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cararainx'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Sexual harassment, Sexual violence, Bullying, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Alcoholism, Body horror, Antisemitism, Child abuse, Murder, Infidelity, Grief, Racism, and Cursing
sav_22's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Addiction, Animal death, Terminal illness, Suicide attempt, Suicide, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Domestic abuse, Ableism, Adult/minor relationship, Sexual violence, Sexism, Religious bigotry, Police brutality, Gun violence, Gore, Gaslighting, Excrement, Death of parent, Alcohol, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Torture, Misogyny, Mental illness, Infidelity, Hate crime, Grief, Fire/Fire injury, Child death, Body shaming, Body horror, Stalking, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Racism, Rape, Physical abuse, Pedophilia, Death, Confinement, Bullying, Blood, Violence, Toxic relationship, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Medical trauma, Incest, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Racial slurs, Forced institutionalization, Dysphoria, Drug abuse, Cursing, and Alcoholism
analea_lucille'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? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Hate crime, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual harassment, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Animal death, Antisemitism, Body shaming, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Alcoholism, Cursing, Alcohol, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Rape, Blood, Body horror, Suicide, Homophobia, Fatphobia, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Sexism
amanda_flynn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Fatphobia, Child abuse, Homophobia, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Racial slurs, Alcohol, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Racism, Death, Hate crime, Murder, and Panic attacks/disorders
Minor: Infertility and Infidelity
maggiefaerie's review against another edition
I really wanted to love this book. I'm not scared easily, and everyone I know says this is the most frightening book they've read. I've had some disappointments recently, so I wanted something to scare me at least a little. I finally threw in the towel after chapter 7-6.
This book drags so much. I'm 1/3 of the way in and there's so much bloated writing that I honestly don't feel invested at all. There's a balance between atmosphere and plot, and this book leans heavily on settings before establishing motives or developing the characters. I basically spent 10 hours reading a book with the exact vibes of Stand By Me when I thought I was reading horror. I'm really disappointed because I wanted to be completely and absolutely terrified by the book, and I was, but not because of the monster.
I honestly cannot get past the homophonia, anti-semitism, fat shaming, mysogony, abuse, and racism. If you want to read this, be aware that this book casually drops many slurs in reference to minority groups. The liberal character descriptors that involve all the really bad slurs you can think of were unnecessary and truly uncomfortable.
The abuse is also way too explicit for me. There's nothing I've enjoyed about this experience of reading this book.
Graphic: Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Sexual assault, Transphobia, Violence, Toxic friendship, Rape, Child abuse, Child death, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Death, Antisemitism, Body horror, Bullying, and Murder
Moderate: Addiction, Medical trauma, Suicide, Blood, Death of parent, Panic attacks/disorders, Cursing, and Alcoholism
bg_oseman_fan'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
4.0
Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, and Suicide attempt
Moderate: Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Child abuse, Hate crime, Grief, Homophobia, Sexism, Bullying, Infidelity, Medical content, Medical trauma, Misogyny, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racism, and Sexual content
Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Fatphobia, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Dementia, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Incest, Pedophilia, Alcohol, Infertility, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual harassment, Body shaming, Stalking, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Sexual violence
cloudbooks's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
1.0
The bad:
Simply put, it was too long. 500 pages of this could have been cut out completely and it would have been a better story. I couldn't keep all the characters in my head and I lost track of who and where and how.
For a book of over 1000 pages, it spent so long talking about anecdotes, about side characters, about unimportant scenes and in general it does not talk much about the monster. You easily spend 200 pages waiting for the monster. It's not scary. It's just annoying.
Also kids having sex in a sewer as the solution to killing the monster? No thank you. I understand why but I simply didn't like it.
The good:
The monster was terrifying when it was there. The writing is really good too but this is Stephen King. That's to be expected.
I will never touch this book again
Graphic: Body horror, Blood, Gore, Child abuse, Bullying, Murder, Child death, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic relationship, Death, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Suicide attempt, Vomit, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racism, Suicide, and Racial slurs
Minor: Animal death, Animal cruelty, Alcohol, Homophobia, and Alcoholism
ro_lux'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
4.75
Graphic: Blood, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Domestic abuse, Grief, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Body horror, Bullying, Fatphobia, Gore, Murder, Vomit, Child abuse, Racism, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Violence, Torture, Sexual content, Suicide, Excrement, Animal cruelty, Child death, Death, and Toxic relationship
Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, and Gun violence
Minor: Drug use
kylee_hegel's review against another edition
Graphic: Alcoholism, Racial slurs, Child abuse, Homophobia, Bullying, Death, Fatphobia, and Pedophilia
leonor_mozo'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
1.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Violence, Sexual violence, Racism, Religious bigotry, Hate crime, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, Forced institutionalization, Mental illness, and Alcoholism