mboard's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
3.75
First off, I wasn’t scared basically the whole book. Honestly, the scariest scene was adult Bev trying to escape her super abusive husband Tom to get to Derry to kill It once and for all. Tom being so unhinged stressed me the f*** out. My perspective is that It really isn’t that scary to adults hence why It is only visible to children and preys on them. The only reason the gang is terrified as adults is the memories of being attacked when they were young where the imprints of that trauma are carried with them into adulthood. The idea makes sense but I had high expectations of being scared and It did not deliver.
The characters and town of Derry are so real and lived in you feel like Derry was your hometown and you knew of Henry Bower’s to big bully and the nerds like Bill and Richie that were always nice but on the outskirts. But if I didn’t feel like I grew up with these kids after 1200 pages I would be irate. There were definitely some of the kids I liked better than others. Eddie is my boy. His mother pushing psychosomatic illnesses on him his whole life making him belief he’s weak and fragile. When faced with that fact he decides to stay comfortable and allow himself to be babied instead of essentially throwing away everything he thought he knew about himself. I felt that was so authentic and real I just wanted to hug him.
In terms of plot, I enjoyed the adults storyline over the kids but the way SK weaves the two timelines together especially at the end is masterful. There were times I was just in awe of how perfectly he transitioned between 1958 and 1985. The kids storyline of them just getting bullied wasn’t as interesting to me as the dread of facing It after 27 years and how their lives turned out after such intense trauma. The plot definitely wasn’t perfect though like why in the hell is there a child 0rgy?? Why are we getting descriptions of 12 year old Bev’s tiny t!tties? I don’t wanna hear it. Ew.
I just don’t know how I feel about it but it’s a book that is definitely memorable for it’s characters and atmosphere. Would I say it’s worth the read? Ehhhhh I don’t know.
Graphic: Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Homophobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Sexual assault, and Antisemitism
kaitoro_walker13's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Death and Child death
Moderate: Homophobia, Domestic abuse, Racial slurs, and Child abuse
emjeanreads's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Graphic: Suicide, Cursing, Death, Hate crime, Violence, Racial slurs, Animal death, Blood, Homophobia, Racism, and Gore
olived218's review against another edition
- 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? No
2.75
Spoiler
The weird child sex part totally turned me off the book and didn't seem necessary to include.Graphic: Sexism, Sexual violence, Sexual harassment, Racial slurs, Sexual content, Emotional abuse, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Racism, Suicide, Toxic relationship, and Violence
Spoiler
child sex, N wordghostoncamera's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Violence and Racial slurs
Moderate: Antisemitism, Sexual content, and Homophobia
stareading's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Cursing, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gun violence, Emotional abuse, Blood, Bullying, Body shaming, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Racial slurs, and Racism
jaimc's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Death, Child death, Fatphobia, Gore, Sexual violence, Bullying, Child abuse, Hate crime, Infertility, Infidelity, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Police brutality, Toxic relationship, Body shaming, Emotional abuse, Suicide, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Homophobia, Racial slurs, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Animal cruelty, Racism, Violence, Sexual content, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Alcohol, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Excrement, Kidnapping, Antisemitism, and Classism
Minor: Cancer
malthe's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
BUT, this is the first book I’ve read after my 3 year reading slump AND I finished it pretty quick for how long it is (I would say). So it was able to keep my interested the whole way through, which is amazing. The writing can also be so so good.
I really don’t have that many negatives, except for the weird stuff like THAT scene. If you don’t look at those, this book is so fucking good!
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Racial slurs, Sexual violence, Blood, Bullying, Dementia, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Grief, Gun violence, Sexism, Murder, Physical abuse, Racism, Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Sexual assault, Violence, Animal death, Sexual content, and Sexual harassment
ardentlyandi's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Fire/Fire injury, Murder, Racial slurs, Racism, Cursing, Gore, Grief, Blood, Body horror, and Death
Moderate: Animal death, Physical abuse, Suicide, Animal cruelty, Ableism, Domestic abuse, and Fatphobia
Minor: Homophobia and Sexual content
theshonz0705's review against another edition
- 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? Yes
3.0
Graphic: Gore, Alcoholism, Blood, Body shaming, Child death, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Murder, Suicide, Cultural appropriation, Domestic abuse, Infidelity, Racial slurs, Sexism, Violence, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Racism, Self harm, Grief, Hate crime, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Sexual violence, and Adult/minor relationship
Moderate: Antisemitism and Incest