Reviews tagging 'Sexual harassment'

Carrie by Stephen King

26 reviews

witchintherain's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Read this with my partner for Halloween 🎃 First Stephen King book! Glad I got to finally read this classic horror novel. I enjoyed the different perspectives and article clippings in the novel and chilling writing. However, found the sexist and fatphobic descriptions of characters and racist language frustrating to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

bluestar_apologist's review against another edition

dark mysterious 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Mass/school shootings, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

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

gossamerwings's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional funny hopeful 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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Sexual content, Murder, and Sexual harassment

icephoenix44's review against another edition

dark sad tense medium-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

4.0

its okay, i guess? i will give the movie a slight edge because i think de palma directing style really enhanced my experience on the film, and the ending is significantly more powerful than the book. the book do has a part that i liked better where carrie is not your usual petite pretty girl but instead a girl that has conventionally unattractive characteristic, which makes the bullying part more moving as body shaming is something very underpresented in media and often played as a joke.

i feel like the writing style could be a little better though. some of the parts describing the female characters felt male gazey. this is also a problem in the movie, the opening scene is... yuck to say the least.

i also dont like the attempt to replicate accents, it makes the writing more weirder and clunkier to read, instead of feeling more authentic.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Body shaming, Toxic relationship, Car accident, and Gaslighting

Minor: Racial slurs, Racism, Pregnancy, and Fire/Fire injury

also i really dont think the attempted sexual assault by billy towards chris near the end of the novel really added anything to the story, i mean yeah they are in a toxic relationship but it doesnt really adds anything and fslt like a random plot point as it was not mentioned afterwards

octagon's review against another edition

dark reflective tense medium-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

Moderate: Confinement, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Misogyny, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Racial slurs

ronaefrati's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Mental illness, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, Pregnancy, Cultural appropriation, and Sexual harassment

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

_grace_c_'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

4.25

This book is great; it's the novel that then gave us one of the greatest authors of our time.
All 242 pages are flawless; The story is about a girl who has some supernatural powers and the journey into High schools of the 60s and the religious mindsets around that time. Her limit is reached, causing her to use her powers to seek her revenge against her bullies, and ultimately everyone in her wake. This book makes you feeling many emotions and my heart broke for the abuse and sheltered life Carrie had to endure. The flow of the book is gripping; from the story telling of the events and the snippets of interviews and articles that followed 'Prom Night'. I was sucked in from the first page and read in the in 2 sittings.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Miscarriage, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Torture, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual harassment, and Injury/Injury detail

lorzo's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, and Fire/Fire injury

Minor: Animal cruelty, Child death, Physical abuse, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Car accident, Abortion, Death of parent, and Sexual harassment