REVIEW: CARRIE

Author: Stephen King
Series: No, standalone
UK Publisher: Hodder & Stoughton
UK Release date:
Genre: Horror/thriller

Carrie White is no ordinary girl.
Carrie White has the gift of telekinesis.
To be invited to Prom Night by Tommy Ross is a dream come true for Carrie - the first step towards social acceptance by her high school colleagues.
But events will take a decidedly macabre turn on that horrifying and endless night as she is forced to exercise her terrible gift on the town that mocks and loathes her . . . (Goodreads)
Despite having watched a number of films based on his books, I have never actually read any of Stephen King's books. Reading Carrie, I was not disappointed.

Sixteen year old Carrie is an unusual protagonist. Not because she has rare telekinetic powers. But because she is the girl that everyone picks on and nobody likes, and she passively accepts the abuse and taunts thrown at her. To start with I empathised with her, but didn't really sympathise with her or even like her that much. Perhaps because the start was written in third person perspective, it kept the bullying and Carrie at a distance. But as the narrative switched to Carrie's first person perspective and sometimes her mothers, I began to understand how tough her home life was and why she was the she was.

And I also started to hate her mother. A zealous, religious fanatic, she put Jesus, righteousness and atonement above all else, including Carrie. Her mother seemed completely oblivious to Carrie's needs or the psychological trauma she was suffering. Although Carrie started off as a passive character, accepting her mother's and peer's abuse, her developing telekinetic powers gave her the courage to stand up to her mother. It was great to see Carrie refuse to bow to her mother's ridiculous beliefs and demands, however Carrie went too far in the end. Really though, who could blame her. And despite the horrors of what happened, part of me was a little bit glad that Carrie was able to exact revenge of those mean people that had bullied her for so long.

The narrative changed quite regularly, quoting articles/papers one page and then quickly changing to a character's point of view. Sometimes these perspectives overlapped, and it could be a little confusing to keep track of. However you got to see each of the characters differing thoughts and feelings about a particular event and somehow still flowed and kept up a fast pace.

From the very outset, we knew something bad would happen at the end of the story, although I had no idea what exactly that would be. We do know Carrie is not only the instigator but also cause for national concern. Because of this my curiosity was instantly piqued, and there was a gradual build up of tension and suspense throughout the plot, with flashbacks and new experiences telling Carrie's story and giving the backstory to the final climatic events. Carrie's story, whilst deep troubled was also very gripping and sad. I sped through the pages with ease, and understand now why Stephen King's writing has captured the attention of so many.

Carrie is a twisted psychological thriller horror, and a brilliant read.

Rating: 5*

LETTERBOX LOVE

Letterbox Love is a new meme hosted by Lynsey @ Narratively Speaking for UK based book bloggers to showcase the books that they’ve received each week.

Recently the books I've got have been ones I've bought or downloaded free onto the kindle. I've also been very tempted by some philosophical classics which I may not even by able to read and understand but I have always wanted to give them a go.

Daughter of Smoke and Bone by Laini Taylor (bought).

Meet Karou. She fills her sketchbooks with monsters that may or may not be real; she's prone to disappearing on mysterious "errands"; she speaks many languages—not all of them human; and her bright blue hair actually grows out of her head that color. Who is she? That is the question that haunts her, and she's about to find out.
When one of the strangers—beautiful, haunted Akiva—fixes his fire-colored eyes on her in an alley in Marrakesh, the result is blood and starlight, secrets unveiled, and a star-crossed love whose roots drink deep of a violent past. But will Karou live to regret learning the truth about herself?

Faust by Johann Wolfgang Von Goethe (free on Kindle).
(Inspired by Maureen Johnson's Devilish, I decided to give this a try first on kindle to see if I can actually understand it before buying a proper copy.)

Here indeed is a monumental Faust, an audacious man boldly wagering with the devil, Mephistopheles, that no magic, sensuality, experience, or knowledge can lead him to a moment he would wish to last forever.

Pantomime by Laura Lam (kindly given by Strange Chemistry).

R. H. Ragona’s Circus of Magic is the greatest circus of Ellada. Nestled among the glowing blue Penglass—remnants of a mysterious civilisation long gone—are wonders beyond the wildest imagination. It’s a place where anything seems possible, where if you close your eyes you can believe that the magic and knowledge of the vanished Chimaera is still there. It’s a place where anyone can hide. Iphigenia Laurus, or Gene, the daughter of a noble family, is uncomfortable in corsets and crinoline, and prefers climbing trees to debutante balls. Micah Grey, a runaway living on the streets, joins the circus as an aerialist’s apprentice and soon becomes the circus’s rising star. But Gene and Micah have balancing acts of their own to perform, and a secret in their blood that could unlock the mysteries of Ellada.

Darkness Falls by Jessica Sorensen (free on kindle).

When the disease spread through the world, people had no choice but to go into hiding. The Colony is hidden deep underground, far away from the vampires—humans that were transformed by the disease. The vampires are hideous, starving, and they will kill any human they come across.

Seventeen-year-old Kayla is a Bellator, a warrior that protects The Colony. In order to survive, there are three rules she must follow:

Rule #1—Never go out after dark.

Rule #2—Always carry a weapon.

Rule #3—No matter what, never EVER get bitten.

But what happens when the rules Kayla has always lived by can no longer apply? 

The Highers run The Colony and accept nothing less than perfection. One slip up can mean death. Kayla has always worked hard to follow the rules and strive for perfection. But during a moment of weakness, she lets her imperfections show. Her punishment is worse than death. She is chosen for The Gathering and is thrown out into a world full of starving vampires. 

No one has ever survived The Gathering, at least that’s what Kayla’s been told. But when she runs into a group who insist they were once part of The Gathering, Kayla discovers the Highers have been keeping secrets. Secrets that could lead to a cure.

Anna Dressed in Blood by Kendare Blake (bought)
Having read some good reviews on this one, I'm really looking forward to reading it (when I get the time!).

Just your average boy-meets-girl, girl-kills-people story...

Cas Lowood has inherited an unusual vocation: He kills the dead. 

So did his father before him, until his gruesome murder by a ghost he sought to kill. Now, armed with his father’s mysterious and deadly athame, Cas travels the country with his kitchen-witch mother and their spirit-sniffing cat. Together they follow legends and local lore, trying to keep up with the murderous dead—keeping pesky things like the future and friends at bay.

When they arrive in a new town in search of a ghost the locals call Anna Dressed in Blood, Cas doesn’t expect anything outside of the ordinary: move, hunt, kill. What he finds instead is a girl entangled in curses and rage, a ghost like he’s never faced before. She still wears the dress she wore on the day of her brutal murder in 1958: once white, but now stained red and dripping blood. Since her death, Anna has killed any and every person who has dared to step into the deserted Victorian she used to call home.

And she, for whatever reason, spares his life.

What's arrived in your post this week?

ON MY WISHLIST: THE PEACH KEEPER & SKARY CHILDRIN

On My Wishlist is a fun weekly event hosted by Book Chick City and runs every Saturday. It's where you can list all the books you desperately want but haven't actually bought yet. They can be old, new or forthcoming.

My two choices for this week are one yet to be released and one already released with a cover that is creepy but so adorable at the same time....

The Peach Keeper by Sarah Addison Allen 

To be published January 2012 by Hodder & Stoughton

Welcome to Walls of Water, North Carolina, where secrets are thicker than the town's famous fog. Willa Jackson wants nothing more than a life beyond her family's legacy. The Jacksons met with financial ruin generations ago, and the Blue Ridge Madam - built by Willa's great-great-grandfather, and once the town's grandest home - has stood empty for years. However socialite do-gooder Paxton Osgood has intentions for the house. She wants to restore it to its former glory, and begins a bold renovation project. But when a skeleton is found buried beneath the property's lone peach tree, the town's troubled past is suddenly brought to the surface once more. The two women must form an unlikely friendship to confront the dangerous passions and tragic betrayals that once bound their families . . .

Skary Childrin and the Carousel of Sorrow by Katy Towell
Published August 2011 by Alfred A. Knopf Books for Young Readers

Twelve years ago, for 12 days straight, the town of Widowsbury suffered a terrible storm, which tore open a gate through which escaped all sorts of foul, rotten things. Strange things and strange people were no longer welcomed in Widowsbury, for one could never be sure of what secrets waited under the surface . . . Adelaide Foss, Maggie Borland, and Beatrice Alfred are known by their classmates at Widowsbury's Madame Gertrude's School for Girls as "scary children." Unfairly targeted because of their peculiarities—Adelaide has an uncanny resemblance to a werewolf, Maggie is abnormally strong, and Beatrice claims to be able to see ghosts—the girls spend a good deal of time isolated in the school's inhospitable library facing detention. But when a number of people mysteriously begin to disappear in Widowsbury, the girls work together, along with Steffen Weller, son of the cook at Rudyard School for Boys, to find out who is behind the abductions. Will they be able to save Widowsbury from a 12-year-old curse?

What's on your wishlist?