Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

19 reviews

batchy's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring mysterious slow-paced

• 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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Death of parent and Car accident

shiftycow1313's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Chronic illness, Car accident, Body horror, Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Gore, Blood, Violence, Death, Cursing, Medical content, Grief, Slavery, Self harm, Murder, Gun violence, Alcoholism, Ableism, Addiction, Excrement, Confinement, and Death of parent

Moderate: Bullying

the dog does not die

ladyhunbun's review

adventurous dark reflective tense medium-paced

• 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

3.0

I think the main character growth is Charlie

understanding that he can be two things at once, that having strong sometimes brutal thoughts and behaviors doesn’t mean he can’t also be loving and kind and gentle.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Grief, Violence, Excrement, and Body horror

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Cursing

Minor: Alcoholism and Addiction

bookboxbabe's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense slow-paced

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

4.5

yes it took my forever to finish this but honestly i kind of enjoyed taking my time with it. it let me sit with the conflicts and the characters much more.

the world is so rich and thought out, the characters were all lovable, and the narration (as i listened to this on audio), was one of my favorites. 

also, radar deserves the best

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Physical abuse, Blood, Death, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

Minor: Grief, Death of parent, and Alcoholism

itsheyfay's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Blood, Gore, Violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Car accident, Death, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Genocide, and Grief

Minor: Pedophilia, Adult/minor relationship, and War

voltem's review

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Addiction, Alcoholism, and Violence

Moderate: Death of parent

mscalls's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War, Alcohol, Grief, Violence, Alcoholism, Bullying, Kidnapping, Vomit, Blood, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Fatphobia, Torture, Murder, and Physical abuse

breezyreads84's review

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad tense 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? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death of parent and Physical abuse

Minor: Murder

stephanieluxton's review against another edition

adventurous slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.25

This is the 13th Stephen king book I've read and I have a lot of feelings about it.

I didn't really like it.

The premise of finding a door to another world isnt an original concept, but it's a great concept because the possibilities are endless. Maybe that's why I'm so disappointed.

Stephen king tends to write books with settings so rich they almost feel like characters themselves but I didn't feel that way in this book. It wasn't as immersive as I'd hoped.

The pacing of this story was off and it felt bloated. We don't find out about the fantasy world until we are basically a third into the book. i actually enjoyed the beginning act because there was a lot of mystery and anticipation and the relationship between charlie and Howard was wholesome, but it could have been shaved down. A lot of it wasn't necessary. Same with the events that follow Charlie's encounter with the night soldiers - it just felt so long and lackluster. This book felt like 3 different stories squished into one. 

The tone of the story was off for me. It's fantasy but I wish it had more horror elements. Charlie finds himself in dire situations but I never felt like he was in true danger. There was very little fear. Part of this might be because he is telling the story in past tense. So we know he is going to be okay or else he wouldn't be telling us the story. There was a few times when I wish the fantasy world was scarier, kind of like the world in From The Light of His Lantern by Abe Moss. There were also a few times when I thought this story would be excellent if Adam Nevill wrote it and made it spooky!

The general plotline was kind of ridiculous. No 17 year old would put himself in danger for the reason charlie goes to the fantasy world in the first place.

I did really like Charlie as a character. I enjoyed that he wasn't totally pure and good. He was capable of violence but trying to do the right thing. Not everything was super easy for him and he had to be witty. This also felt like a coming of age story as well where Charlie has to sacrifice and grow. His character development was good.

The climax was basically non-existent. The ending felt too easy. I was excited for the book to be over. There was bits of political commentary scattered throughout the book which I especially didn't like because it was totally unnecessary.

The narrator of the audiobook did a great job.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Pandemic/Epidemic, Death, Murder, and Alcoholism

Moderate: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Self harm, Police brutality, Drug use, Cancer, Sexual harassment, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Grief, Car accident, Chronic illness, Cursing, Blood, Confinement, Death of parent, Torture, Slavery, Body horror, Cannibalism, Bullying, and Terminal illness

Minor: Incest and War

steveatwaywords's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• 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

4.25

It felt good to be in the discomforting arms of Stephen King, again, and this is one of his old-school fantasy-adventure tales with the customary unexpected grit. If you have appreciated tales the like of The Talisman or The Eyes of the Dragon,--even, to a degree, 11.22.63-- this is a good choice.  If you're looking for something closer to the darkness of It or Needful Things or something heavier in character development like his Finders Keepers, Insomnia, From a Buick 8, or Hearts in Atlantis, there is somewhat less to satisfy.  This is roller-coaster King having a good time writing, throwing in odds and ends from his (our) childhood because he can, taking open shots at Disney and contemporary politics because it's fun. Enjoy the adventure, wince at the satisfying squelches of flesh, and say hello to the dog. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Bullying, Alcohol, Blood, Gore, Gun violence, Violence, Car accident, Sexual content, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Death, Death of parent, Torture, and Toxic friendship