Review: IT

Author: Stephen King
Started reading: October 22nd 2016
Finished the book: January 15th 2017
Pages: 1376
Short review: Horror, creepy atmosphere, awesome characters, unique story
Published: October 1st 1987
Source: Bought the book
Hearts:
❤❤❤❤❤


Characters:
This book is about 7 kids who grow up in Derry and become friends.
Bill; The leader of this group, stuttering a lot, becomes a writer.
Beverly; The only girl in this group, likes to do boys stuff, is hit by her father.
Ben; The "fat-kid", he is great at building stuff.
Eddie; Has asthma and a really worried mother.
Richie; The "funny" one in the group, does weird voices all the time.
Stan; A neat Jew boy, loves bird spotting.
Mike; An African American boy, who ends up with the group because of Henry Bowers, is the only one who stays in Derry his whole life.

Derry is tormented by someting evil. The kids all feel and see this evil and try to fight it together. You get to know the characters as a kid, but also as a grown-up. 27 years later, the 7 main characters have no recollection about their childhood. It's so cool to experience the story through the eyes of kids, but also through the eyes of adults. You learn more about the childhood story, because the grown-ups start to remember slowly. I really believe that the characters are the strongest part of this book. Next tot the 7 main characters, there are great sidecharacters as well. You have IT (the evil lurking in Derry) & Henry Bowers (a bully that has an eye out for the 7 main characters).

World-building:
The story takes place in Derry, Maine. This town is described as a disturbing town. A lot has been going on in the past and it feels like it's not the safest place for someone to live. At some point I really felt like Derry was the biggest evil in this book. A lot has been happening in the past, not only a lot of disappearances, but shootings and big fires are also part of it's past. And the adults in this book don't seem to notice, in a weird way...

Story-line:
The story starts with 6 people getting a call from a guy named Mike Hanlon from Derry. He tells these people that "It has started" and that they need to get back to Derry. The main characters seem to have no recollection of their past, only that they made a promise 27 years ago and they need to go back to Derry. Not all main characters arrive at Derry, but once they are there, they get some of their memories back. They spend their first night sharing stories about their childhood and that is how they all, little by little, seem to remember what happened 27 years ago...

Plot-twists:
This is not a book with big plot twists. A lot of shocking stuff is happening, but it almost feels "normal" in this book. When you're not shocked about another head ripped off or another kid that gets eaten, you really know you're reading another book from Stephen King.
The plot-twists are limited in this book, but I think you don't always need big plot-twists. The creepy ambiance and scary vibe in this book were enough to keep you reading!

So:
If you're not scared about a lot of pages and want a rich story with great characters you should read this book. Keep in mind that this is horror, and you really have to like the genre. The first 700/800 pages are slow, because Derry's past is told and the story is being set-up. It took me 4 months, allright. But I read the last 500 pages within 2 days!

Goodreads Review:
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