amandas_bookshelf's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, Animal death, Grief, Child death, Terminal illness, Torture, Blood, Classism, Colonisation, Death, Cursing, Murder, Gore, and Violence
Moderate: Infidelity
Minor: Domestic abuse
tifftastic87'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
4.0
I don't want to live my life again."
-The Ramones
Louis Creed has moved his family from Chicago to Maine for a job. The house is idyllic with one exception, the road out front is a throughway for very large tanker trucks. When Louis's daughter's cat, Church, is hit by one of these trucks, the neighbor, Jud, shows Louis what to do. They bury Church in the real pet cemetery, a place where the dead don't stay dead. Church comes back not quite right, but he's definitely back. So, when Louis's 2 year old son gets hit by a different truck, Louis does the unthinkable.
I first read this book back in high school and I remember finishing it and being terrified to be home alone. This time around it was just as eerie, but 20 years has given me some perspective. The trope of the "ancient Indian burial ground" is definitely outdated and a little more than gross as is the use of a Wendigo. But the imagery of everything is still spooky.
I really liked Jud and the relationship he had with Louis. It is always nice to see wholesome relationships between men and I feel like King always does a good job at that. The same with the relationship with the other doctors at the University.
There's a lot of good here, but there is a lot of cringe too. Oh, god the bathtub scene. I forgot it was in this book.
Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Sexual content, Cultural appropriation, Confinement, Grief, Medical content, Murder, Terminal illness, Medical trauma, and Blood
Moderate: Colonisation, Alcohol, and Racism
Minor: Antisemitism
bomenvernietiger's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Animal death, Classism, Grief, Gun violence, Murder, Antisemitism, Blood, Body horror, Suicide, Ableism, Animal cruelty, Colonisation, Death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Alcohol, Child abuse, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Religious bigotry, Sexual content, Addiction, Violence, Alcoholism, Cannibalism, Car accident, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Suicidal thoughts, Chronic illness, Medical content, Terminal illness, and Vomit
Moderate: Infidelity
Louis says some ableist shit. You could interpret this as the author agreeing with that stuff, but since Louis is an asshole in other portions of the book too, I think it's just a symptom of the assholery.aleesquer's review against another edition
4.0
Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Car accident, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Medical content, Mental illness, Murder, and Suicidal thoughts
Moderate: Blood, Alcohol, Antisemitism, Cannibalism, Chronic illness, Ableism, and Colonisation
caylamaureen's review against another edition
- 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
5.0
Okay, Pet Sematery has very little blood and gore and jump scares compared to other King novels and I was left thinking “would I even call this ‘horror?’“ To me it felt more like tragedy. Kind of like a bit of a haunted tragedy? I’m not sure… what it really, actually is at its core is thought-provoking and psychological. More than any other book I’ve ever read, you are going to be pushed right up against the glass to the questions of afterlife, the worst kinds of childhood trauma, and the complex interwoven effects of death in the family. It’s absolutely astounding to me how simply King was able to make me question everything I think I know about death (or don’t know about it) and not only that but FORCE me to think about it. Luckily for me, I love nothing more than to be forced to think about life’s tough questions and then have something to on overthinking about endlessly. So if the hard topics aren’t your thing (or are triggering!! Read the trigger warnings!!) and inevitable haunting tragedy isn’t your thing, you won’t like this book. But it is undoubtedly a literary masterpiece that I can’t stop thinking about!!
Graphic: Death, Murder, Chronic illness, Emotional abuse, Medical content, Medical trauma, Suicidal thoughts, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Blood, Child death, Colonisation, Grief, and Injury/Injury detail
Funerals, family death, pet death, grave digging, grave robbingbecca_w_'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? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Alcohol, Ableism, Grief, Infidelity, Death, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Blood, Chronic illness, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Animal cruelty, Body horror, Cursing, Drug use, Animal death, Child death, Death of parent, Murder, Sexual content, Vomit, Suicidal thoughts, and Violence
Moderate: Panic attacks/disorders, Colonisation, and Addiction
Minor: Gun violence, Alcoholism, Confinement, Cancer, Car accident, Genocide, Cannibalism, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Sexism, and War