Apt Pupil, by Stephen King

This is the second story in Different Seasons by Stephen King.  While I didn't like it as much as The Shawshank Redemption, it was still very good.  In typical King style, he draws us deep inside the main characters and, although we don't learn to love them--or even like them--it's hard not to be at least interested in them.

Even though this novella is about 70,000 words long, it moves quickly and the pacing is excellent.  I'm looking forward to reading the next story, The Body, upon which the movie Stand by Me was based.