Carrie by Stephen King (#96 in 2019)
Carrie White, a teenager in the 1970s, comes from a devoutly religious family. Her family's strong commitment to religion and avoidance of all things "unholy" makes her a social outcast in her school. Carrie is harboring a secret that, if revealed, would make her even more "different" in the eyes of her peers-- that of her telekinetic powers. After a school bullying incident in which Carrie is the target, the teenage girls responsible for Carrie's sadness are punished by the school administrators. One of the bullies tries to find a way to make up for her wrongdoing, while the other bully tries to brainstorm a way to make Carrie even more miserable. But that bullying incident would be the LAST one that Carrie White would ever tolerate...
I read Carrie in one sitting on a Sunday night close to Halloween. I had seen the movie once before, but a very long time ago, and I knew the premise but couldn't remember a lot of the details. Poor Carrie White only ever wanted to fit in, but her tumultuous relationship with her mother made that near-impossible. The bullying incident was, from a teacher's perspective, so sad to read. I felt so bad for Carrie as she went through this challenging time. I liked that there was a teacher who stuck up for her, and I liked that at least one of the bullies recognized her need to make things up to Carrie. The actual book is broken up into three parts: Blood Sport, Prom Night, and Wreckage. Throughout the book, the narrative style shifts between the past and present, and it includes interviews with townspeople, "articles" from local newspapers and "scientific studies" related to telekinesis, obviously fictional, that shed more light on the life of Carrie White. I especially liked that Stephen King was almost prophetic in selecting his main focus for Carrie: bullying. King took a prevalent topic (both of the past and of the present), and turned it into a horror story of epic proportions. I gave this debut 4 stars ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
Fun Fact: This was Stephen King's first book. WHAT?! Now that I found the right Stephen King for me, what else can you recommend I read?
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