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alliekat1976's review against another edition
- 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
Graphic: Bullying, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Violence, and Blood
Moderate: Body shaming, Hate crime, Physical abuse, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Trigger Warningjulells's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual content, Violence, Blood, Grief, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Alcohol
booking_along's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
when i first read this book some years ago, i got hung up on specific moments and situations in the that i think could have been done better -especially the bullying situation about the topic of becoming your period and getting made fun of for that and that becoming the catalyst for it all.
i still wish King could have picked something different as the big moment that it can all be pointed back at.
but at the same time King did a pretty good job in rounding the entire situation out and building it around blood and the release of it.
this time reading carrie, i just felt horrible for carrie and how horrendously hard her life would have been and how instead of trying to help or getting a child out of the clutches of a horrendous mother that clearly isn’t fit to be rising a child everyone overlook those things and instead just went right on teasing carrie as soon as they could.
and in many ways sadly those things and reactions are too realistic.
as i said i still wish King would have chosen a different starting point - i don’t know why but having a man write about a teenage girls body and her breasts and her sensitive reactions of her body in her period… that still gives me a bit of an icky feeling (King is not the only author i have that with, i have that with all (but especially male) authors that sexualize teenage (girl) bodies and describe how they look and how they feel)
but as i also already mentioned i understand and see how it all rounds up and together, he could have done it differently and still got the same results BUT overall it’s not the worst (he still could have left out the scene werte carrie touches her breast and pinches her nipples for no reason at all?)
i do think that this book -even 50 years later- still packs an incredible punch and showing the consequences of bullying. sure in an unlikely and unrealistic way with the supernatural powers and all that but still, the bullying was the thing that pushed it all into horror.
the constant harassment and battering, the mistreatment and abuse from everyone in carries life was sadly something realistic and i wish especially those moments would have become as unrealistic as the powers.
overall the writing was good, the characters horrible but well writing and the story as a whole well done.
small changes could have made it even better but those moments also added some shock or normality to the story overall.
also the ending was very well done and especially with king that’s something that can’t be taken for granted.
i think it’s still a very readable and relevant sadly even relatable story for some people.
and interestingly this book went from one of my least favorite king books to one of the good to better ones of him.
Graphic: Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Fatphobia, Gore, Hate crime, Sexual content, Blood, Religious bigotry, and Murder
pitchafitz's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Classism
Moderate: Animal cruelty and Body shaming
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Rape, and Alcohol
nakole's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Sexism, Sexual assault, Suicidal thoughts, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
hiddenfallacies's review against another edition
- 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
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.
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
rinnaria's review against another edition
- 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
3.75
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Self harm, Toxic relationship, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Moderate: Body horror, Body shaming, Child death, Death, Gore, Miscarriage, Rape, Self harm, and Sexual content
shannonredwine8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, and Fire/Fire injury
heikosstories's review against another edition
2.5
- This was super racist. I don't care that the book came out in the 70s. The original passages are giving me the ick and show that Mr. King was viewing characteristics of PoC as a tool to degrade his characters. Not. Cool.
- It's not scary. It had some moments that were chilling and at times I was actually quite hooked but..not scary.
- Stephen King is not a good writer. Especially for an English teacher. His writing style is very simplistic, you can either enjoy or it not, but what bothered me was the frequent repetition of the same literary devices over and over.
- This book felt longer than it should have been. This makes sense after reading the afterword: "Carrie" was originally only 98 pages long and Stephen King was then asked to make this longer.
Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Death of parent, and Murder
icephoenix44's review against another edition
- 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
i also dont like the attempt to replicate accents, it makes the writing more weirder and clunkier to read, instead of feeling more authentic.
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