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3.41 AVERAGE
3.41 AVERAGE
dark
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
dark
emotional
tense
fast-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
dark
reflective
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
emotional
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
dark
mysterious
reflective
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
dark
sad
tense
fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
So, this is my least favourite King/Bachman book I've read so far.
But it wasn't *bad* I just felt that I didn't get a lot out of it.
The building up to the Ted scene at the end as this big crescendo I felt was decent and definitely built up over the course of the rest of the book but I felt all the post-event stuff was kind of unnecessary. I didn't really care for what happened to the characters *after* the fact, especially not Charlie.
Overall, this one didn't really hit me much - of course I would caveat that by saying I'm British and so gun culture is such a non-thing here it's kinda hard to relate in that way.
But it wasn't *bad* I just felt that I didn't get a lot out of it.
The building up to the Ted scene at the end as this big crescendo I felt was decent and definitely built up over the course of the rest of the book but I felt all the post-event stuff was kind of unnecessary. I didn't really care for what happened to the characters *after* the fact, especially not Charlie.
Overall, this one didn't really hit me much - of course I would caveat that by saying I'm British and so gun culture is such a non-thing here it's kinda hard to relate in that way.
dark
emotional
sad
tense
medium-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
What to say about this book? For one, it wasn’t quite what I thought. To reduce this to being a book about a school shooter does it some serious injustice. I saw someone compare this story to Catcher in the Rye and I think that’s more than fair—just replace Holden Caulfield’s use of “phony” with Charlie Decker’s “getting it on.” I also saw a lot of criticism about King not going into detail
About WHY Decker decides to lose it—and to that I say: “Did you read the story?”
See these quotes, for instance, where Decker is talking about his dad:
💬When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain… you bleed on the inside.💬
💬Maybe he had forgotten I wasn’t four years old anymore, or nine years old and cowering in a tent, having to take a whiz while he yucked it up with his friends. Maybe he had forgotten or never knew that little boys grow up remembering every blow and word of scorn, that they grow up and want to eat their fathers alive.💬
He details interactions where he felt embarrassed or unseen. He talks about how American children are exposed to both real-life and fake violence on a daily basis and how it can be easy to become numb to it. He describes his angry father and how he treats his mother (and gets other female students to embrace their sexuality and speak to the pressures they face).
I loved this book, honestly. I thought it interesting how Decker was able to crack his classmates open and turn them into Lord of the Flies savages in just a few hours. I also found it interesting that Decker didn’t actually even hurt any other students just authority figures (and admits that he wishes he woulda killed his dad instead).
*This book is out of print and was originally a Richard Bachman book (King’s alter ego)
Solid 5 star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 47 of 2025 ✅
About WHY Decker decides to lose it—and to that I say: “Did you read the story?”
See these quotes, for instance, where Decker is talking about his dad:
💬When you’re five and you hurt, you make a big noise in the world. At ten you whimper. But by the time you make fifteen you begin to eat the poisoned apples that grow on your own inner tree of pain… you bleed on the inside.💬
💬Maybe he had forgotten I wasn’t four years old anymore, or nine years old and cowering in a tent, having to take a whiz while he yucked it up with his friends. Maybe he had forgotten or never knew that little boys grow up remembering every blow and word of scorn, that they grow up and want to eat their fathers alive.💬
He details interactions where he felt embarrassed or unseen. He talks about how American children are exposed to both real-life and fake violence on a daily basis and how it can be easy to become numb to it. He describes his angry father and how he treats his mother (and gets other female students to embrace their sexuality and speak to the pressures they face).
I loved this book, honestly. I thought it interesting how Decker was able to crack his classmates open and turn them into Lord of the Flies savages in just a few hours. I also found it interesting that Decker didn’t actually even hurt any other students just authority figures (and admits that he wishes he woulda killed his dad instead).
*This book is out of print and was originally a Richard Bachman book (King’s alter ego)
Solid 5 star read ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Book 47 of 2025 ✅
This was a really good book, I don’t think it should’ve been pulled from bookstores, but I understand why they did it.