Reviews tagging 'Drug use'

Carrie by Stephen King

10 reviews

hiddenfallacies's review

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Carrie is a landmark achievement in horror for many reasons. It's the start of King's long and celebrated career, a novel that centers around women and places their pain at the epicenter of its plot, and it created a cultural memory that endures to this day - one that empathizes with Carrie rather than demonizes her. Told over three parts that function as three long chapters, the novel tells Carrie's story in retrospect through a collection of articles, interviews, and varying point of views. Going through the past, present, and future of the ill-fated prom night, the reader gets to know Carrie and all she has endured. Above all else, this novel is a tragedy about Carrie White's last hope to become a person and the ways in which society crushed that dream.

The first of the three parts suffers the most, lacking the natural momentum and masterful framing that surrounds the prom night itself and its aftermath in the story. This fact alone is what keeps this novel from garnering five stars for me. The novel is also littered with the artifact of being King's first, lacking some of the grammatical and structural prowess he cultivated over time. It's also important to note that there's a fair bit of racism present throughout the novel, dropped in small phrases and cultural references that leave the modern reader wondering if King meant to include them to indicate moral failings of certain antagonists or the time period itself, or if he simply was ignorant of certain biases he held himself. I believe informing potential readers of this is crucial, as I was blindsided by their sporadic inclusion while reading, taking me out of the story.

Although King has published better novels, as well as worse, I believe Carrie deserves a space not only on an essential reading list for King, but for horror as a whole. It remains culturally significant and moving to this day. May Carrie White never be forgotten. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Drug use, Panic attacks/disorders, Antisemitism, Grief, Abortion, Alcohol, and Classism

Minor: Pregnancy

cryptofauna's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

4.0

woah!! okay i can def see how this launched his career. just amazing. 
scary in its honesty and dark but it all feels so authentic? although it is more tense/ a thriller than i think it's a horror story. the events are horrifying but it wasn't scary or spooky in the traditional sense  
i also feel like knowing the vague plot of this book because of how popular it is kind of added to the tense vibe because you know whats gonna happen at prom but carrie goes anyway.  
well written with an interesting style (i do really enjoy a book that's a completion of different sources) but I did find it a little hard to keep track of sometimes, but i think it was mostly the kindle formatting making everything look the same w no breaks in between perspectives occasionally
read all in one day (especially as i tried to beat my kindle battery)

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse

Moderate: Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Drug use, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Classism

torturedreadersdept's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Violence, Xenophobia, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Dysphoria

hayleycurtis's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-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

4.75

One of my absolute favorite King novels. 

Carrie’s story is relatable to anyone who grew up religious (and later went another route) or outcast. King’s dialogue and use of multimedia throughout the novel make it an easy and enjoyable (despite the topic) read. This is my second re-read and it still holds up. Especially the government involvement. Still striking today. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Religious bigotry, Suicide attempt, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Drug use and Vomit

roseisvibing's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Toxic relationship, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Drug use, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Miscarriage and Antisemitism

casdelvo's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional tense slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal death, Drug use, Rape, Toxic relationship, and Alcohol

Minor: Miscarriage, Racial slurs, and Car accident

jaedia's review against another edition

dark emotional inspiring reflective tense medium-paced

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

4.5

A nice quick read and a classic for a reason, Carrie tells the legendary story of Carietta White, the daughter of a crazed fundamentalist Christian woman who is fiercely bullied at her high school and the repercussions this life has. 

Only lost points because the random mid-sentence thought brackets were very off-putting, occasionally would switch scenes with absolutely no indication towards doing so, and the numerous references to racist caricatures (while yes, a result of the time period) were unnecessary and gross. I'm aware these kinds of things come up in King's early books but they very much do affect my ratings. 

Otherwise, enjoyed the reading experience immensely.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Antisemitism, Abandonment, and Alcohol

readwithkel's review against another edition

tense 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? It's complicated

3.0

This was underwhelming. 

I like Stephen King but this was just an awkward read. The format is super weird and just didn’t appeal to me. 

This is the rare case where I’d say the movie is better. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Blood, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Child abuse and Rape

Minor: Drug use and Alcohol

violet_pages's review against another edition

dark sad slow-paced

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

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

Moderate: Confinement, Cursing, Fatphobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, and Toxic relationship

Minor: Drug use and Miscarriage

minapaige's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Confinement, Fatphobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Mass/school shootings

Minor: Cursing, Drug use, Miscarriage, Racial slurs, Rape, and Antisemitism