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bites_of_books's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Danny - Poor kid, he really deserved better. I loved his ability to keep hoping against hope that things would turn out okay.
Jack - Alcoholic father trying to quit drinking. I struggled with him because part of me felt bad for him while the other felt like King gave him no way out so what's the point?
Wendy - The mom who isn't used to standing up for herself or her son until the literal worst starts happening. She also didn't have many resources or anything to help her gain confidence so I can see why she had trouble with it.
The racism, homophobia, and misogyny was all used without any kind of nuance and the constant use of the n-word was really unnecessary.
Overall, it's not that scary, at times it's a bit silly (possessed hedges?) and what is scarier is the isolation and the mental states of the characters.
Neither the book or movie is perfect, but together they make for something a bit more interesting.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
rtthalia's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Moderate: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
tmd1993's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.75
Also, as usual, the book was about 200 pages too long. Full of fluff. Removed some of the tensensss. I like the book better than the movie but I’m not sure I’d recommend it.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, and Racism
physicalsecrets's review against another edition
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
phvntomstvrs's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
uranaishi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Violence, Blood, Car accident, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Dementia, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Alcohol
Minor: Cancer, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Excrement, Vomit, Medical content, and Pregnancy
pizzaisjesus98's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Gore, Sexual content, Blood, Medical content, Car accident, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Homophobia, Pedophilia, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Grief, and Cannibalism
chaptersbydani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Word on the street is that every one of Stephen King’s books have been banned/or challenged at some point since their publication. The Shining was challenged for “containing violence and demonic possession and [ridiculing] the Christian religion” in Wyoming and Alabama.
~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~ ~
I’m honestly shocked that I liked this as much as I did. This book broke my reading slump and kept me up all night. This is my first Stephen King book and I totally understand why he is the icon he is.
The way he writes is just mind blowing. It’s so simple. You never feel like it’s over your head and you always feel so close to figuring everything out. But you just never quite do until he reveals it. And despite the fact that basically every character is the most awful person I’ve ever encountered (Jack being the worst), I was sucked in immediately.
And the way the text was formatted??? Cherry on top. It added so much suspense and really illustrated the flirtation/ descent into madness.
There definitely was violence and demonic possession. I didn’t see the ridicule of Christianity (and wouldn’t have cared if it was there tbh.) My only issue is that I didn’t love King’s use of racial slurs. It made sense when the hotel used them and I could halfway accept that. Capitalism is an incredibly racist system and is violent- emotionally and physically- to Black folks (understatement). It makes sense that the Hotel, the symbol of capitalism here, was verbally violent to our main Black character. The other uses just felt out of line considering the author is white.
I wish that our main Black character, Dick, had more purpose in the book than guiding Danny and saving him and Wendy. It felt like he was just a tool for Danny’s development than anything. He’s a cool character and deserved a little bit more.
I will say, this is a book that I was pleasantly surprised lives up to its hype. I’m excited to watch the movie and see how it matches up. Also apparently there’s a sequel? I’m thinking of checking that out too.
Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Stalking, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism
ten_telegrams's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Gore, Racial slurs, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Body horror, Confinement, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
sydfreeman's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Racial slurs
Moderate: Homophobia