Reviews tagging 'Panic attacks/disorders'

It by Stephen King

45 reviews

carltonatasha's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

wickedbastard's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective 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

4.75

Damn near perfect.

This is my second time reading IT and I think I enjoyed it much more this time through, now that I know the main beats of the story. I'm very tempted to give it the full 5 stars outright but can't quite make myself do it. It is an AMAZING book -- but not perfect, and it's good to remember that, especially a book as enshrined as this one.

This time 'round I found myself picking up more on Stan as a character, and really enjoying him as a character. He's the doubter, the skeptic, the one who clings to brickwall reality even when the impossible is threatening to destroy him. It might seem like he lacks the capacity for faith but the reality is far too simple: Stan has little except his faith -- faith in the REAL, the tangible, the logical, the proven. And during his confrontations with IT, he is able to weaponize his faith in the real against IT and prevail.

Two scenes stand out (arguably the main two Stan is in at all).

One: Stan's account of the drowned boys in the standpipe. Even re-reading that, it gave me such chills and gooseflesh. The detail and pacing is absolutely flawless in that scene. It is a pure legend and captures the soul of the child from whose perspective it is told. The second: When Stan uses the names of birds to repel the attacks of IT. There is something powerful about that.

I believe in scarlet tanagers even though I never saw one. Same with vultures, and the New Guinea mudlark and the flamingos of Brazil. I believe in the golden bald eagle! And I think there really might be a phoenix somewhere! But I don't believe in you, so get the fuck out of here! Get out! Hit the road, Jack!
-- Stan, altered for continuity.

Last thought for this time:

During the final Ritual of Chüd, I think it should have been Beverly who finished the ritual against IT. As it actually happened, Bill attempted and lost his grip; Richie went in and saved bill, but couldn't hold on long enough; and then Eddie, outside of it all, dealt a mortal wound to IT and paid with his life.

Those first two points are all good with me, but I don't think Eddie's part should have happened. I think it would have been much better if, when Richie was starting to lose his grip, Bev entered the fray and kicked its ass, out there in the cosmic drift. Woman-to-woman, nobody fucks with my friends but me kinda thing. Woulda been cool.

Okay, last last thought: The audiobook was truly a stellar experience. Mine was narrated by Steven Weber and he worked his absolute ass off. He did all of Richie's voices, and Bill's stutter, plus the voices of IT, plus many voices/inflections for certain characters. He also has a really good sense of how to read a book and make the cadence sound natural, off-the-cuff, casual. Listening to his style is pure delight. I will happily listen to any audiobook narrated by Steven Weber.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Grief, Mass/school shootings, Death of parent, and Murder

voicenextdoor's review against another edition

dark 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? No

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Blood, Antisemitism, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Incest, Infertility, Pedophilia, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Violence, Excrement, Vomit, Kidnapping, and Cultural appropriation

miw4everaly's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

0.25

I absolutely hated this book. It had been on my "to read" list for years and I thought I would listen to it before Halloween. I cannot tell you how much I hate this book without giving things away, but I'll try. The book was clearly written just to shock people. There are aggressive sexual interactions, assaults, racial slurs that made me (a half-black woman) extremely uncomfortable and they were very unnecessary, and the characters were not likeable (except for Ben). I truly struggled to get through this book and, if it wouldn't make me feel like a failure for giving up, I would've stopped reading after the first few chapters. This is one of those rare moments where I would tell people to just watch the movies. The book will make you wish you never started to read it. I don't believe in cancel culture, but I'm shocked this book wasn't canceled during all that craziness. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

tessvosper's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Vomit, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Alcoholism, Antisemitism, Dementia, Grief, and Alcohol

martamae's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Cancer, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, Sexual harassment, and Classism

merandferny's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Cultural appropriation, and Injury/Injury detail

mvegag's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Medical content, Dementia, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

cass_booklover's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful sad tense medium-paced

4.0

Unfortunately this book hasn’t aged well and contains so many offensive and derogatory terms. The story itself is not offensive but some of the characters and the things they say and do is horrendously offensive. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Vomit, and Cultural appropriation

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense slow-paced

• 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? No

3.75

I don’t really know how to sum up my feelings on this book. There were some really brilliant aspects of it, but also parts that I utterly hated. 

I’ll start off with saying that in my opinion this was far too long. I’m not opposed to lengthy books, often times I prefer them because you get to spend more time with the characters and story, but this took a ridiculous amount of time to get to the point and often felt like the words I was reading were just there to lengthen the book rather than actually tell the story. There were also quite a few scenes that I found completely unnecessary, such as the sewer orgy at the end. That had absolutely no impact on the story and I think was just added as a bit of shock factor. 

I did like the main characters most of the time, though Richie did irritate me at times. The characterisation of It was also very interesting and I haven’t seen anything like it before. 

I think overall I wouldn’t recommend this book to someone unless they had an interest in reading works that are considered classics in the horror genre. If you’re just looking to get started with horror or want to read this because you enjoyed the movies, I wouldn’t recommend it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Infidelity, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Antisemitism, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail