Reviews tagging 'Hate crime'

It by Stephen King

159 reviews

evaku's review against another edition

dark funny slow-paced

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

4.0

at last, the beast has been conquered!
i can’t believe that some years ago, i somehow managed to read this within a span of one week. crazy!
there’s a reason why It is hailed as one of Stephen King’s best. his insanely detailed exposition and exploration of each character’s individual lives and their relationships with one another is something unlike anything i’ve seen in other written works. perhaps to a fault, as i think we could’ve done without so much information (sorry King.) as much as it’s praised though, i think there is A LOT of room for valid criticism. whether you chalk it up to the era in which it was written (or in which the story takes place) or his drug-addled mind, the language (aka the slurs, of which there are multiple), incessant sexual innuendos and sexual scenarios (chapter 22 i'm looking at you), and others... take up so much of the story it almost ruins it.
if half of the time dedicated to fleshing out background characters like Patrick Hockstetter was instead used to dive into the clown known as Pennywise, you'd have a terrifyingly better 1000-page (or 45 hour) story on your hands.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Sexual assault, Suicide, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder

kitkatdub's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic relationship, and Murder

gizley0420's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense slow-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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Gore, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Hate crime, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Antisemitism, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , and Alcohol

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Excrement, Vomit, and Medical content

brittanylee0302's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense medium-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? It's complicated

3.0

It took me a long time to figure out how I should rate this monster of a book & I'm settling on 3 because it's right in the middle & that's really how I felt about this whole book. Yes, it was super good but ohmygod it was also awful. I should also mention that I read the audio which boosted it in good terms, otherwise I'm pretty sure I never would have made it 50 pages into the book. Steven Weber does a great job narrating & really puts you in the book. His voices vary & he does an excellent job of showing the emotions of the characters. This book was creepy, but some parts were just so gross & unnecessary & I know the kids were young, but King probably could have focused a little less on the farting. The book was just entirely too long, with way too many characters & I found myself spacing out & not knowing what was going on during very large chunks of the book. The timeline was also incredibly confusing, jumping from past to present, back & forth. Honestly, if I hadn't seen the movies, I'm not sure I would have been able to follow the book closely enough to care. Also, after writing this review I feel like maybe this should have been a 2.5, 2.75 star rating, but I'm still unsure how I feel.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Racism, Suicide, and Toxic relationship

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Pedophilia, Sexism, Sexual content, Vomit, Antisemitism, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Drug use, Infidelity, Miscarriage, Panic attacks/disorders, Medical content, and Death of parent

roman_castavet's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional inspiring reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This is a long book and one which I would maybe say could due to be a few hundred pages shorter. This book took me over a year to read particularly due to the extensive "Derry history" parts and boomerangs between very fast pacing and aggressively slow dry parts, but in the end, I loved it. This is my second King read after The Shining, which I did love more in the moment but this book is less horror than it is adventure and a really beautiful coming of age story. At points, this read was a slog, but the character development is so special. I don't know if I would ever return to this book, but I am so glad to have finally finished it after a year, and the world building and character study is genuinely impressive and has truly loveable people to relate to. I think I maybe love this book? Despite being one of the reads that has taken me the longest to finish.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Hate crime, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Child abuse, Physical abuse, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Antisemitism

Minor: Pedophilia

weird_hylian24's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense slow-paced

• 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

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Drug abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Racism, Suicide, Violence, and Blood

fadeddpages's review against another edition

dark slow-paced

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

2.5

This could've been half the length and it would've been way better. There's SO MUCH extra/excess information and background. Also major trigger warnings. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Misogyny, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Torture, Violence, Blood, Vomit, Grief, Stalking, Death of parent, Murder, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Body shaming, Bullying, Child death, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Sexual content, Torture, Violence, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Injury/Injury detail, and Classism

Moderate: Infidelity and Antisemitism

Minor: Infertility

keywork1331's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

This is one of my favorite books I’ve read in a long time. I didn’t expect to be such a fan, given I’ve not read King before. Of any film of television I had consumed associated with his writing (which also was not much), the characters and stories presented felt flat and a little lifeless. His writing is so much richer in context and visuals. It’s a pleasure to read. You really come to understand the place, Derry, and love the brave kids who choose to confront a seemingly eternal and invincible evil. 

I’d rate higher if not for the disturbing treatment of the female protagonist in the group. I think King could have achieved his thematic point without having all the boys lose their virginity gang banging her. Yes, the kids battle an evil and are thrust into adulthood. We get it without taking this unnecesary, pervie step. Just because it’s horror, doesn’t make it okay. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Hate crime, Incest, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexual content, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Antisemitism, Grief, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury

quietlyreading2023's review against another edition

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Homophobia, Infertility, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Toxic relationship, Violence, Suicide attempt, and Injury/Injury detail