I struggled to decide on a book for this week’s review. I want to do different genres, new authors, and imaginative ideas. So, I started a list of books I’ve read (and loved) that could fit the speculative fiction criteria. What new thing could I bring to the readers?

Every other book on my list was Stephen King. I completely understand King is a ‘either/or’ author. You either read him or you don’t. He is a horror writer, but most importantly, he is a writer. Plain and simple. His catalog is huge! If you are ever in the mood for something different, do a little research into his stories. They are not all horror. You might find something you like.

Today, I want to recommend his novel It (definitely in his horror mode). With two movies and a prequel TV series, many people have ideas about the story. A group of misfit preteens fights a killer clown. The Clown leaves and comes back 27 years later. Kids are now adults and fight him again.

That is the gist of It, but there is so much more in the book! If you dismiss this novel as just another King horror, you miss out on so much. At the heart of the story lies courage, overcoming trauma, trust, friendship, and the struggle for acceptance. All these grandiose ideas are wrapped up in a creepy, horrific 1,138-page tale about a small Maine town named Derry. And Derry is being terrorized by a clown named Pennywise. But by reading the book, you understand that Pennywise isn’t just a clown. Each person has that deep-down crippling fear, whether we admit it or not. Yours could be heights, spiders, commitment, public speaking, open spaces, fire, drowning… There are thousands of possibilities because we are each shaped by our life experiences. Pennywise most often appears as a clown because his main targets are children, but he (it?) also appears as Frankenstein’s monster, a leper, a missing girl, piranhas, and the shark from Jaws. He can even appear as people’s relatives, such as one girl’s abusive father or another child’s dead brother. In the book, you learn how the evilness of Pennywise has saturated Derry’s history and its citizens. This wickedness runs through the city’s streets, rivers, and sewers and has seeped into the subconscious and the souls of its people. Due to time constraints, the movies gloss over most of Derry’s history with Pennywise. In this epic book, you get to live these moments with the victims. For decades, the town has been in Pennywise’s stranglehold. Can anyone survive this nightmare? Should the town survive after being infected for so long?

The story of It is about overcoming your fears and finding the courage and strength to fight back. Derry is a hard place to grow up. But with friendship and acceptance, we can stand tall and hard against our adversities.

Be aware: this is a Stephen King novel and it is mostly about young kids. There is language, jokes about bodily functions, and–thank to Pennywise–lots of gruesome death. There is also sweet nostalgia, bonds of friendship, and humor amongst the bad times.

Well, that is my two cents. I am a King fan so I will always recommend his stories. Give the book and Stephen King a chance. Hope you enjoyed this brief review. Happy reading!

IT

Stephen King’s terrifying, classic #1 New York Times bestseller, “a landmark in American literature” (Chicago Sun-Times)—about seven adults who return to their hometown to confront a nightmare they had first stumbled on as teenagers…an evil without a name: It.

Welcome to Derry, Maine. It’s a small city, a place as hauntingly familiar as your own hometown. Only in Derry, the haunting is real.

They were seven teenagers when they first stumbled upon the horror. Now they are grown-up men and women who have gone out into the big world to gain success and happiness. But the promise they made twenty-eight years ago calls them to reunite in the same place where, as teenagers, they battled an evil creature that preyed on the city’s children. Now, children are being murdered again and their repressed memories of that terrifying summer return as they prepare to once again battle the monster lurking in Derry’s sewers.