While the usual aura of the supernatural, of which King is master, hangs over [Cujo], the real terror is its reality. Given the right circumstances, anyone of us could find ourselves held captive in a small automobile on a blazing hot day by a rabid dog, driven to rage by his pain…. Cujo has already killed [his owner] Camber and his drinking buddy and he will kill again before the book ends.

Younger King fans may not find this quite as appealing as earlier titles since it places great emphasis on the marriage relationship of Vic and Donna Trenton as well as Vic's struggle to save the ad agency in which he is a partner. It also offers considerable insight into how women like Mrs. Camber find themselves trapped in a marriage in which poverty is the major jailer. One additional problem is the overkill of profanity that occurs early in the book and then fades away. None of this, of course, will keep King fans away; the only question is whether you will want to let them sneak it from adult or risk putting YA on its spine.