Reviews tagging 'Death'

Joyland by Stephen King

24 reviews

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

A quick-ish murder mystery with dark undertones. 

I really enjoyed this one, as per usual for King it is heavily character driven, until the last 50 pages when everything happens. We get to really know the main character, Dev, we spend time with him and get down into his soul. We follow him the summer he really grew up, even though he's 21, and watch him go from a whiney infatuated boy to a strong and kind man. A wonderful small theme park, with the colorful cast of characters that brings in, serves as a delightful background. But as per standard, things arent what they seem. A touch of ghost, a touch of sociopath, and a good ol' southern woman with a gun. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Terminal illness, Chronic illness, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Gun violence, Murder, Blood, Cursing, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Cursing, Death, Sexual content, Infidelity, and Suicidal thoughts

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Death of parent, Ableism, Alcohol, Body shaming, and Rape

jane_moriarty's review against another edition

dark mysterious reflective

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child death, Terminal illness, Death, Murder, and Sexual content

cc_shelflove's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

Headline: 21-year-old man loses his virginity to a cougar in order to get over his college girlfriend he never had sex with. 🤣

I loved the setting of this book. We follow college student Devin Jones as he finds a summer job in North Carolina to work as a carny. In typical King fashion, things do not go as planned, and Devin finds himself following the threads of a long-ago secret. Nothing too, too crazy happened; I was expecting more twists but this was still a satisfying mystery.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Chronic illness, Child death, Terminal illness, Gun violence, and Murder

lomis's review against another edition

dark hopeful mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Murder, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

stacys_book_nook's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child death, and Death

saemiligr's review

dark emotional lighthearted mysterious reflective medium-paced

• 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

4.0

Somehow this really felt like a slice of life book with some horror in. But it was so well told I enjoyed the hell of out of the story. 

I don't know what tipped it but I immediately called who the bad guy ended up being. Maybe I've read to many horror or Stephen King books, but the moment the bad guy came into the pages. I pointed at him and say, that's him, that's the one. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death

stampest's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Murder, Sexism, Blood, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Grief, and Terminal illness

Moderate: Gore, Pregnancy, Ableism, and Child death

Minor: Pregnancy, Racism, Rape, and Suicidal thoughts

jourdanicus's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• 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? No

Another King done for me. I've been finding his books to be a good palate cleanser when I need something predictable (in a good way) in between more intense/heavy reads. Not much more to say... It's Stephen King...

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore

Moderate: Chronic illness, Medical content, Death, Sexual content, Murder, and Gun violence

Minor: Alcohol

mithy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad slow-paced

• 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Terminal illness, Child death, and Chronic illness

Minor: Excrement, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, Death, and Murder

rachel_here's review against another edition

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Chronic illness, and Death

Moderate: Sexism and Sexual content