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ajay913's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Cancer, Gun violence, Vomit, and Alcohol
Minor: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and War
snowy4774's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.25
Moderate: Child abuse, Cursing, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, and Murder
barbietheboomop's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Medical trauma
Moderate: Sexual assault
tifftastic87'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
5.0
I think Stephen King really excels when he writes stories about children. His stories with adolescent teen boys are some of the most compelling and well written. The story doesn't have the normal tendency to go off the rails but is a great analysis of power and what those who have too much of it choose to do with it. Stories where "power corrupts, and absolute power corrupts absolutely" are where King shines the most, the absolute horror of having zero power and control in a situation reaches into some deep fear inside of us.
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Ableism, Addiction, Body shaming, Bullying, Chronic illness, Racial slurs, Racism, and Alcohol
spooderman's review against another edition
- 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
3.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War
em_chata's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Suicide, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Cursing, Violence, Forced institutionalization, and Murder
pkc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mecmccann's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Stalking
nicole_cob_reads's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Slavery, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
secre's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.5
The novel opens with Tim Jamieson taking a chance and hitch hiking after losing his job as a police officer, only to find himself in the small town of DuPray. His journey stalls and he takes on the job of Night Knocker for the small little town. For a while I wondered what this had to do with the main plot, but before too long we switch to Luke, a genius child with a small parlour trick gift for telekenesis. That small gift however is enough to get him noticed and he's kidnapped in the middle of the night, his parents killed. He finds himself in the Institute, with a handful of other kids with similar powers. Those in the Front Half endure tests and shots, but they all know it's better than what happens in the Back Half. Yet it is the Back Half that they are all destined for in fairly short order.
This is a book that has taken me a long time to read, despite being relatively short for a King novel - just shy of 600 pages instead of well over a thousand. A lot of the horror is in the nitty gritty details of the children's lives. The tests and abuses and humiliations heaped upon them, even as those who behave earn tokens and those who don't endure punishments. The Institute itself is brought to life with it's bleakness and often petty cruelty. It's a slow build, where the tension is built throughout the novel as the cruelties ramp up and the stakes - always high - become more visible and tangible.
It's fairly tame for a King novel, yet it's disturbing in a creepy, realistic way rather than body horror and massacres. It's more of a YA novel than some other King novels I've read, yet it's also horrifying on a psychological level. He brings the tortures and abuses to live, even as the adults perpetrating the horror continue to justify their actions all the way to the very end.
All in all, a solid success for King here and one that reminds me how much I enjoy some - if not all - of his work.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Terminal illness