A trip back to the era of troubled teens and awesome soundtracks; of Reagan, rap, and Ridgemont High; of MTV, VHS, and “Axel F”; of outsiders, lost boys, and dead poets; of Bill and Ted, Brooke Shields, and the Brat Pack; of three Porky's flicks, two Coreys, and one summer when “Baby” refused to be put in a corner.

The Ultimate History of the ’80s Teen Movie goes behind the scenes of a genre where cult hits mingled with studio blockbusters, Music, comedy, and politics all play a part in the surprisingly complex history of the ’80s teen movie. From a late ’70s Hollywood influx to an early ’90s indie scene that gave youth cinema a timely reboot, film expert James King highlights the personal struggles, the social changes, and the boardroom shake-ups that produced an iconic time in movie history.

The only word that comes to mind with this book is nostalgia. It's a trip back in time and it's excellent, as Bill and Ted would say! I loved the information it provides you about the actors, musicians and tv shows/movies. I forgot how great the 80s we're!

Thank you #NetGalley for the ARC of #TheUltimateHistoryOfThe80sTeenMovie
Pub Date: 19 Mar 2019

This book was different than what I had expected. There were parts that I found interesting, as I grew up in the 80s and am still a fan of many of the 80s and Brat Pack movies. There was definitely info about many movies, directors, and actors, but I was expecting a bit more pop culture, photos, and a bit more “sensationalism.” I found it a bit dry and not overly captivating.

I received a copy of this from Netgalley and the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

This book starts in the late 70s and ends in the mid 90s.
This book starts and ends with John Travolta.

I really enjoyed this book. It dug into history and the background of movie making and quite frankly it's astounding that many of them were made considering the drama. Wow!

There was even a chapter about the late 80's hip-hop movies like Breakin' and Krush Groove. (Wish it were longer, tbh.

I would definitely recommend this to movie fans.

Fun book. This is totally my era, loved all the movies author speaks of.
Book ends abruptly, speaking of John Travolta who wasn't in the movies that were highlighted. Weird.

Thanks to author,publisher and Netgalley for the chance to read this book. While I got the book for free,it had no bearing on the rating I gave it.

Where was this book 12 years ago? This is a must-read for anyone completing Film Studies in uni. It's well sourced, explained in detail and gives a scope other books seem to miss.
No exploration of teen life in the 80s would be complete without mention of the Hughes dynasty. The chapter does not disappoint.

I was excited to read this when I saw it, but once I started reading it, it wasn't what I thought it was going to be. I was hoping for some more fun facts, less long chapters and maybe some photos, but still an interesting book.

As someone who was a teen in the 80s, I was excited to read King's journey through the movies that made that decade. While I loved the 2nd half of the book, the first half was blah. Personally, I never liked Travolta or put him on the pedestal that others did. King began with Travolta's career and passing of the torch to the next generation of "teens". While King highlighted many great movies and their actors, including Kiefer Sutherland, Johnny Depp, Matthew Broderick, and the two Corey's, many other greats were excluded from this collection. Some of the discussion concerning the two Corey's during The Lost Boys and the direction of their career afterward glosses over a very important factor of teen movies during the 80s - the actors were often at the whim of predators. To say that personal issues overshadowed Corey Haim's career is a slap in the face to many. Other film discussions also glance over how the movie was created solely to cater to fantasies that made even the actors uncomfortable during filming. Overall, it was a nice trip down memory lane but some of the discussion really soured my enjoyment of the book.

Thank you NetGalley and Diversion Books for the opportunity to read an advance reader copy.