Reviews tagging 'Bullying'

Carrie by Stephen King

277 reviews

amalas_bookstop's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

Even though I am way late to reading this and I have already watched he movie. This was still a really great read. It was a bit of a slow start for me, and the writing style didn’t agree with me totally. This is still a solid 4 stars. 

What a horror gruesome lesson about not treating others horribly, because you have no idea what they are going through. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Body horror, Violence, Mental illness, Grief, Gore, Confinement, Injury/Injury detail, and Death of parent

ed_moore's review against another edition

dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

3.25

I read Stephen King’s ‘Carrie’ as I am involved in a production of the musical in a week, and was honestly surprised how quickly events unfolded in the book. Carrie is about a 17 year old girl who is outcast in school and faces abuse from her fanatically religious mother at home, yet finds she has the power of telekinesis and uses such to get her revenge on the town that wronged her for so many years. 

The primary surprise was how early Carrie’s telekinetic powers were revealed, I was expecting this to be more of a self-discovery plot point and twist in Carrie though I am content to mention it in this review as it was more or less revealed on the first page. The ending also wasn’t left for the readers to theorise as due to fictional extracts from supposed non-fiction books written about the actions of Carrie White on prom night the ending was revealed early on and continually referenced throughout. I really didn’t enjoy the inclusion of these books within books as though aware of the story, it still very much took away from the ending and diverted from the plot, and any comments that foreshadowed were intentionally far too obvious. ‘Carrie’ was not a book written to leave the reader on edge guessing whatsoever, which really defeated its main draw within the thriller genre. 

Despite my prior knowledge of the story the narrative and writing was however still harrowing. Scenes relating to the menstrual cycle and also child and religious abuse were extremely graphic, and the final sequence of events was absolutely brutal and apocalyptic, likely written in a means to mimic the biblical ‘Judgement Day’. It was also enhanced in the graphic imaginings of such as the scenes were often repeated from multiple perspectives, which increased reader exposure to violence but also failed to add much to the story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Car accident, Blood, Physical abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Medical trauma, Child abuse, Child death, and Emotional abuse

Moderate: Bullying, Death of parent, Body shaming, and Gore

emrysrer's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Murder, Religious bigotry, and Blood

Minor: Suicide attempt and Rape

lhb_lhb's review against another edition

dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

One of the best Stephen King novels, mostly if you want to start reading King's books. Spectacular ending 

Uno de los mejores libros de Stephen King, sobretodo si quieres empezar a leer a King. Final brutal.

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, and Death

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. 

---

Content Warnings

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

mar_p's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

5.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Religious bigotry, Death, Death of parent, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, and Gore

cyndakeel's review against another edition

dark emotional tense medium-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated

4.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Child abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Murder, and Bullying

Moderate: Body shaming and Fatphobia

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.5

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcohol, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Death, Religious bigotry, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Gore, Death of parent, Grief, Child abuse, and Cursing

Moderate: Car accident

alaskan_bull_worm's review against another edition

dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.0

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Fire/Fire injury, and Bullying

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Death, Car accident, Child death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Child abuse, Sexual content, Violence, Body shaming, Body horror, and Gore

rikh's review against another edition

dark emotional sad medium-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

3.25

I think this is a very good book that shouldn't be enjoyed as an audiobook. Just doesn't seem the right medium for it.

Stephen King does always manage to grab me and put me into the world and setting of his story. 

---

Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, and Bullying

Moderate: Rape