"Carrie" by Stephen King

     

     The novel "Carrie" by Stephen King which was published by the Penguin Group  in New York, New York 1974. Stephen King is known for all his horror and terrifying books. Carrie takes place in Chamberlain, Maine, and the book is about a senior girl named Carrie White, who has been ridiculed by classmates throughout the years. She is described as fat, full of acne, and was the root of all jokes. Carrie’s mother is a crazy religious woman, who thinks that her own daughter is a sin. Carrie’s mother has not taught her about woman hood and tends to lock her in a closet when she “misbehaves”. The story starts with Carrie taking a shower after gym class, she then starts her period, and thinks that she is dying. All the girls begin to throw female products at her, which leads to all the girls having to either choose to go to after school detention, or be suspended and miss prom. Little does everyone know that Carrie has telekinetic powers, but she soon discovers how much power she really has. One of the girls named Chris, who has always made fun of Carrie, decides to seek revenge on Carrie whom she hates for no reason. Another one is the sweeter girls Sue, gets her boyfriend Tommy Ross, to take Carrie White to senior prom. Sue just wants Carrie to have one special night. But when prom comes, all hell breaks loose when Chris then gets revenge, but the roles are reversed… This book is shocking, horror, and those who once went after Carrie, Carrie seeks revenge on them.

     I personally thought this book was fantastic, but I especially love scary books as well as scary movies. This book perfectly displayed and gives details about Carries life when she was younger, and how that really affected her in every page that leads up to prom. I absolutely loved the 1970’s adaption of the book Carrie, and was every bit as terrifying as the book. I saw the movie first, and it’s definitely a classic, but the book brings in more details. A strong quote that really tells how Carrie feels is “She could, she knew she would be in another place…sometimes she felt so miserable, empty, and bored, that the only way was to eat and eat and eat.. she thought her legs were actually pretty, almost as pretty as Sue Snell’s or Vicky Hanscom’s”(41) I find it sad and heartbreaking how Carrie compares every inch of her body to everyone else and constantly picks out her flaws. I feel as every girl picks out her flaws, including myself, but we pretend to not let it get to us. When Carrie is face to face with Tommy Ross, it says “She felt her heart would break if he uttered so much as the wrong sound, and if he laughed she would die. She felt-actually, physically—her whole miserable life narrow to a point that might be an end or beginning of a widening beam”(127) but then Tommy says “You’re beautiful”. It made me feel good that Tommy was going to make Carrie’s night special and he wants to make Sue happy as well, for helping Carrie. But when prom night comes it’s a nightmare. This book is crazy and unbelievable! I definitely recommend it if you want a scare.