It Book Review
Hello everyone and welcome back to the blog. I’ve been obsessed with Stephen King’s books since I read Pet Sematary last year. Since then I’ve wanted to read all his super popular books like 11/22/63, It, The Shining, Carrie, etc. As part of my 2026 reading goal, I’ve created a very small must-read before the end of the year TBR My first Stephen King novel in 2026 was none other than, It. So, let’s get into it!
It follows a group of kids as their town is terrorized by an evil presence. Kids disappear and those that are found are brutally mutilated. Something is stalking the town of Derry, Maine. While most of the tow folk write it off as your average run-of-the-mill serial killer, our main group of kids, as known as, the Loser’s Club know it’s something else entirely. Something not human. They tell each other stories of how Pennywise has tormented them. The voices, the monster chasing after them and how it contorts to your worst fears.
The kids make a promise to come back if the cycle of It ever starts again. They will come back to Derry, Maine and take down Pennywise once and for all.
I think the one thing people know about this book is that it is a very very vey long read. I’m talking over 1,000 pages. This has to be the biggest book I’ve ever read. I don’t think there’s a SJM book over 1,000 pages (although I wish there were). The length can be a bit off-putting but it could be considered a Stephen King staple. I bought the ebook because there was no way I was carrying around a 1200-page book. I love reading, but even that is a little too much for me.
Does the book have to be 1200 pages? No.
There were honestly a lot of very wordy, detailed sections, think Dickens.
On the bright side, we get so much information about the town of Derry that it feels like an actual place. The characters feel so real. I feel like I was reading a story about something that happened. The line between fiction and reality was constantly blurred. Even with a villain like Pennywise.
This is my fifth Stephen King novel, and it was very different from the others that I’ve read. The story felt like it just flowed so seamlessly, like every conscious thought was added, and I don’t mean that as a bad thing. It’s almost like he let some control go.
Next to It, the longest book I’ve read by King was The Outsider. Which is still not even half the length of this book. But there was more of your average storyline structure there. With It, it was like we were reading two stories at once. One when the kids are young and first experience the terror of Pennywise, and the second is when they come back as adults.
The entire time you’re reading, you are only given bits and pieces from each storyline. The plots align so everything happens at once. The last 100 pages are wild. We flip back and forth from the childhood timeline to the adult timeline all the way to the end when Pennywise is defeated.
I really liked that King did that because it built up suspense. We know whatever the kids did the first time didn’t work, and in the present, you’re wondering if they still have what it takes to be fearless again. There are some weird parts to the story though. I know a lot of people mention that one weird sexual scene (you’ll know exactly what I’m talking about if you read or have read the book). I understand the symbolism behind the idea of the kids have lost their innocence, but it was weird and would not fly in today’s world. I hated reading that part, and that’s all I’ll say about that.
Having now read the book, I think the re-made movies were done really well. I liked the fact that we got one movie with the kids’ storyline and one with the adults. I feel like this was the best way to break it up for the audience instead of following the structure of the book to a T. I do want to re-watch them now having finished the book.
Along with the movies, I do highly recommend the new prequel tv show It: Welcome to Derry. I think it’s so cool to see a villain’s origin story. With such an iconic villain like Pennywise it makes sense why audiences would want to see more of the very beginning.
Overall, I would recommend this book especially if you’re a fan of Stephen King or horror in general. I would like to disclaim that it is a commitment. This won’t be a book that you fly through. I gave this 3/5 stars!
Alright folks, that is all I have for this week! Come back next week for another blog post. As always, thank you for reading :)