Carrie
Page turning
Thrilling
Intense

Carrie

Stephen King2005
An introverted girl with remarkable powers of telekinesis faces the horrors of teenage life and unleashes a few horrors of her own when she attends the high school prom
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Reviews

Photo of Cate
Cate@catesbooks
4.5 stars
Dec 26, 2024

need a more accurate film adaptation NOW

+3
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Karla@42minadvl
5 stars
Dec 22, 2024

Mr. King kept me company on a 12 hour trip. Thank you, Lord King.

+3
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C. J. Daley @cjdscurrentread
5 stars
Oct 21, 2024

I really wanted to give this a go for its 50th anniversary year, and after loving Pet Sematary, I knew I had to bump this one up. Believe it or not, I’ve been alive for 32 of those 50 years and managed to avoid pretty much all spoilers.


While reading this, which I didn’t know was any form of religious, I also happened to be listening to C.J. Leede’s American Rapture—which is an extreme examination on religion. Both of them start with a kind of deep dive into the bounds in which Catholicism is designed to hold down and punish women simply for existing. While Sophie’s family is simply force feeding her guilt on a biblical scale, Carrie’s mother seems to be well off the deep end. While Sophie is showcased to be so far removed that she truly doesn’t even know how the world itself functions, Carrie is so religiously uneducated in womanhood that she is unaware of menstruation, not even knowing herself. While AR showcases how religious families can be hurtful even within the Bible, Carrie’s mother using god like a hammer. Much more on the side of torture than praising.


I was surprised by how thoroughly this goes into the high school level of bullying. Because she is so sheltered, the other girls view her as weird, because she isn’t allowed to dress normal or use makeup, isn’t super skinny, they consider her ugly. The opening scene of the novel they throw tampons and sanitary napkins at her instead of helping her, solidifying just how other they view her. She is ostracized from her fellow classmates while she can’t even seek solace at home. Kind of similar to Neal Cassidy’s Schroeder that I just finished as well, that level of bullying could be seen as more than enough to push someone over the edge, and yet King’s novel adds an additional layer.


Right from the beginning, the reader understands that Carrie has telekinetic powers. She is not sure how exactly they work, or why she has them, nor are they very strong, but it’s something within her that she can explore. The novel mixes Carrie’s own discoveries with excerpts from scientific research and journals surrounding the phenomenon in a way that almost felt like King was creating his own superpower or mutant gene, even though that is not at all the direction of the novel. And Carrie is anything but a superhero.


And while there are definitely some issues where this is dated—primarily the descriptions of young girls, women in general, and some racial terms—I found it interesting that Chris’ boyfriend is displayed as the quintessential bad guy, his mistreatment of women being the main thing on display. It’s almost a commentary while missing his own mistakes?


And with that being said, Chris is the villain here. As a ringleader from the opening shower scene, she becomes wholeheartedly hellbent of ruining Carrie’s life…mostly because she got in trouble for doing a terrible thing? As the daughter of a lawyer, who is also displayed as an entitled idiot, it’s no surprise that Chris would blame someone else rather than doing some soul searching. This hellbent desire to get back at Carrie is the straw that breaks the camels back. The ending is fast, violent, and gruesome in a way I don’t think I’ve ever read before.

Photo of ༺ kat ༻
༺ kat ༻@mutedspace
3.5 stars
Aug 25, 2024

tbh i feel that way while on my period too :-/

+1
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Aris @aris_stocratic
5 stars
Jul 31, 2024

I support girls’ wrongs and in this case I support with a sense of pride girls’ right. My girl Carrie was absolutely right

Photo of Justin Staack
Justin Staack@justinstaack
4 stars
Jul 30, 2024

7,5 Punkte Briefe aus Jerusalem 5,5 Punkte Spätschicht 7,5 Punkte Nächtliche Brandung 7 Punkte Ich bin das Tor 6,5 Punkte Der Wäschemangler 7,5 Punkte Das Schreckgespenst 7 Punkte Graue Masse 9 Punkte Schlachtfeld 5 Punkte Lastwagen 6 Punkte Manchmal kommen sie wieder 8 Punkte Erdbeerfrühling 6 Punkte Der Mauervorsprung 6 Punkte Der Rasenmähermann 4 Punkte Quitters, Inc. 9,5 Punkte Ich weiß, was du brauchst 9,5 Punkte Kinder des Mais 9 Punkte Die letzte Sprosse 8 Punkte Der Mann, der Blumen liebte 8 Punkte Einen auf den Weg 7,5 Punkte Die Frau im Zimmer 7 Punkte

Photo of Justin Staack
Justin Staack@justinstaack
4 stars
Jul 30, 2024

8 Punkte

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Matheus Villa@theus
4 stars
Jul 30, 2024

Esse foi meu primeiro contato com o King e foi uma experiencia relativamente mediana, o livro é bom, mas o formato dele não me agradou muito, essas paginas de jornais e entrevistas são legais e acrescenta muito a história, mas para mim como leitor achei meio “bléh”. Da cena do baile para frente fica muito frenético e eu amei demais. Enfim, eu tinha pretensão de ler o King por ordem de publicação, mas acho que vou pular Salem e ir para O Iluminado primeiro kkkkk.

Photo of Katie Roberts
Katie Roberts@katie05
3 stars
May 22, 2024

Good enough book given the time it was wrote. Felt really sorry for Carrie. Loved Tommy and sue. That girl Chris and the guy deserved what they got tbh

This review contains a spoiler
+3
Photo of car
car@literatere
5 stars
May 12, 2024

this book is awesome, i could clearly imagine everything going on and the ending was very unexpected in a way.

Photo of kait
kait@kaitslibrary
1 star
Apr 14, 2024

Do not waste your time with this book. If I could, I would give this book 0 stars. I found this book to be incredibly boring and I do not think this book is worth any time or energy. With this being King's first book, I really am not sure how he was allowed to write another one. There's so many things wrong with this book but what shocked me the most is the amount of racial slurs in this book and I believe one slur against LGBTQIA+ people. (TW: There is also 2 sexual assault scenes I believe). I am not sure why exactly these were included (some people say to show what language is used at the time) but they are 110% not necessary. On top of very problematic themes and writing, I just thought the book was slow paced and the writing was bland. I was pretty much just waiting for the book to be over. I am hoping that King has gotten better over the years and has stopped being problematic but I am not optimistic. Please just do not read this book, save yourself the pain.

Photo of Derek Graf
Derek Graf@derekgiraffe
3.5 stars
Mar 21, 2024

Really good, when king was at his best.

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Claudia Beneyto@claudiabeneyto
2 stars
Mar 13, 2024

I have been waiting to read this book for a while now. To be honest, this is my first time reading anything Stephen King, and will most likely be my last. I can understand why people like him and his writing style; he tells a story with a purpose, in a straight-forward manner. However, i thought i'd like this book more than i did. It actually bored me at times, and felt almost like a pain to finish. During the first part of the novel i was expecting Prom Night to be a nerve-wracking, intense and pleasurable climax, but it failed to amaze me. To be completely honest, i was more entertained by the first part of the book than the latter, and i felt slightly betrayed by this. If you want to know Carrie, watch the movies. There are plenty of them, one better than others, but in my opinion all better than the book. The idea is pretty brilliant, but the execution failed to entrance me. The slurs were also completely unfounded and could have easily been avoided, since there was not a single black or gay person in the book, and yet Stephen King had to use them for some unknown reason.

Photo of Shari Ilg
Shari Ilg@shari
2.5 stars
Mar 7, 2024

Why describe every female character’s boobs?

+2
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yel@ashuulinksu
2 stars
Feb 24, 2024

2.5 of 5 stars ----- All the horrible things that had happened to Carrie, how she was treated by her peers, even by her own mother, it was terrible and traumatizing. I felt really bad for her. Though it was really disturbing how a lot of people died because of what happened, all I can think of is this: out of all the characters present in the story, for me I felt sorry for Carrie the most. The story itself? It wasn't that bad but I don't like how it was made. I know that the events in the story was chaotic, but so does the writing. There are so much details that for me were just unnecessary. This was not particularly a long book but I kind of feel like it became dragging after the point where Carrie started her rampage. I didn't liked how it was stretched too much. I even skimmed a little with some parts and that wasn't a good thing considering the length of the book. Overall, I'm not that impress. It was kind of unsatisfying and disappointing.

Photo of Daniel Spruill
Daniel Spruill@dleespruill
4 stars
Feb 23, 2024

Even the most ridiculous concepts work because of how goddamn great King’s writing is. Quitters, Inc. is easily my favorite and the trajectory of how King writes about addiction is truly gorgeous. The stories without supernatural elements are my favorites, and Mike Flanagan could destroy The Woman in the Room. The revisits to ‘Salem’s Lot fed my soul and just reinforced that novel as my favorite— truly the best. Such a great collection ranging from a possessed laundry press to wrestling with watching a parent die and feeling helpless. I love this man with all my heart. (WHY ARE SO MANY OF THE ADAPTIONS SO FUCKING BAD!! IT ISN’T HARD TO FUCK UP!!!) Anyway, yeah. This would be a great place to start if you’ve never read King.

Photo of Daniel Spruill
Daniel Spruill@dleespruill
4 stars
Feb 23, 2024

she did nothing wrong. a story of unchecked rage that established King as one of the all time greats. all of the bones of what he would go on to master in this genre are alive in this novel and thank god for Tabitha fishing it out of the trash. the themes of religion and isolation and growing up as ‘other’ (to name a few) come together in maybe the best coming of age tragedy of all time. i loved loved loved the format of this one, with the combination of King’s signature third person narrator, newspapers, police reports, Sue’s novel, and that last gut-punch letter. so good. the OG adaption might be the best of any of his, but it still misses some of the great character explorations and smaller moments from the novel— I realize there will never be a perfect adaption of a King story, but a bitch can dream.

Photo of Carrie-Ivy-Viper
Carrie-Ivy-Viper@writtenbl00d
5 stars
Feb 22, 2024

A wonderful read. This book is one of my biggest comforts in life.

+6
Photo of maria anna
maria anna@marswillovv
3 stars
Jan 9, 2024

i will never read another book written by a man

Photo of Rhys Connor
Rhys Connor@rhyskconnor99
3.5 stars
Jan 9, 2024

Really love the story and the idea not sure I am a massive fan of Stephen kings writing style will read more of his books though.

For me:

Story 5/5

Writing 3/5

Photo of Megan Christensen
Megan Christensen@megan_ani_reads
2 stars
Dec 22, 2023

I wish Stephen King would stop talking about underage girls' boobs

Photo of Grace M
Grace M@thecoupdegrace
5 stars
Nov 13, 2023

I can’t believe I waited so long to read this book. Carrie is one of my all time favorite movies and the source material did not disappoint. I went in with lowered expectations, considering this is King’s debut novel, and was pleasantly surprised at how familiar he is with his distinctive writing style so early in his published works. I earnestly wish this book was 100 pages longer.

Photo of Alexander Luevano
Alexander Luevano@alexlu
5 stars
Aug 5, 2023

Great beginner book. This was my first book I've ever read " for fun " and it was fun to read and towards the end I kept saying one more page one more page. King is an icon for a reason

Photo of Viktor
Viktor @viktorhugo
4 stars
Aug 1, 2023

My first thriller

Short, fresh story with sad moments, especially the ending was unexpectedly emotional

Overall great humor

Catching except for a few parts

Sometimes a bit too pervert/ many unnecessary moments/ language

+1

Highlights

Photo of Alesha Clifford
Alesha Clifford@aleshadclifford

Macbeth hath murdered sleep and Carrie hath murdered time

Page 219
Photo of fira
fira@orufrey

She did not know if her gift had come from the lord of light or of darkness, and now, finally finding that she did not care which, she was overcome with an almost indescribable relief, as if a huge weight, long carried, had slipped from her shoulders.

Photo of Fiona Staczek
Fiona Staczek@worm_bin_anakin

She sat down on the high stool by the counter, found the sliver of whetstone in its small aluminum dish, and began to scrub it along the gleaming edge of the blade with the apathetic, fixated attention of the damned.

Page 177