Joyland — Content Guide for Parents
Found in this book
- ViolenceSupporting
- Scary contentSupporting
- ProfanitySupporting
- Sexual contentBrief
Not found
- Religion
- Race & culture
- Climate
- Gender roles
- Gender & orientation
Content themes
Factual summary of themes present in this book. No opinion — just the facts.
Get the full theme breakdown in the app
Summaries and source quotes for every theme.
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Religion
PRESENTContains references to prayer and church attendance. A minister character plays a supporting role in two chapters.
About this book
The #1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER!
Set in a small-town North Carolina amusement park in 1973, Joyland tells the story of the summer in which college student Devin Jones comes to work as a carny and confronts the legacy of a vicious murder, the fate of a dying child, and the ways both will change his life forever.
"I love crime, I love mysteries, and I love ghosts. That combo made Hard Case Crime the perfect venue for this book, which is one of my favorites. I also loved the paperbacks I grew up with as a kid, and for that reason, we’re going to hold off on e-publishing this one for the time being. Joyland will be coming out in paperback, and folks who want to read it will have to buy the actual book." – Stephen King
Frequently asked questions
Is Joyland appropriate for a 7-year-old?
A young woman's throat is cut in the park's dark ride, other murders are uncovered, and the killer threatens Devin and is shot dead at the end. The story has a haunted dark ride, a ghost of a murdered girl, a killer on the loose and a deadly confrontation on a Ferris wheel in a storm, though reviewers call it chills rather than outright horror.
Does Joyland have violence?
Found (Supporting): A young woman's throat is cut in the park's dark ride, other murders are uncovered, and the killer threatens Devin and is shot dead at the end.
Does Joyland have scary content?
Found (Supporting): The story has a haunted dark ride, a ghost of a murdered girl, a killer on the loose and a deadly confrontation on a Ferris wheel in a storm, though reviewers call it chills rather than outright horror.
Does Joyland have religion?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Joyland have race & culture?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Joyland have profanity?
Found (Supporting): A language count lists about 15 F-word forms and 22 milder swear words, and a review quotes a censored F-word from the narration.
Does Joyland have climate?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Joyland have sexual content?
Found (Brief): Devin loses his virginity to Annie in one scene, and his girlfriend Wendy earlier promises to sleep with him; a study guide notes explicit sexual language.
Does Joyland have gender roles?
Not found in the sources we checked.
Does Joyland have gender & orientation?
Not found in the sources we checked.
