Brief synopsis: Carrie White is a weird girl, different from all the other teenagers in her school. When a traumatic event sends her over the edge, one of her classmates tries to make it better by trying to give her an amazing prom night. Unfortunately, the taunting only gets worse, setting loose Carrie's gifts and giving her classmates a night they'll never forget.



We've pretty much all seen Carrie, either the original with Sissy Spacek or the newer one with Chloe Grace Moretz, but I had never read the book. While Stephen King novels are known for being incredibly lengthy, Carrie is actually less than 200 pages in it's original print. I grew up watching Stephen King movies, and as a teenager enjoyed both Pet Semetary and Desperation, but as an adult, I'm finally getting around to reading more of King's novels and while the writing can be a bit dense, I will agree he's truly the master of horror. His imagery is out-of-this-world, and his novels will definitely keep you up at night. Carrie is no different.

Though the novel is short, it is intense and no less scary due to its length. The novel is made up of Carrie's story told in a variety of ways, mostly years after the event - including studies of Carrie's gift, biographies of classmates, newspaper articles, etc. It was definitely a unique perspective for a horror novel, and I enjoyed it very much. So much so I stayed up until almost four am to finish the book.

Though the movie is fantastic (hello, young Travolta) and definitely captured the story well, the book is certainly very haunting, as well. And while I have not seen the musical stage play (with the exception of the Riverdale rendition), it's absolutely one I would love to see.