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rachelditty's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Moderate: Bullying, Death, Gore, Vomit, Antisemitism, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Medical content, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Suicide, and Violence
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: Torture, Suicide, Sexual harassment, Death of parent, Addiction, Gore, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Domestic abuse, Death, Child death, Blood, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Infertility, Infidelity, Gun violence, Abandonment, Sexual content, Racism, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Murder, Mental illness, Cursing, Child abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Violence, Self harm, Emotional abuse, and Drug abuse
hiddeninfantasy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.5
Graphic: Blood, Alcohol, Animal death, Antisemitism, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Misogyny, Murder, Self harm, Sexual content, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Vomit, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Toxic friendship
cinderrunner's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
1.0
There are some good things about this book, but the bad significantly outweigh them. This is one of the most needlessly offensive and problematic books i have ever read. The only thing horrifying about this novel is that King had the audacity to include so much needless hatred and is still being praised for it. The level of racism, sexism, pedophilia/sexualization of minors, anti semitisim, etc is FAR beyond anything that is warranted by the plot and its honestly inexcusable. If you took a shot everytime King used the N word with a hard R, you'd die of alcohol poisoning somewhere between the one third and halfway mark. King is constantly using language and scenarios that sexualize Beverly, constantly mentioning the way her 12 year old body is maturing, painting her as a (and im quoting here) "whore" from almost every chatacters POV. Shes even sexualized in her own POVs.
It is also overlong, it could have easily been 400 pages shorter than it was. It dragged on and on. It doesnt genuinely pick up or reach a true climax til around page 950 (in my edition) so like 150 pages away from the end. That's ridiculous. King is constantly overloading the book with lore building and exposition that really isnt needed past a certain point. It took me 4 months of on and off reading to finally get through this thing. Ive never taken more than a month to read a book, even dense ones like the entire Song of Ice and Fire (Game of Thrones) series, in my adult life.
Most people I have seen, even those who praise this book, don't count this as a book they would ever reread. If that's not a red flag i don't know what is. I cant think of a single book, even thick and complex ones, that i loved and wouldn't pick up again.
PROS: King is a genuinely skilled writer on a technical level and the book is well crafted. There are very thoughtful and interesting themes around childhood vs adulthood, the transition between the two, and the power of faith/belief. It really could have been a gorgeous novel if he leaned more into that earlier in the book and cut down on all the unnecessary bigotry and lore building. I likely would have loved this if it was shorter and less hate filled.
Graphic: Animal death, Murder, Pregnancy, Racism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Classism, Physical abuse, Rape, Alcoholism, Chronic illness, Confinement, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Self harm, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Bullying, Cancer, Cannibalism, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexism, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Child death, Pedophilia, Toxic friendship, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Incest, Infidelity, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Terminal illness, Vomit, Alcohol, Ableism, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual violence, Adult/minor relationship, Antisemitism, Excrement, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment
The whole book is a trigger warning. It is full of violence, GRAPHIC bigotry, and the sexualization of women and especially minors.frankensteinscreature's review against another edition
Graphic: Sexual violence, Physical abuse, Racism, Torture, Emotional abuse, Blood, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Death, Gaslighting, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Toxic friendship, Violence, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Suicide, Pedophilia, Rape, and Toxic relationship
artiiichoke's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
Graphic: Racism, Injury/Injury detail, Hate crime, Pedophilia, Child abuse, Death, Suicide, Child death, Gore, Classism, Self harm, Physical abuse, Kidnapping, Racial slurs, and Murder
Moderate: Violence, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Death of parent, Religious bigotry, and Toxic relationship
Minor: Emotional abuse, Animal death, Forced institutionalization, and Fire/Fire injury
riversonq's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Animal death, Antisemitism, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcohol, Animal cruelty, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Excrement, Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Sexism, Sexual content, Blood, Body shaming, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Xenophobia, and Suicide
Minor: Antisemitism and War
nicwilkins22'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? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Violence, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Child abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, and Racism
Moderate: Homophobia and Murder
Minor: Mental illness
mikymar'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
2.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Infidelity, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, and Violence
tori_420's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Cannibalism, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, and Racism