Scan barcode
itsmeyseniab's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
2.5
I honestly think this book is incredibly overhyped: first of all, this is entirely too long. I think that King and his readers would've benefitted if this was written as a duology, with the first novel being form the perspective of when they were children and the second being when they were adults (basically like what they did with the newer film adaptations). I felt way more interested in the chapters that were from when they were children and encountering "It" for the first time, but it just got to be really repetitive and kind of confusing to follow via audiobook at times.
Speaking of the children encountering "It"... I was very disappointed by the lack of Pennywise in this novel. I understand that it was meant to showcase how Derry was the true monster, and that the scariest evils are the ones hidden in plain sight (ie. the bullies in the town, Beverly's dad - hell basically all the adults in the town - and the ideals they represented) but this is sold as a "monster" book so... where he at?
Lastly, this book is HARMFUL. As a cisgender, straight white male, Stephen King is WAYYYYY too comfortable with the use of racial, homophobic, misogynistic and Anti-Semitic slurs. The use of this offensive language added nothing to the narrative in my opinion and none of the characters learned from their mistakes or were punished for the use of the slurs. It felt... personal. Now I am not someone who knows about King personally, or the remarks he has made or his beliefs, but it came across as an excuse to use that language for the sake of using it (before you come in saying "he was just showcasing the time period, etc." he can get that point across without using the n word 8 times in a sentence on every other page). Another big issue that I had was how he sexualized Beverly (our only female main character, might I add) in both her adolescence and adulthood. He talked about her breasts more than her as a person. It was ridiculous. Also don't even get me started on that sex scene between all the kids at the end of the book.... WHY. WHAT PURPOSE DID THAT SERVE?
This is considered a classic for no reason, I said what I said.
Graphic: Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicide, Violence, Antisemitism, and Sexual harassment
Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Child death, and Fatphobia
Minor: Drug abuse, Mental illness, Terminal illness, and Death of parent
jackyjoojoo's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
1.5
ok so the plot is good HOWEVER this book is so deeply flawed, Stephen king using the fact that he has a black character to excessively use the n slur, the 7 page orgy scene of 11 year olds, the low-key romanticisation of abuse and Stephen king's apparent inability to describe a female character without mentioning her tits.
the book is so excessively long for no reason and its obvious just how much cocaine he was on when her wrote it.
just watch the film's I promise this book is not worth it xx
4 months later -
ok so originally i rated this 2.5 stars but in retrospect that was wayyy to generous and honestly this book is literal dog shit,, just watch the films i cannot stress this enough omfg
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Suicide attempt, Murder, Gaslighting, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ratrug's review against another edition
- 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? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Forced institutionalization, Xenophobia, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
pagesforages's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.0
Graphic: Rape
Moderate: Child death and Sexual assault
justinareads's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
1.0
Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood
tori_420's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Cannibalism, Murder, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail
ocean_the_reader's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? N/A
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? N/A
4.0
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Suicide, and Islamophobia
anakaur's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Murder
itshardizzy's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
I only rated 4 starts bc of the amount of unnecessary stuff SK put in this book, honestly the amount of times he mentioned Bev's breast its just disgusting AND that scene with all of them, omg I can't even-- also the amount of slurs he slipped on there, and i felt like he used the decade where the book is set a little too much and what I mean is that he throw a lot of offensive stuff, and probably did to correspond the decade but there is no excuse.
The characters tho, THE LOSERS <3 honestly all of them now have a place in my heart, especially my beautiful Eddie, that sweet little thing. this characters really made the book even better, they made me feel warm inside and made me feel welcomed. they are so sweet and im happy that they came to life.
Now about Pennywise, SK really went deep creating it, huh. It story is very well constructed, even tho it doesn't have soooo much "building" behind. It has so much depth but at the same we don't have THAT much depth about it background, but that's ok because it actually suits the characters, since It is no suppose to be this character with a very rich in detail past - that's what makes it more appealing and interesting. I liked how well constructed the character was.
With all of that being said, this was something that I enjoyed reading and overall was a very good reading. It really hooked me up until the very end and the end was not bad at all.
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Cannibalism, and Murder
Moderate: Rape, Suicide, and Antisemitism
Minor: Eating disorder and Suicidal thoughts
biacharmeliteral's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Hate crime, Homophobia, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Sexual content, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Kidnapping, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis