Carrie by Stephen King

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Carrie
by Stephen King
(Audio)

I'm running out of Stephen King audio books my library has that I haven't yet read. I didn't read this one before because I'd already seen the movie many years ago and knew what it was about. I'm really glad I gave it a read, though. It was definitely early Stephen King, but a really creative presentation that made listening to it an adventure.

It's the ultimate anti-bullying story. We all know a girl like Carrie who came from a strange house or looked different than the rest of us. Some of us can relate to Carrie. Some see things from the bullies' perspecties. But in this story, Carrie has the power to turn the tables. When she is asked to prom, one girl's idea of making it up to her, she says yes and sews a beautiful dress despite the protests of her religious mother. Things seem to be looking up for Carrie. But when things go a little too far, and Carrie suffers another humiliation in front of everyone, she can no longer take it. She uses her telekenetic and telepathic powers and destroys the people at the school dance, causes a fire in the high school, drains the town of water to fight it, blows up several gas stations, and kills tons of town residents.

The whole story is told from different points of views as well as through excerpts of medical journels, news reports, and even court transcripts. The reader pieces it all together. And even though the reader is pretty much told from the beginning that bad stuff happens, and lots of people die, it's the kind of car wreck you can't look away from. You want to know how and want to know why. And the creative storytelling keeps the narrative in constant motion. I really enjoyed piecing it together and getting a really good sense of Carrie (and Sue; I liked Sue a lot).

I'm glad I finally gave this one a chance. I enjoyed it and felt so sorry for Carrie and anyone else who has ever suffered at the hands of bullies. Kids really can be so cruel, especially when they're teenagers. This book did an excellent job of showing those evils and what might happen if the person being picked on is able to fight back in a supernatural way.