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4.06 AVERAGE
4.06 AVERAGE
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Injury/Injury detail
the movies are fun but don’t waste your time reading this lengthy pile of racist misogynistic dog shit. why is a child gang bang necessary??? I was warned but my curiosity got the better of me on this one.
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
Great read! I truly felt connected to this story and these characters. I definitely thought it was super wordy (in true Stephen King fashion) but overall amazing! I also felt that the main problem with this read was that I constantly waited for something to happen and felt completely underwhelmed until the last 100 pages. Also, the amount of slurs/belittling remarks to anyone that isn’t a straight white man got really old really fast.
i've given this review a lot of thought so give me a minute to get it out
this is a book of 3 stories: the losers club as kids, the losers club as adults and the town of derry's dark history. this is also the order in which i most enjoyed the storylines.
in true stephen king fashion, half the book is setting up the characters and the town of derry. most of the losers gang don't actually meet until about 40% of the way in. you would think "oof that's so boring", but this was my favourite part of the book. ben, bill , beverly, eddie and richie are all such real people to me. (mike and stan less so). the way we are introduced to them is so formulaic that the chapters have a nice rhythm to them. up until about when they started to go down into the sewers (80 % ish?) i was really thinking wow this might be my second favourite King (nothing will top misery for me, sorry)
now lets get to my dislikes. stephen the n words and slurs and jewish jokes were a lil too far for me. i get that its set in the 50's and this book was also written a long time ago, but COME ON. unnecessary if you ask me.
the climax of both young and adult plotlines lost me. the past and present battle with IT was just far too metaphysical for me. like what do you mean it all happened in their heads? they just stood there? no wonder the cut the ritual of chud and the turtle out of the movie. and if you've seen the movie and are reading this, yes there is a cosmic turtle.
and this wouldn't be a complete review of IT without talking about that one scene... yes you know it... the orgy scene. stephen what the fuck. people who try to say "okay yeah its a little weird but necessary for the storyline are WRONG. i also tried to keep an open mind. BUT i can confidently say its weird and gratuitous. stephen gives some explanation of "oh after they thought they defeated IT and were lost in the sewers they were starting to get scared and lose hope" SO THEY HAD SEX? huh??? makes no fucking sense. they're 11!! again, not shocked that they cut this from the movie.
anyways, 4 stars.
this is a book of 3 stories: the losers club as kids, the losers club as adults and the town of derry's dark history. this is also the order in which i most enjoyed the storylines.
in true stephen king fashion, half the book is setting up the characters and the town of derry. most of the losers gang don't actually meet until about 40% of the way in. you would think "oof that's so boring", but this was my favourite part of the book. ben, bill , beverly, eddie and richie are all such real people to me. (mike and stan less so). the way we are introduced to them is so formulaic that the chapters have a nice rhythm to them. up until about when they started to go down into the sewers (80 % ish?) i was really thinking wow this might be my second favourite King (nothing will top misery for me, sorry)
now lets get to my dislikes. stephen the n words and slurs and jewish jokes were a lil too far for me. i get that its set in the 50's and this book was also written a long time ago, but COME ON. unnecessary if you ask me.
the climax of both young and adult plotlines lost me. the past and present battle with IT was just far too metaphysical for me. like what do you mean it all happened in their heads? they just stood there? no wonder the cut the ritual of chud and the turtle out of the movie. and if you've seen the movie and are reading this, yes there is a cosmic turtle.
and this wouldn't be a complete review of IT without talking about that one scene... yes you know it... the orgy scene. stephen what the fuck. people who try to say "okay yeah its a little weird but necessary for the storyline are WRONG. i also tried to keep an open mind. BUT i can confidently say its weird and gratuitous. stephen gives some explanation of "oh after they thought they defeated IT and were lost in the sewers they were starting to get scared and lose hope" SO THEY HAD SEX? huh??? makes no fucking sense. they're 11!! again, not shocked that they cut this from the movie.
anyways, 4 stars.
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
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
This was my first experience with Stephen King and I absolutely loved it! I was expecting an outright horror story with the potential to need to put the book down due to the nature of the story. It certainly wasn't that but didn't make it any less brilliant. The horror comes from the situations, the claustrophobia of Derry, the difficulties of not fitting in as a child, being between childhood and adulthood and the powerful impact of memories and recollection. It was so much more of a story than I expected and something I found myself right in the middle of rather than experiencing as a reader on the outside. The world created and the relatability of the characters was incredible.