Reviews tagging 'Animal cruelty'

Carrie by Stephen King

61 reviews

witchintherain's review against another edition

dark tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

Read this with my partner for Halloween 🎃 First Stephen King book! Glad I got to finally read this classic horror novel. I enjoyed the different perspectives and article clippings in the novel and chilling writing. However, found the sexist and fatphobic descriptions of characters and racist language frustrating to read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Genocide, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Murder, and Sexual harassment

Moderate: Fatphobia, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Miscarriage, Death of parent, Pregnancy, and Alcohol

hotel_romeo_bravo92's review against another edition

dark sad fast-paced

• 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? No

4.0

I've watched the movies and I can't believe I didn't read the book sooner.  

I'm little sad about the ending and that Carrie really never got the happy life she truly deserved.  But as for the people who tormented her, they had it coming and I love that for Carrie.  

Moral of the story, be nice to people.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Bullying, Child abuse, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Torture, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting

Minor: Animal cruelty and Animal death

emadisonc's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

“Sorry is the Kool-Aid of human emotions. It’s what you say when you spill a cup of coffee or throw a gutter ball when you’re bowling with the girls in the league. True sorrow is as rare as true love.”

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Moderate: Body shaming, Racial slurs, and Racism

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Miscarriage, Rape, and Pregnancy

ashkitty93's review against another edition

dark emotional sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

3.0

I have to wonder if Roald Dahl read this before he wrote Matilda. 

I can appreciate the use of in-universe “reference materials” (the various interviews and book excerpts, etc) but I think SK also runs the risk of keeping readers detached from the story that way.

At any rate, I think this is one of those stories where, if you know the ending, that’s all there really is to it. The book is short enough that you’re not missing much in the way of character development if you just watch the movie instead — which is something I rarely advocate for.

I’m also giggling at the way the universe aligns things; I hadn’t planned on reading two books back-to-back with prom night tying them together.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Blood, and Religious bigotry

Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, and Antisemitism

laurzj82's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Mental illness, Violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

julells's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

• 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

Ich hatte immer ein bisschen Angst vor meinem ersten Stephen King Buch und die was auch vollkommen berechtigt.

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Content Warnings

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

pitchafitz's review against another edition

dark tense fast-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

4.5

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Content Warnings

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

hiddenfallacies's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• 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

Celebrating its 50th anniversary this year, Carrie is a landmark achievement in horror for many reasons. It's the start of King's long and celebrated career, a novel that centers around women and places their pain at the epicenter of its plot, and it created a cultural memory that endures to this day - one that empathizes with Carrie rather than demonizes her. Told over three parts that function as three long chapters, the novel tells Carrie's story in retrospect through a collection of articles, interviews, and varying point of views. Going through the past, present, and future of the ill-fated prom night, the reader gets to know Carrie and all she has endured. Above all else, this novel is a tragedy about Carrie White's last hope to become a person and the ways in which society crushed that dream.

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. 

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Content Warnings

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

shannonredwine8's review against another edition

dark sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Alot of womanizing/abuse. Mention of animal cruelty. Alot of use of the word GD.

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Content Warnings

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

smolherbivore's review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-paced

• 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Racial slurs, Violence, Mass/school shootings, and Murder

Moderate: Eating disorder