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fanboyriot'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Drug use, Fatphobia, Genocide, Mental illness, Self harm, Slavery, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Vomit, Dementia, Trafficking, Mass/school shootings, Abandonment, War, and Classism
Minor: Ableism, Addiction, Alcoholism, Cancer, Drug abuse, Misogyny, Racial slurs, Sexism, Excrement, Police brutality, Car accident, and Alcohol
sunflower7skull's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Graphic: Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Police brutality, Medical content, Dementia, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Schizophrenia/Psychosis , Gaslighting, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Drug use, Racism, Excrement, Vomit, Stalking, and Alcohol
Minor: Racial slurs
spooderman'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: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, Medical content, Trafficking, Kidnapping, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Addiction, Body horror, Cancer, Gore, Toxic relationship, Blood, Grief, and Toxic friendship
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Body shaming, Chronic illness, Drug abuse, Drug use, Eating disorder, Fatphobia, Homophobia, Mental illness, Misogyny, Racism, Sexism, Excrement, Car accident, Cultural appropriation, Alcohol, and War
pkc's review
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Graphic: Body horror, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Cursing, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, Toxic relationship, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Religious bigotry, Medical trauma, Suicide attempt, Death of parent, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
mecmccann'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? It's complicated
3.75
Graphic: Child abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Murder
Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Terminal illness, and Stalking
secre'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? No
4.5
The novel opens with Tim Jamieson taking a chance and hitch hiking after losing his job as a police officer, only to find himself in the small town of DuPray. His journey stalls and he takes on the job of Night Knocker for the small little town. For a while I wondered what this had to do with the main plot, but before too long we switch to Luke, a genius child with a small parlour trick gift for telekenesis. That small gift however is enough to get him noticed and he's kidnapped in the middle of the night, his parents killed. He finds himself in the Institute, with a handful of other kids with similar powers. Those in the Front Half endure tests and shots, but they all know it's better than what happens in the Back Half. Yet it is the Back Half that they are all destined for in fairly short order.
This is a book that has taken me a long time to read, despite being relatively short for a King novel - just shy of 600 pages instead of well over a thousand. A lot of the horror is in the nitty gritty details of the children's lives. The tests and abuses and humiliations heaped upon them, even as those who behave earn tokens and those who don't endure punishments. The Institute itself is brought to life with it's bleakness and often petty cruelty. It's a slow build, where the tension is built throughout the novel as the cruelties ramp up and the stakes - always high - become more visible and tangible.
It's fairly tame for a King novel, yet it's disturbing in a creepy, realistic way rather than body horror and massacres. It's more of a YA novel than some other King novels I've read, yet it's also horrifying on a psychological level. He brings the tortures and abuses to live, even as the adults perpetrating the horror continue to justify their actions all the way to the very end.
All in all, a solid success for King here and one that reminds me how much I enjoy some - if not all - of his work.
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Child death, Suicide, and Kidnapping
Minor: Terminal illness
mel_s_bookshelf'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Gun violence, Suicide, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, Kidnapping, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Terminal illness
selenatothemax'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Emotional abuse, Slavery, Torture, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Trafficking, Death of parent, and Murder
Moderate: Suicide, Blood, and Grief
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Terminal illness, Vomit, and Alcohol
raufaserplaneten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Suicide and Torture
Minor: Terminal illness
ging090803'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
3.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
Moderate: Addiction, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug use, Medical content, Medical trauma, and Alcohol
Minor: Alcoholism, Cancer, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Terminal illness, Excrement, Vomit, and Murder