Reviews tagging 'Schizophrenia/Psychosis '

Carrie by Stephen King

13 reviews

taliatalksbooks's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious tense fast-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? Yes

4.0

Stephen King’s first novel, Carrie, was one of my spooky reads for 2024 and it did not disappoint. I have been meaning to read Carrie for a long time, and for one reason or another had just never gotten around to it. I’ve loved other novels by King (as I think we all do) and this one was no different. I thought that it was succinct, with a level of horror that didn’t need to overdo it to spark unease. I liked the perspective changes and inclusion of news clippings for reference points as well, even though this is something I don’t normally enjoy. While I didn’t love Carrie as much as I loved Misery (still my favorite King novel to date), this book is absolutely worth the read, and will leave you on the edge of your seat.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Gore, Blood, Abortion, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

avana_bana's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Minor: Racial slurs and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

lochnessvhs's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, and Blood

Moderate: Confinement, Fatphobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

alliekat1976's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

 Known for his fantastic imagination- Stephen King makes this story believable with his rich details and characters you either love or love to hate. Bullying, paranormal events, and strict religious beliefs set the background for a horrific outcome that no-one is prepared for.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood

Moderate: Body shaming, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

Trigger Warning

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

madelinequinnee's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense fast-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

This is the first Stephen King book i’ve ever read and I really enjoyed it! I think this is very well deserving of its horror classic title! 

I really liked the vivid descriptions, I could really see the scenes in my head with how they were written. I also really like Carrie as a character, i think she’s really fascinating and i’m a huge fan of books about religious trauma so this was definitely a good choice for me. 

I’m knocking one star from my rating purely for the unnecessary use of the n word, i don’t think that was needed whatsoever and i know this was written in the 70s but still, it wasn’t acceptable then and it isn’t acceptable now.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Sexual assault, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

persian_green's review against another edition

dark sad 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

1.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Misogyny, and Blood

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, Cursing, Rape, and Murder

Minor: Mental illness and Schizophrenia/Psychosis

maddireads13's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Torture, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail

scip's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious 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? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Sexism, and Police brutality

Minor: Racial slurs and Racism

planetshelf's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This writing layout is strange and dense, and I can't decide whether I like it.

I’m always upset when I think about Carrie. Her experience on this planet was so fucked.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Gore, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Cursing, Domestic abuse, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Car accident, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Gaslighting

Minor: Body shaming, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Rape, Suicidal thoughts, and Alcohol