Book #30: ”Home Alone 2: Lost in New York” by A.L. Singer

 

Home Alone 2: Lost In New York

A.L. Singer

(Based on the screenplay by John Hughes)

 Released: January 1st, 1992

I love the original Home Alone movies.  As repetitive as the framework for the stories are, I truly wish we could have gotten some more appearances from the McCallister family in the mid to late-1990’s.  I love that for this book, they made it a full-sized paperback, where for the first one, it was only a children’s scholastic book.  I do hope one day, someone can go back and do a more adult novelization of the original, but this works for now.  

Home Alone 2 essentially follows the same general idea as the original, only instead of being left alone at home, Kevin accidently flies from Chicago to New York City with all his dad's credit cards.

I've always thought this concept was so cool in spite of the dangerous nature of it all.  Speaking personally, I feel like the world up to 1994 was truly something amazing.  Since then, the modern era has sprung out changing everything.  A lot of it is because of the rise of technology.  I just feel pop culture was more relevant, people were better, and things felt different.  It wasn't a perfect time, but we had more human elements missing from today.

Imagine being a 10-year-old kid going to New York City in 1992. I went to Times Square for the first time in 2008.  I drove there on a whim with my friend Brynn.  I remember seeing the toy store that went on forever.  I remember all the dazzling lights.  I remember seeing all the parks.  It had a pretty rough odor to it that you had to get used to.  I've been back several times since then (most recently 2015 due to living on the West Coast).  It's neat and a fun experience, but just like life, it changes so much.  

I probably would have taken a more barebones approach than Kevin did.  Granted, he is a kid and does not know better, but going to the biggest city in the country, and booking yourself into the nicest hotel and just taking it all in would be a dream.  Personally, I would just settle for some 2 Bros Pizza, Mad Magazine hunting, and sight-seeing.  

I learned a lot more in this book, and you see some deeper knowledge that is absent from the movie.  You gain greater insight into Kevin’s thoughts and feeling where the movie has to present a situation for those to come out.  I enjoyed this read, though very brief in nature.  

Here are some of the things I learned:

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• Harry and Marv have PTSD nightmares in jail over a year later.
• Marv’s cellmate is physically abusive to him.
• The McCallisters are going to Miami, Florida for Christmas.
• The McCallisters have 14 people in the house
• Kevin’s grandmother gets him a Bongo the Clown inflatable to swim in.
• According to the book, in 1992, the number for New York’s Plaza Hotel is 1-800-759-3000.
• Kate McCallister has a bell she has traditionally used to wake the family up on Christmas.
• Peter McCallister unknowingly disrupts the flow of the trio by unplugging the alarm clock, and resetting it.
• Uncle Frank enjoys singing “Cool Jerk”.
• “Beat that you little trout sniffer.”
• The Wet Bandits escaped during a prison riot.
• The McCallisters fly out of O’Hare Airport.
• The family is schedule on the 9:00am flight from Chicago to Miami.
• The flight from Chicago to New York is American Airlines Flight 191, and it last an hour and fifteen minutes.
• The McCallisters fly to Florida in a Boeing 727 aircraft.
• The Miami Airport police officer that helps the McCallisters locate Kevin is Officer Bennett.
• There were 8 million people in NYC in 1992
• After breaking out of jail, Harry and Marv switch out their prison garb for clothes in a dump.  They are strikingly similar to their clothes in Chicago.
• Kevin tells off 2 businessmen in the steam room for talking dirty about their beautiful coworker
• Kevin’s Uncle Rob owns a brownstone in NYC
• Uncle Rob’s NYC address is 51 W 95th St, New York, NY 10025
• Uncle Rob and his wife are staying in Paris
• Kevin feels homesick and calls home hoping his family missed their flight and went back.  Kate calls at the same time wondering the same thing.  Both lights flash on the McCallister’s home telephone back in Chicago before going dark.
• The lady who smacks Marv, meets him again in the toy store where he touches her rear with a gorilla paw.  After recognizing him, she uses the gorilla paw to smack him in the face.
• Harry’s tooth reflects sunlight and sets Kevin’s NYC map on fire
• Kevin actually punches Harry vs in the movie the model lady does it, when Kevin blames Harry.
• Kevin and the Pigeon Lady watch “The Nutcracker Suite”.
• The Pigeon Lady isn’t homeless.  She tells Kevin she has an apartment.
• Marv’s eyebrows, mustache, and goatee were ripped off by the hot glue.

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Good short read.  High recommended for fans of the film series.

On to Book #1 for the new year: “Keeping Faith” by Jimmy Carter.