Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Firestarter by Stephen King

11 reviews

hyacinthed's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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? Yes

2.5

Complicated feelings on this one.

Strengths:

• Strong worldbuilding (as always)
• Great structure
• Solid development of Charlie/decent development of Andy
• Dude putting on lingerie and jerking it to a garbage disposal. Lit.

Difficulties:

• Literally everything relating to Rainbird. The overt racism in his characterisation (yes it was the '80s, no it has not aged well), the literal pedophilic overtones of how he thinks and speaks about Charlie.
• The homophobia sprinkled throughout.
• The constant fat-shaming of Andy after he blows up on thorazine (we get it, he's fat, you don't have to remind us once a page).
• The lack of resolution of Vicky's death - I was hoping for some kind of reconciliation/closure.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Addiction, Murder, Suicide attempt, Torture, Confinement, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Suicidal thoughts, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Racism, Stalking, Grief, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Suicide, and Violence

Moderate: Pedophilia, Body shaming, and Fatphobia

Minor: Homophobia

draven_deathcrush's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious sad 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

5.0

I've had this book on my shelf for so long and I finally read it! I was debating whether to give it a 4.5 or a 5 star, but I did really love Andy and Charlie, so 5 it is :))

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Fire/Fire injury, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Forced institutionalization and Pedophilia

Minor: Racism and Racial slurs

chapters_and_pages's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-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? It's complicated

4.0

This was my second Stephen King book, and at this point, I’m convinced I’m setting myself up for heartbreak everything I open a King book… 

I had a feeling this book wasn’t going to have a happy ending and as much as I wanted to be wrong, unfortunately I wasn’t. Despite this, I really enjoyed this book!

Charlie was honestly adorable, I loved her and the relationship between her and her dad was one of, if not the best aspect of this book. Reading about all they went through because of The Shop just made you hope for them to escape and live a happy life even more. Unfortunately, this is Stephen King, so I’m sure you can guess how that went…

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Stalking, and Death of parent

jonssweater's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, Gore, Emotional abuse, Ableism, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Police brutality, Murder, Kidnapping, Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Medical trauma, and Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Ableism, Sexual assault, Xenophobia, Animal cruelty, Death of parent, Racism, Sexism, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Eating disorder, Transphobia, Homophobia, and War

Minor: Pedophilia and Racial slurs

nishidake's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Confinement, and Grief

daringreader13's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• 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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal death, Body horror, Cursing, Death of parent, Death, Drug use, Drug abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Torture, and Toxic friendship

summboo's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Violence, Kidnapping, Drug abuse, Fatphobia, Murder, and Forced institutionalization

The book did not live up to its hype in my perspective

traceyanderson's review against another edition

challenging emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gore, Grief, Gun violence, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Murder, Racism, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Blood, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, and Racial slurs

smartens's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Addiction, Blood, and Suicide

Minor: Pedophilia, Torture, Rape, and Sexual assault

beccam22's review against another edition

dark 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? Yes

2.0

Very little happens. Things happen to the characters and they do less than expected. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Death of parent, and Forced institutionalization