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nataliii's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, and Suicide
Moderate: Ableism, Child abuse, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Sexism, Violence, Antisemitism, and Murder
Minor: Cancer, Infertility, Pedophilia, and Vomit
sidekicksam's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.75
Wow. This book was exactly the wild ride I imagined it would be. It is scary. It is fucked up. It is funny. It is timeless.
This story surprised me in so many ways, but let me just try to summarize why I love this book (more precisely, King's writing):
1. The world building is superb. King does such a good job visualising the world of Derry as it was in '58 and '85, introducing side characters and backstories to all of them, without making the reader forget the red line of the story, it feels like you've lived the story yourself. And though living through the Age of Pennywise would be awful, reading this story is a delight.
2. The characters are so well-thought out, and not a single one of them is uninteresting to read about. Ben, Richie, Bill, Eddie, Mike, Stan, Beverly, Pennywise/IT - you get to know every one of them so intimately, you almost feel like the 8th member of the Losers Club.
3. The story itself! Man, this story is mad crazy brilliant. To fuck up generations of adults into being terrified of clowns because everyone knows this story is insane. But it wouldn't have happened if the story wasn't so insanely awesome.
Ok, so I can conclude by saying that I appreciated the book a lot. HOWEVER. It is not my favourite King. I can't exactly put my finger on what it was (maybe it was THAT scene that ruined it for me), but 11.22.63 and The Stand both resonated with me more (though the ending of The Stand is way inferior to IT).
But if you're looking for a challenge that will be so rewarding you'll want to send me a thank-you note, or if you're looking for the ultimate Spooky Season read, IT is it.
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Infertility, Infidelity, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment
chelseachips's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Hate crime, Racism, Blood, Police brutality, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Adult/minor relationship, Gun violence, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Racial slurs, Sexism, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, and Violence
hannahlewis's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, and Suicide
Moderate: Body shaming, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Antisemitism, and Injury/Injury detail
mariekealkema's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Infertility, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Grief, and Murder
kaylatmf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Infertility, Vomit, Antisemitism, Pregnancy, and Alcohol
dumaurier'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
4.5
movie spoiler?
I watched the movies just after, and I feel like they do an even worse job in their treatment of Bev, but making Richie gay adds a lot to his character that I felt lacked in the book. I would have to say Mike is my favorite overall.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, and Sexual content
Moderate: Hate crime and Suicide
Minor: Infertility, Antisemitism, and Fire/Fire injury
gemmawelton's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
So this was a tough read for me. I started it last year and got to about 600 pages in before it lost me, and honestly I felt the same struggle to read it this time as then.
I’m not going to comment on just how deeply disturbing this book is, because I do understand that that is the entire point of this book - it’s a horror. You’re not going to get flowers and rainbows.
But I am going to single out the extreme emphasis on child sexuality.
I skipped the scene with all the losers at the end of the book, when they’re trying to get out of the sewers and apparently all have to have sex with Beverly because there’s NO OTHER WAY to resolve it AT ALL, because it literally felt too close to child p*rnography and it made me feel sick.
My second point on this subject is the encounter between Patrick and Henry in the junkyard. They’re twelve. Just because they are bullies/murderers doesn’t diminish that, and I’m not entirely sure why Stephen king included this as I don’t think it actually furthered the plot at all, it just drew more attention to the tones of homophobia.
My third point regarding this is the general theme throughout the book - all of the loser’s experience a ‘s*xual stirring’ when around Beverly or any of the girls who are mentioned in the book and Beverly herself expressed the same feelings a couple of times, one of which is in the junkyard. There’s also the fact that a few times there are mentions of children turning up dead with their s*xual organs mutilated or completely gone.
Edit: just a quick fourth point, the scene between Beverly and her father when he asked to ‘check’ she was still a virgin.
Another thing I wanted to touch on was the amount of homophobia featured in this book. Again, I understand that this was meant to contribute to the theme of the book and of Derry, and there is the whole different eras argument, but I also feel like it cropped up more often than was ‘relevant’ to the plot. I’m not even sure how it was actually relevant, it didn’t really have a lot of influence over the plot, and unlike the films, we didn’t get any characters that were part of the LGBTQ+ community (aside from Adrian and Don (I think)).
I know that Stephen king himself and a some people who are devoted to this storyline have defended these choices, with king citing that times have changed and it’s different millennia, but this was written in the ‘80’s. It wasn’t ok then, it’s not ok now, and it never will be ok.
I’ve seen people say that the scene in the sewers between the losers was each of the boys showing they’re love for her and Beverly herself reclaiming her self/‘sexuality’ after what happened with her father, but there were plenty of other ways for the boys to show they loved her, in fact they did throughout the book multiple times, and Beverly was 11. You can’t tell me she was even fully aware of what exactly sexuality is, let alone that this was the best way to reclaim it.
Overall, I’m not sure this will be something I pick up to read often, if again, and if I do it would probably be just to skim through some parts rather than have an actual read of it. If I get the urge for a story with an awesome bunch of kids who defeat a murderous otherworldly clown, I’ll watch the films as I feel they did the story and the characters much better.
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Infidelity, and Police brutality
Minor: Animal death, Rape, and Car accident
mayakinsley's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Addiction, Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infertility, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Moderate: Gun violence and Infidelity
Minor: Antisemitism
jonsnowsmanbun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Moderate: Ableism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Antisemitism, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Fire/Fire injury