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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.katealot's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Violence, Suicide, Sexual content, Racial slurs, Physical abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Death, Child death, Child abuse, Antisemitism, Adult/minor relationship, Gore, Blood, Pedophilia, and Cursing
Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Excrement, Fatphobia, Vomit, Sexual assault, Racism, Medical trauma, Medical content, Homophobia, and Grief
emohell's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Bullying, Child death, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Hate crime, Homophobia, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, and Violence
perleerose'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? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Addiction, Violence, Torture, Suicide, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Sexism, Racism, Pedophilia, Panic attacks/disorders, Murder, Mental illness, Medical content, Medical trauma, Homophobia, Hate crime, Gun violence, Gore, Fatphobia, Emotional abuse, Drug use, Domestic abuse, Death, Cursing, Child abuse, Bullying, Body shaming, Body horror, Blood, Animal death, and Alcohol
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: Adult/minor relationship, Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Body shaming, Fatphobia, Forced institutionalization, Gore, Grief, Homophobia, Hate crime, Incest, Infertility, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Vomit
Moderate: Infidelity and Gun violence
Minor: Antisemitism
peachani's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
I would recommend this, but please be warned that there's:
- the death of a child that is quite disturbing. It's written explicitly, though not graphic in terms of blood or gore. I wasn't able to read it; I skipped those few paragraphs.
- a sex scene between a group of 11-12 year olds toward the end of the book.
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Xenophobia
Moderate: Misogyny, Sexism, Suicide, Suicide attempt, and Vomit