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rissaread's review against another edition
- 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
4.0
and yes, i can say at some points it felt as though there was unnecessary details or pieces in chapters that were definitely not needed ( like that part in a chapter about the jenny girl charlie knew, kind of unnecessary to me ) some parts did drag and i was like alright get to the point lol but i loved the story!
i also saw some reviews here of people saying once charlie enters empis it got boring and they liked the beginning better but i completely disagree. the whole point of this story was about the other world, the world under the well and it was so fascinating to me. again, i get it not being everyone’s cup of tea but don’t pick up a book literally called fairy tale and expect a normal story about a teenager and a dog.
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Torture, Death, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gore, Alcoholism, Body horror, Gun violence, Cancer, Death of parent, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Sexual content and Animal cruelty
unicornofblue's review
- 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? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Cannibalism, Addiction, Kidnapping, Murder, Alcohol, Classism, Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Chronic illness, Confinement, Death, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Medical content, Pandemic/Epidemic, Terminal illness, and Torture
Moderate: Cancer
Minor: Bullying, Animal death, Child death, Sexual content, Toxic friendship, and Vomit
depmythmoon's review
- 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? Yes
4.75
“There’s a dark well in everyone, I think, and it never goes dry. But you drink from it at your peril. That water is poison.” (pg. 446)
This was my first Stephen King book (I know I’m behind, please ✋🏾😭), and I really enjoyed his writing style. If I had to relate it to anything I’ve read before, it would be “The Catcher in the Rye” by J.D. Salinger. It’s that descriptive type of writing that tends to have longer sentences and delve into minor details of something a character mentions. He also uses parenthesis more liberally than any author I’ve read before, which I enjoyed seeing. I’m not exactly sure why some people suggest that this isn’t the Stephen King book to start with. It was a great read in my opinion (if the 5 ⭐️ rating was anything to go off of). If this isn’t considered to be one of his best, I’m just glad that I have many more great works to look forward to.
This story has an overall theme that focuses on morality and how nobody is only good or only evil. We follow the male MC, Charlie Reade, who has a less than squeaky clean past, yet he has such a noble role within the story that juxtaposes that past nicely. He can even recognize that he may not be the textbook definition of a protagonist in a story, but he steps up to the plate anyway. The whole reason he even got into this situation is some twisted sense of obligation that hurt my heart for him while also making me think further about the motives of the good deeds that people choose to do. Anything that makes me slightly question how I view the world and others is guaranteed to stick with me and get a good rating.
Radar, the dog that Charlie goes on this mission to save, was both so adorable and heartbreaking. Seeing how her condition deteriorated as the story continued pulled at the heartstrings. Had I been a pet owner, I know for a fact that this book would have made me shed more than a few tears. So, pet owners, please be careful when going into this story. She’s such a good girl 😭
I will say… the big bad if the story did feel slightly anticlimactic while also being fitting for this tale. It left me torn, but I did love how King was able to tie it all back to multiple points that go all the way back to the beginning of the story. It would have been nice to see a little bit more there, of all places, but we were already pushing like 500+ pages at this point, so I don’t exactly blame him for getting it out the way.
Graphic: Alcoholism, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Kidnapping, Addiction, Classism, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, and Chronic illness
Minor: Sexual content and Cursing
wildflower_magic's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent, Genocide, Grief, Murder, Violence, War, Gore, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Slavery, Abandonment, Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, and Vomit
Moderate: Bullying, Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Adult/minor relationship and Sexual content
franzis's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Murder, Alcoholism, and Death
Minor: Sexual content and Torture
lissaslibraryxo's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Death
Minor: Sexual content
immovabletype's review
- 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? Yes
3.25
Graphic: Alcoholism, Body horror, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Blood, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Car accident, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Gore, Medical content, Racial slurs, Slavery, Terminal illness, and Violence
Moderate: Alcohol and Torture
Minor: Sexual content and Rape
jennymaarika's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.25
Moderate: Violence, Sexual content, Gun violence, Vomit, and Car accident
Minor: Animal cruelty
febronia87's review
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Medical trauma, Grief, Death, Gun violence, and Gore
Moderate: Alcohol, Addiction, Blood, Classism, and Alcoholism
Minor: Bullying, Sexual content, and Incest
steveatwaywords's review
- 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
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