Reviews tagging 'Suicide'

It by Stephen King

206 reviews

kchamberlin04's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense slow-paced

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

3.0

stephen king writes such beautiful things about friendship. unfortunately he also writes graphic misogynistic underage sex scenes so

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, Kidnapping, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

uhh. just be careful

littleneptune's review against another edition

challenging dark tense slow-paced

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

4.5

This book is iconic for me. I read it twice in french and once in english. A great tale of growing up in a messed up world, surrounded by adults that don’t care. King does a great job of showing the immense space between kids and adults.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Sexual content, and Suicide

There are a few trigger warnings for this book. It deals with heavy subjects and sometimes it feels a bit insensitive to some issues.

keywork1331's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

This is one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t expect to be such a fan, given I’ve not read King before. Of any film of television I had consumed associated with his writing (which also was not much), the characters and stories presented felt flat and a little lifeless. His writing is so much richer in context and visuals. It’s a pleasure to read. You really come to understand the place, Derry, and love the brave kids who choose to confront a seemingly eternal and invincible evil. 

I’d rate higher if not for the disturbing treatment of the female protagonist in the group. I think King could have achieved his thematic point without having all the boys lose their virginity gang banging her. Yes, the kids battle an evil and are thrust into adulthood. We get it without taking this unnecesary, pervie step. Just because it’s horror, doesn’t make it okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

readingmausi's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

3.0

This book should have been a lot shorter. There were parts I really liked and parts I really disliked. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Suicide, Blood, Excrement, Vomit, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Body shaming, Drug use, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Antisemitism, Medical content, Car accident, and Alcohol

quietlyreading2023's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail

bondenj's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fatphobia, Mental illness, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual violence, Suicide, Murder, and Cultural appropriation

whatrobinsonreads's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

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

4.25

In IT, Derry is America in 1958 and 1985. Thriving on the surface, with well-stocked shops downtown and nice houses with nice families surrounding it. It’s truly the shining city on Up-Mile Hill. But beneath the surface lurks an evil otherworldly presence that uses Derry as a feeding pen. It exerts unseen power over the people and keeps them silent, feeding on the townsfolk cyclically every 27 or so years. One of my favorite parts is how It is in everything—the air, the water, the houses, the factories, the fields. It’s the town (says Bill). It’s all the isms and fears imaginable rolled into one horrifying character: Pennywise, IT. When seven children decide to take It down, they alter their lives forever. 
Despite being 1,150 pages, it reads fast. And I’m left wanting more. Except, ofc, when I want less (yes I’m talking about that scene). Strong pacing. Terrific description. Many metaphors and lots of allusions. The narrative is the best part. Some of the language is outdated and many offensive terms are used, the n-word being used in particular a lot when the narrative focuses on Mike, the one Black character in the book, besides his dad, and the only main character who isn’t white. 
TW-wise: the book is 100% about bullying. It’s about overcoming bullying with your friends (albeit with more bullying, but what are you gonna do with one maybe two sociopaths and a kid who’s nicknamed Belch?), and coming together despite the distance of so much time. 
That scene: why did she have to sleep with all of them? King couldn’t have had her just like, suggest Eddie re-look? It’s so unnecessary. They don’t really know if It’s dead or gone away, they haven’t exhausted all their options looking wise, and it’s supposed to compare her to the library’s glass tunnel, well dude, objectification much? That turns her into this vessel so they can transition to adulthood and she can through them? Just…wtf with that scene. Sucks cause I love the rest of the book—Eddie was my guy 💔— and this scene is absurdly and frustratingly gratuitous. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Racism, and Violence

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Hate crime, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, and Suicide

Minor: Animal cruelty

The whole book is about its trigger warnings. Read review for more.

macliffe's review against another edition

Too much sexual content

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Blood, Antisemitism, Stalking, and Murder

Moderate: Cancer, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Incest, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Religious bigotry

neleusb's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.0

audiobook with stephen weber is FANTASTIC, absolutely hard to get through some parts content wise, i was spoiled going in and still cringed at all that stephen king had to say

the tom shit in its entirety and the INTENSE sex scene with the kids at the end

and

the spiritual alien eternal pain in my ass twist with finding out what pennywise IS, and it is a she and SHES PREGNANT, and sorry a turtle made the universe and gave bill a pep talk to kill a clown like what was that

. absolutely gripping

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Incest, Pedophilia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Antisemitism, Stalking, and Murder

tacochelle's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense slow-paced

• 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

3.0

Putting my thoughts into a list because I have plenty. All the spoilers, because I need to rant.

- The opening chapter with Georgie's death is so good, it's just so frank and brutal, it shows the bond between Bill and Georgie before he dies.

- So damn long. Really needed editing, cut out a lot of repetitive scenes, extra details that only confirms what we already know, etc.

- I love the cosmic horror of what It is, its true form as the Deadlights, how it warps the town of Derry around its existence. 
I even enjoy the cosmic turtle encouraging the Losers, it just furthers the idea that what they are dealing with is so beyond human understanding that it drifts into the absurd.

- I actually like the details on each of It's victims, it shows what it's capable of, the sort of kids that fall on the wayside only to end up it It's path. 

- I liked the friendship between the Losers, King does a really good job of making (most of) them likable, and showing how they become a sort of found family for each other. They help each other with their broken family life and trauma, remind each other that their feelings are valid and does not make them crazy.

- But good lord, Ritchie sucks. He's so obnoxious, with few redeemable moments.

- I didn't mind how sadistic the bullies were. It gave more variety to the sort of prey It feeds on. And part of what made Henry so fucked up was both his racist abusive father, and the influence of It pushing him to madness. It made sense to me.

-Bill's wife Audra feels underused. The ending with her was so weird and feels out of place.

- The gangbang scene was unnecessary. Sure maybe in the mind of a preteen sex can unite them, give you clarity and make you an adult, but for it to actually give them the knowledge of how to leave It's lair is stupid.

-The Losers Club's strong friendship is what ultimately guve them the power to defeat It once and for all. It makes sense when they forget each other the first time because they didn't actually kill It like they thought. But for them to forget each other at the very end when they do kill it feels antithetical to the story. And if they do forget each other, how do Ben and Beverly hook up after that? It doesn't add up, and doesn't make for a satisfying end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Gore, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicide, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Cancer, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Vomit, Antisemitism, and Death of parent