Reviews tagging 'Miscarriage'

Carrie by Stephen King

41 reviews

jenna_justi2004's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and War

jourdanicus's review against another edition

dark reflective medium-paced

• 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

5.0

A classic for most people, I'm sure, this is only my second read by King. It is such a well crafted story, I enjoyed it the whole way through. Some things I usually personally dislike (such as female characters written by male authors) I was able to overlook because of the quality of the writing. I'm glad to have finally read what seems to be a germinal piece in the horror genre - I can already see how other fiction has been so influenced by Carrie.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Toxic relationship and Death

Minor: Miscarriage

johnreadsthings's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

3.0

*Editing my review, because I learned that this is King's first book. I thought it was Salem's Lot. In line with that, the criticism I've included didn't seem as valid as I thought it'd be because this was literally King's debut work.*

This is a career-defining book for King and I can see why. It's a scary and memorable story. The introduction was amazing and the inclusion of excerpts from books, news articles, and recorded court interrogations were inspired and made the whole thing much more interesting.

In this debut work, King's distinctive style of character writing was teased. And although it still wasn't in their best (he'd have hundreds of stories to compensate for that), it already took shape and it was already compelling as it was. Having read future works by him, I saw how much he'd improved from this. But Carrie alone was already a stunner. 

Lastly, I was expecting a cathartic ending, and though the aftermath was powerful on its own, the conclusion still felt messy and sort of anticlimactic. Brian De Palma's closing on his Carrie film adaptation was much more satisfying and horrific, a final scare that would linger. It was said that even King himself liked De Palma's ending than his own. But still, Carrie will always be one of King's most well-known story with a lasting legacy. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, and Violence

sg124's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Fire/Fire injury, and Child abuse

Moderate: Rape, Racism, Car accident, and Animal death

Minor: Miscarriage

lavieenrose's review

dark reflective tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, Sexual harassment, and Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Sexual violence, Sexual assault, Rape, Mental illness, Lesbophobia, Homophobia, Miscarriage, and Abortion

Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Excrement, Fatphobia, Misogyny, and Alcohol

r0ttingontheinside's review

dark medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood

Minor: Miscarriage

violet_pages's review

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage

mollykat3b621's review

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Grief, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence

stormwise's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

4.0

I'd like to have words with whoever penned the tag line featured on my copy of this book. "Trust her and she will lead you into a nightmare" - if the 'she' in question is intended to be Carrie, and I can't see any reason why that wouldn't be the intention the way this cover is laid out, then it's incredibly misleading! 
At no point does Carrie ever abuse a position of trust to harm anyone; it's everyone else who abuses her trust, ultimately leading to the horrific climax of this novel. 

It's always exciting to experience a famous piece of media for the first time - you know what happens but you don't know HOW. I'm yet to watch any film adaptation of Carrie so this was my first foray into the story, armed only with the knowledge of the iconic prom scene. 

King uses an epistolary structure, weaving excerpts from news reports, scientific studies and personal accounts into the narrative, foreshadowing the horror to come - somewhat ironically, considering how widely known the story now is almost 50 years later. I still enjoyed how the tension was built leading up to the climax and it was an effective way of showing the impact of Carrie's actions. 

As for Carrie White herself...I can't see her as a villain.

Subjected to the controlling abuse of her mother, the bullying of her peers and the indifference of the other adults in her life, she is a victim of neglect and cruelty. The overtures of kindness made by Sue, Tommy and Miss Desjardin are too little, too late. Carrie's awareness of her treatment was particularly heartbreaking: "I don't like to be tricked. Do You People think you can just go on tricking me forever?" she says to Tommy, desperately trying to defend herself from further pain. It's bittersweet that it is as she begins to trust her classmates and enjoy herself that the worst betrayal at all occurs. Not gonna lie, I'd probably go on a murderous rampage too!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Child death, Rape, Child abuse, Violence, Sexual assault, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Car accident, Bullying, Body shaming, and Blood

Moderate: Gore

Minor: Miscarriage

chig_flicks's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Murder, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Violence

Moderate: Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Eating disorder, Fatphobia, and Miscarriage