This is another one of those books that, being a Stephen King fan, I can’t believe I’d never read. Second book written, first one published, if I remember correctly (for what it’s worth, I don’t think Carrie was as good as [b:'Salem's Lot|11590|'Salem's Lot|Stephen King|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1327891565l/11590.SY75.jpg|3048937]).

I saw the movie a really long time ago, in the 80s or maybe the early 90s. I can’t remember very much of it at all, but I’m almost certain it wasn’t as detailed, or as gruesome or heart-wrenching, as the book.

Carrie is the ultimate story of bullying gone wrong. My book, [b:Stingers|49404106|Stingers|Graham Downs|https://i.gr-assets.com/images/S/compressed.photo.goodreads.com/books/1576660938l/49404106.SY75.jpg|40865726], doesn’t even come close (prove me wrong: read both of them and tell me what you think!). The horrors that girl’s peers put her through... not to mention the isolation her mother put her through. To be a seventeen-year-old girl and not know what a period is, the mind boggles. It’s almost unbelievable, but then it’s just believable enough, because I can absolutely imagine some really cloistered, fundamental Christian parents being like that.

Stephen King always knew how to incite emotion with his writing, and this book is good, but it still feels like a debut novel. It’s better than millions of other debut novels, to be sure, but it’s still a debut novel. The writing’s not as tight, the voice’s not as refined; the editing’s not as good.

Again, I feel like Salem’s Lot was better in those respects. But that might be down to better editing (being the second book to be published, the publisher could’ve been prepared to devote more budget to getting it edited), and anyway it’s unfair to compare them because they’re such different stories.

Anyway, I’m glad I finally read this book. It’s a piece of history. It’s required reading for any Stephen King fan, and it’s given me massive insights into where it all began for the man.

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