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Average Customer Rating: 
Carrie >
Customer Review #1:
 Carrie- -Short But Wonderfully Sweet!
I had been planning to read a Stephen King book for a long time, and I decided why not start with first, and most classic, book CARRIE? I started reading it on Saturday Morning. I was done with it by Sunday Afternoon. The first two paragraphs of CARRIE just reel you in, and its a hook youre glad to be stuck on. CARRIE is about a character named Carrie White, who is the one outcast that everyone only pays attention to when theyre in search of a good, cruel laugh. Theres one thing they dont know about her, and that is that Carrie is telekenetic (T.K.), a mental condition where the effected mind can be capable of amazing feats, sometimes even deadly ones...and when a girl like Carrie has that power, no one knows what might happen. Stephen King shows all sides of the story beautifully by having various characters revolving around Carrie, and all the well-thought-out bits of information about Carrie herself from books, court testimonials and such. I give it only four stars out of five because near the end of the novel, there was more action than I wanted, so I became slightly bored. But as soon as it went back to Carries Point-of-View, I was once again hooked. This book, in itself, is very shocking. The sexual terms that Stephen King uses in his writing are always shocking, but for some reason, I wanted to read more of the shock material. I think that in our minds, we always yearn for what were reading to go over our usaual boundries, and CARRIE most certainly does that. Because of the shock material, I would recommend this book for anyone older than a very mature twelve year old. Its a great book to just sit down with, read, and enjoy the ride!
Carrie >
Customer Review #2:
 Kings first book is still my favorite.
CARRIE is a terrific book on its own; as a debut, it is simply astonishing. Kings first effort does not at all seem the work of a novice. I loved the device of using excerpts from books and articles supposedly written about Carrie White and Prom Night; these chapters give an almost documentary feel to the book. In fact, for some reason, this book reminds me vaguely of HELTER SKELTER, which was, of course, a true story. Another thing that lends atmosphere to this is Kings use of parentheses to show the reader his characters thoughts and impressions (did he invent this? I cant think of another author who does this), giving the reader a real feeling of identity with the characters. It is also a very moving book; in addition to being a jolly good horror story, the characters evoke real feelings of sympathy. Carries plight is a familiar one; King evokes the middle-class high school pecking order with devastating accuracy, and the story, ultimately, is not only scary, but very sad. It made a very good movie, incidentally. I recommend both. Ive read a lot of Stephen King, but this one is still my favorite.
Carrie >
Customer Review #3:
Kings First Book, and One of His Best
Though "Carrie" is definitely the work of a writer who is still finding his voice, it is a remarkably tight and gripping book, and remains one of my personal favorites of Kings work.The tale told by King and Kings wife Tabitha, about how she literally pulled the first pages of the book out of a trash can, read them, and then encouraged King to continue with the story he had started, is somewhat apocryphal now. Nevertheless, upon reading the first few chapters of "Carrie" one can see what grabbed her attention. The reader is immediately involved in the story and irresistably drawn all the way to the end. The story of Carrie White is that of someone who is essentially ordinary (almost painfully so), but with an extraordinary ability. How these two elements come together is the substance of the book, and there is a lot of substance here, both in terms of storytelling and thematic material. Kings talent for strong character and capturing the feel of everyday life is already obvious in this book, and it is put to good use. "Carrie" remains one of Kings most compelling works, even 30 years after it was written. Thank goodness Mrs. King had the wherewithal to get him to finish it!
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