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stephanieluxton's review
- 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
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.
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
theremightbecupcakes's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
It’s also a treatise on how we change everyone we meet, for better for worse. The choice of how is ours.
You’ll be wondering (and if you’re like me, worrying) does the dog die? Click here if it’s bothering you:
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Addiction, Death of parent, Slavery, Confinement, Death, Alcoholism, Bullying, Car accident, and Classism
Minor: Torture, Cannibalism, Hate crime, and Child abuse
febronia87'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? 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 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? 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
kyrstin_p1989's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Classism, Confinement, Cursing, Animal cruelty, Slavery, Addiction, Abandonment, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Self harm, Torture, Toxic relationship, Toxic friendship, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Body horror, Cancer, Murder, Rape, Bullying, Death of parent, and Violence
kelisabeth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Car accident, Confinement, Fatphobia, Murder, Injury/Injury detail, Racism, Classism, Genocide, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Slavery, War, Vomit, Alcohol, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Excrement, Addiction, Alcoholism, Grief, Gun violence, Hate crime, Torture, and Violence
nyree42's review against another edition
4.0
Well, it delivered exactly what I was looking for, and now that I know that a work of Mr. King was quite enjoyable, I will peruse his catalogue to find out if he has written anything else that might be to my taste.
As for my review... the plot of "Fairy Tale" was a bit slow at times; he is quite a verbose author who seems to like to thoroughly flesh out the character's life and the world around them, but that was fine. I still enjoyed all of it, even if sometimes I put the book down for awhile once I'd gotten to one of the more "drawn-out" parts.
It's not a "scary" tale; just creepy when talking about the villains, the evil, and the bad things that happened to people, but it remained "down to earth" and hopeful even in the face of darkness.
I will be hoping that it is adapted into a mini-series! That or two films (need at least two so that important things aren't rushed over). My preference would be a nice, "true-to-the-book" TV mini-series adaptation though. Amazon Prime or HBO, let's do this! (Sorry, can't bet on Netflix, they might ruin it.)
Reading age: would recommend for, at the youngest, age 16 and up. (Note that it contains violence, some gore/death/injury-depictions, frightening/tense situations, some sexual mentions and lewd jokes and swearing, so it's not child-friendly.)
Since it's about a teenager, there is something that teens would get out of it; yet it's written for adults and with an adult perspective, so if you're in your 20s and up it will probably be more meaningful. I've passed my 20s and it still hit home for me, making me remember what it was like to be an adolescent - although Charlie Reade was a lot more cool than I was at that age.
Graphic: Murder, Blood, Bullying, Death, Kidnapping, Body horror, Alcoholism, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Alcohol, Confinement, and Cursing
Moderate: Sexual content, Torture, Slavery, and War
l1brarygirl's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Torture, Confinement, Gore, Murder, Grief, Alcoholism, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, Death of parent, Violence, Death, Body horror, Gun violence, and Animal cruelty
Moderate: Toxic friendship, Cancer, and Bullying
vixenreader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Grief, Cursing, Gore, Alcoholism, Alcohol, War, Blood, Torture, Violence, Death, Addiction, Ableism, Body horror, Body shaming, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Slavery, and Excrement
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Fatphobia, Medical content, Car accident, Gun violence, Fire/Fire injury, Genocide, Kidnapping, Police brutality, Animal death, Death of parent, Mental illness, Toxic friendship, and Bullying
Minor: Racism and Sexual content
Be prepared for decaying bodies, half-dead soldiers, and said soldiers exploding. There is also some ableism in terms of how little people are treated in the text.delwithit'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
4.75
Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Grief, Excrement, Body horror, Terminal illness, Vomit, Violence, Murder, Death, Death of parent, Blood, and Cursing
Moderate: War, Terminal illness, Sexual content, Mental illness, Medical trauma, Medical content, Cultural appropriation, Cancer, Chronic illness, Suicide, and Gun violence
Minor: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Incest, Pregnancy, and Misogyny