whitehotheadedme 's review for:

Firestarter by Stephen King

5.0

adventurous dark emotional 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

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Whilst King never intended for this to be related to Carrie at all, I've gotta say I read them back to back and personally enjoyed it way more than Carrie. That being said Carrie was his first published novel, so Firestarter is a really awesome comparison of how his writing developed since that publication. Plus they're written in 2 very different styles regardless, so the diversity of writing itself without the time difference is also rather interesting to me. 

As for Firestarter itself, I was encapsulated. The main story follows Andy and his daughter Charlie, but, the pacing takes you through nicely starting with Andy being the focus. Whilst the bulk of the story takes place within a year timespan, King has done a really good job of giving background and aging through Andy's (and consequently Charlie's) life in an easy to follow linear way. Whilst the narration comes from multiple different characters perspectives, majority of the first half feels from or about Andy and majority of the second half feels from or about Charlie. The shift in focus feels seamless and keeps the story flowing. 

In one sentence: If you love 'on the run' adventures and think little of the government and their practices, you'll probably love it.