Reviews tagging 'Torture'

Carrie by Stephen King

10 reviews

honey_pages's review against another edition

dark emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated

4.75

My first book reviewed is the most renowned debut by the one and only Stephen King. Carrie is a remarkable book regarding a telekinetic girl who is the victim of a town’s bullying. The book dissects a fictional tragedy known as “Prom Night 1979,” when the world came to know this unremarkable small-town girl named Carriette (Carrie) White.

This book is incredible in its ability to shine a light on bullying and how detrimental it can be to humanity. Stephen King’s introduction carries a certain weight upon my heart as he refers to his ghosts that bear resemblance to Carrie White and the utterly deplorable reality of many children and adults at the hands of man-made cruelty that hides itself in almost every one of us, for even if we bear witness to it or participate, yet not intercept, we are no better or worse. The power of his writing is impeccable, procuring many interesting thoughts about where the truth can lie in such tragedies when magnified.

This book is not for the faint of heart, as many things can trigger even the boldest individual. Please look at the warnings before deciding if this book is what you want to read right now. Regardless, everyone must read this book, even in a clean, less graphic copy.

As a child of both bullying and abuse, this novel unravels painful thoughts and feelings that I doubted I could ever name, yet in Stephen King’s writing, they have come forth, and for that, I will always be grateful. Alongside Stephen King, I wish those who inspired this book were alive, for they made the greatest sacrifice to bring light upon bullying and its terrible extremities that bear no restraints on the livelihood of young teens.

☠️🩷 (4.8)☆☆☆☆/(5)☆☆☆☆☆🩷☠️

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Confinement, Sexual content, Violence, Murder, Physical abuse, Domestic abuse, Drug use, Injury/Injury detail, Animal death, Blood, Cursing, Fire/Fire injury, Torture, Animal cruelty, Death, Toxic relationship, Emotional abuse, Religious bigotry, Self harm, and Sexual violence

Moderate: Car accident and Racial slurs

Minor: Vomit, Gun violence, and Alcohol

mxpringle's review against another edition

dark tense medium-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? Yes

3.75

I love the concept of this book and I'm a huge King fan, though I read this book and really just want to hear more about Carrie's childhood and more of a buildup to the final prom night event. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Suicide, Torture, Mental illness, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, and Child death

markedwithanm's review against another edition

dark funny mysterious tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Animal death, Gaslighting, Injury/Injury detail, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Body horror, Grief, Murder, Religious bigotry, Animal cruelty, Body shaming, Child abuse, Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Sexual assault, Blood, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Car accident, Death of parent, Gore, Physical abuse, and Torture

timedothwasteme's review against another edition

dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Gun violence, Toxic relationship, Car accident, Torture, Murder, Body shaming, Medical content, Violence, Sexual content, Religious bigotry, Injury/Injury detail, Physical abuse, Miscarriage, Gore, Domestic abuse, Death, Bullying, and Blood

Moderate: Abortion

Minor: Drug use and Animal cruelty

roseisvibing's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• 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? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Torture, Toxic relationship, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Religious bigotry, and Sexual assault

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury, Mental illness, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, and Drug use

Minor: Miscarriage and Antisemitism

draculagirl's review against another edition

dark tense slow-paced

• 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? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Torture, Sexual assault, Death, Racial slurs, and Sexual violence

roadesntoades's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Death, Emotional abuse, Child abuse, Violence, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Torture

Moderate: Religious bigotry, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, and Mental illness

Minor: Abortion, Car accident, Medical content, Pregnancy, Fire/Fire injury, Self harm, and Sexual harassment

jenna_justi2004's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad 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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Abandonment, Blood, Body horror, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Chronic illness, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Genocide, Gore, Grief, Mental illness, Miscarriage, Murder, Pregnancy, Racial slurs, Rape, Religious bigotry, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Torture, Toxic friendship, Violence, Vomit, and War

frogcake_'s review against another edition

dark mysterious tense medium-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? Yes

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Blood, Body shaming, Bullying, Car accident, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Torture, Violence, Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Self harm, Religious bigotry, Misogyny, Mental illness, Fire/Fire injury, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Rape, Ableism, and Antisemitism

asourceoffiction's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

This is pacy, taut, emotional and brilliant. It's hard to read Carrie for the first time now, without knowing a lot of the story in advance. But there was actually plenty that was new to me. I loved how the narrative was interspersed with excerpts from articles and interviews from after the 'Carrie White Affair'. It builds the tension for what you know is going to happen on prom night, by drip feeding snippets of the event but leaving the specifics to be discovered later. This, and the frequent interruptions to the story for characters' uncontrolled streams of consciousness, give the whole story a chilling atmosphere from the first page.

It's also emotionally devastating. Not only the horrific abuse Carrie suffers at the hands of her mother, but the awful way she is treated by her peers. And despite this, you can see genuine remorse and kindness in Sue and Tommy's actions, which makes it all the more heartbreaking to know from the outset that everything is driving towards the inevitable, horrifying conclusion.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Murder, Torture, and Violence