to survive his childhood…and his life. From the author of the award-winning Danger Peak , Déjà View is a darkly funny coming-of-age dramedy with a sci-fi twist, cranked up to eleven. But even more, it's at once a pulse-pounding thrill ride and a haunting portrait of paranoia, mental illness, and the unbearable sadness of growing up. About the Author Michael Thomas Perone is an award-winning author who has written for The Baltimore Sun , Baltimore City Paper , Long Island Voice (a spinoff of The Village Voice ), Yahoo!, and WhatCulture!, among others. His debut novel Danger Peak was called “the perfect teenage boy crusade” by Publishers Weekly and “a compelling bildungsroman about grief and finding wisdom” by Kirkus Reviews . If nothing else, he learned the word “bildungsroman” from the experience. He works as a Senior Editor in Manhattan and lives on Long Island with his wife and two daughters. A slow-burn, time-warped Atari-and-MTV-era nightmare with heaps of heart... a science-fiction thriller with a terrifying conclusion reminiscent of Invasion of the Body Snatchers . Throughout though, Déjà View is attentive to character and the everyday impact of the fantastical on real lives, with engaging prose and sharp, funny dialogue. — Publishers Weekly Evocative, well-written, and emotionally stirring. Perone weaves a captivating story set in the 1980s... Perone delves into the typical struggles of a middle schooler, from making friends to grappling with topics like mental health issues, anxiety, home life, tormenting, and childhood distress... This is an affecting exploration of childhood angst. — The Prairies Book Review Perone's narrations are strikingly authentic in this bittersweet story about a kid who is struggling on the cusp between childhood and adulthood, and that's something pretty much any reader can relate to. — Reader Views To crack the spine of Déjà View is to unearth a time capsule filled with one's own 1980s childhood. Perone's novel earnestly depicts both the pop-culture spectacle of the decade and the joy and anxiety of coming of age during that era. Filled with nostalgia, emotion, and unpredictable twists, Déjà View is sure to delight the most sardonic of '80s kids. — Will Padilla , host of 1980s Now , a Top 200 TV and Film podcast Michael Thomas Perone is an award-winning author who has written for The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore City Paper, Long Island Voice (a spinoff of The Village Voice), Yahoo!, and WhatCulture!, among others. His debut novel Danger Peak was called "the perfect teenage boy crusade" by Publishers Weekly and "a compelling bildungsroman about grief and finding wisdom" by Kirkus Reviews. If nothing else, he learned the word "bildungsroman" from the experience. He works as a Senior Editor in Manhattan and lives on Long Island with his wife and two daughters.