Reviews tagging 'Body shaming'

Fairy Tale by Stephen King

6 reviews

caribbeangirlreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense 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? It's complicated

2.0

I don't even know how to begin reviewing this book. It's all over the place. But I will try.

Audiobook narration - FIVE STARS. Seth Numrich definitely earned that Audie Narrator Award. And the surprise of having Stephen King play the grumpy Mr. Bowditch was chef's kiss.

The first 1/3 of the book was a solid four stars. I LOVED the writing, the characters, and the story. And then that big event happened that completely changed this book. This 2/3 of the book is where the actual "fairy tale" happens. For the next 1/3 of the book, we had the mc, 17yo Charlie (narrating as his adult self) doing a lot of telling and not a lot of showing. I was bored. I only made it through this section of the book on the back of the outstanding audiobook narrator. Then Charlie arrived at "the city" and the plot finally started to move along. At the end, all I can say about last 2/3 of the story is that it was ok.

But I can't end this review w/o discussing some issues. First, there was a LOT of lazy writing in this book. Charlie was constantly telling us how the beings/situations/locations in his journey reminded him of xyz fairy tale. If he mentioned Rumpelstiltskin one more time . . . Heck, King even name dropped one of his books! This book also felt like it borrowed (and not well) from Tolkien, The Hunger Games, and other stories. Second, can we talk about the sexist language in this book? The constant use of the words b*tch and c*nt to describe women that were unlikeable. But, OF COURSE, the princess was beautiful . . . and blonde. Which leads me to King/Charlie's love of racist H.P. Lovecraft and the trope in which the saviors/royals and blonde and blue-eyed. Just no.

This book could have been a three, but the lazy writing and overt sexist language and depiction of the women in the story left a sour taste in my mouth. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Misogyny, Sexism, Terminal illness, Blood, Car accident, and Death of parent

nialiversuch's review

I found the book too long, overly wordy and slow. I also didn't like the representation of people with disabilities/facial differences. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Grief, Death of parent, Abandonment, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Vomit

vixenreader's review

adventurous dark emotional funny inspiring mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

3.75

Despite some ableism found in the villains (especially in how ugly appearances are equated with ugly personalities) and some of the reversal of the curse hinges on some disabilities being somewhat reverted, this book is still a dark, exciting reminder that sacrifice and loss of innocence is essential to creating a happy ending. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Body shaming, Cursing, Death, Gore, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, War, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Fatphobia, Genocide, Gun violence, Mental illness, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Car accident, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Racism and Sexual content

Be prepared for decaying bodies, half-dead soldiers, and said soldiers exploding. There is also some ableism in terms of how little people are treated in the text.

mandaraffe's review

adventurous dark emotional mysterious tense slow-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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Body horror, Confinement, Death, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Slavery, Violence, Blood, Excrement, Police brutality, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Ableism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Incest, and Infertility

chaoticlibrarian's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism and Cannibalism

Minor: War

pandalena's review against another edition

adventurous emotional mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Death, and Death of parent

Moderate: Grief

Minor: Body shaming