A review by erindoublee
11/22/63 by Stephen King

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-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

5.0

This is my first Stephen King novel to read and boy, am I sorry I waited so long to read this one. I wanted to live in Jake's world forever, to know his next steps, to know what decisions he would continue to make. This novel was so well-written.

Because haven't we all wondered what would have happened if JFK lived? This book explores this thought through time travel. Jake Epping takes a step through the rabbit hole to 1958 in early Fall, and thus begins the story of his attempt to stop the assassination of the president. The story weaves through 1958-63 and is a rich telling of friendships, bad bets, love, loss, and Jake's attempt to stop this murder. 

Highly recommend, 5.0 star!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Murder

The entire plot comes down to the butterfly effect, and how actions can change the entire world. One area where I did not feel very compelled was Sadie and Jake's relationship. It wasn't fully developed for me. Perhaps it was the audio narration, but I really actually couldn't stand Sadie, didn't get upset when she died, it was definitely the sacrifice that had to be made. Jake going back to Jody at the end wasn't necessary for me, it was just a little too tied in a bow, but alas, I still loved the story.