Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Carrie by Stephen King

43 reviews

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

My god, this poor girl didn’t stand a chance…

Carrie White is a misunderstood and abused teenage girl, who just so happens to have extraordinary powers. At school, she’s bullied and abused by her classmates. At home, she is abused and neglected by her uber-religious mother, who has spent Carrie’s entire life instilling the idea that she is sinful and evil in Carrie’s head. With the incredible power of telekinesis, just how far can Carrie be pushed before she snaps?

Honestly, this poor girl did not stand a chance. Between her mother, her classmates and her teachers, Carrie suffered horrendous physical and psychological abuse. Throughout the entire book, you just find yourself wanting to be able to help this poor, sheltered fictional character, because it reminds you that there are people in real life that suffer through this sort of abuse (you know, minus the telekinesis…). Honestly, by the end, I was cheering Carrie on. 

I did really like Sue’s character. It is all too common for kids and teens to succumb to peer pressure and do things that they don’t want to do, or they know isn’t right, but unfortunately people will do a lot to fit in. And honestly, I think that any one who says they’ve never done something they’ve regretted just because they wanted to fit in (especially in school) is lying. I loved that we saw Sue’s remorse and her attempts to make it up to Carrie. Even if her methods weren’t the best and a little misguided, her intentions were good. 

Overall, even though this was a book that covered a very tough topic, I really enjoyed it and am glad I read it. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Gore, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, and Violence

femtasia's review against another edition

dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Murder, Blood, and Emotional abuse

sighclopss's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Miscarriage, Animal death, Physical abuse, Religious bigotry, Blood, Bullying, Emotional abuse, Gore, and Mental illness

lay_kone's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Sexual content, Violence, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Self harm, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Cursing, Bullying, Death, Blood, Body shaming, Confinement, Mental illness, and Murder

Minor: Miscarriage, Antisemitism, Sexual assault, and Death of parent

blark's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

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

4.5

The most horrifying thing I’ve ever read. The only knock I have is the how the “stream of consciousness” sidebars are written. It totally pulled me out of the story every time. This is a masterpiece.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Body shaming, Child abuse, Fatphobia, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Emotional abuse, Murder, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, and Religious bigotry

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This is the first Stephen King book i’ve ever read and I really enjoyed it! I think this is very well deserving of its horror classic title! 

I really liked the vivid descriptions, I could really see the scenes in my head with how they were written. I also really like Carrie as a character, i think she’s really fascinating and i’m a huge fan of books about religious trauma so this was definitely a good choice for me. 

I’m knocking one star from my rating purely for the unnecessary use of the n word, i don’t think that was needed whatsoever and i know this was written in the 70s but still, it wasn’t acceptable then and it isn’t acceptable now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racial slurs, Rape, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Confinement, Grief, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Mental illness, Death of parent, Physical abuse, Pregnancy, Violence, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexual assault, Car accident, Child abuse, Gore, Murder, Blood, Body shaming, Death, Misogyny, Religious bigotry, and Injury/Injury detail

ronaefrati's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Mental illness, Religious bigotry, Genocide, Cultural appropriation, Bullying, Body shaming, Sexual harassment, Child abuse, Blood, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, and Emotional abuse

aniston_pond's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Bullying, Body shaming, Blood, and Animal death

Moderate: Murder, Animal death, Rape, Cursing, and Child abuse

Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

greenan26's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Child abuse, Gore, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Confinement, Death, Violence, Blood, and Misogyny

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Toxic relationship, Domestic abuse, and Body shaming

mxpringle's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

I love the concept of this book and I'm a huge King fan, though I read this book and really just want to hear more about Carrie's childhood and more of a buildup to the final prom night event. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Torture, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Child death