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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
secre's review
- 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
4.0
The opening third is King at his very best; Charlie is a high flying youngster with a good academic record and a likely sports scholarship to boot. Yet when he comes across an elderly neighbour in trouble, he strikes up an unlikely friendship and becomes his caretaker at the expense of his scholarship. King writes this slice-of-life beautifully; all of the characters are vivid and interesting, he builds on the back-stories and motivations and I was fully invested in the character stories. There's tension and a ticking clock, and it is superbly done.
Things start to fall apart when Charlie finds his way into a warped fairyland world though. It loses a lot of the natural drama, becoming instead a fairly bland 'teenage hero saves the day' story. There's some nice world-building here, but it never really rose to it's potential and I'll admit that I lost interest multiple times, putting it down and reading something more interesting. It probably took me a month to plough through the middle section of the novel because of this. It's not as though it's bad; it's a fairly standard dark YA retelling of a fairy story. But it's doesn't have the edge or the drive of the earlier novel. I was pretty sure I knew exactly how it was going to end from the start, even if I didn't know exactly how it was going to get there. I was pretty much dead on the nail.
It did pick up towards the end, though I'd have liked more time back in the 'real' world, particularly considering that was where the strength of the novel lies.
All in all, I enjoyed this but I don't think it can be counted as one of the best of King's works. It seemed like it to begin with, but it was also like two different novels jammed into one. One of them was stunning. The other mediocre.
Graphic: Death and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent
lantheaume'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? No
3.0
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Alcoholism and Death of parent
jpfortmiller'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? Yes
Graphic: Cursing, Body horror, Torture, Slavery, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Death of parent and Gun violence
batchy'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? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Alcoholism
Moderate: Violence, Physical abuse, Confinement, Toxic friendship, Blood, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Death of parent and Car accident
paju_ilona's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
"As to what followed... if it was a thank-you fuck, I didn't want to know. And if it was a mercy fuck, all I can say is hooray for mercy."
"My heart didn't just hurt, it cried out no and no and no. It asked how i could leave wonder behind and turn my back on magic. It asked if i really meant to plug the funnel the stars fall through."
Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Death, and Death of parent
laureloreads's review
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Death of parent
Moderate: Alcoholism
fritopie'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
3.75
Graphic: Death of parent, Death, and Alcoholism
Moderate: Medical trauma, Terminal illness, and Cancer
misslaura126's review
- 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
Graphic: Death of parent