4.0
Fairy Tale
ByPublisher Description
Master storyteller Stephen King goes into the deepest well of his imagination in this #1 New York Times bestselling and spellbinding novel about a young man who inherits the keys to a parallel world where good and evil are at war, and the stakes could not be higher—for that world or ours.
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a horrific accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from that shed.
Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.
Charlie Reade looks like a regular high school kid, great at baseball and football, a decent student. But he carries a heavy load. His mom was killed in a horrific accident when he was seven, and grief drove his dad to drink. Charlie learned how to take care of himself—and his dad. When Charlie is seventeen, he meets a dog named Radar and her aging master, Howard Bowditch, a recluse in a big house at the top of a big hill, with a locked shed in the backyard. Sometimes strange sounds emerge from that shed.
Charlie starts doing jobs for Mr. Bowditch and loses his heart to Radar. Then, when Bowditch dies, he leaves Charlie a cassette tape telling a story no one would believe. What Bowditch knows, and has kept secret all his long life, is that inside the shed is a portal to another world.
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Meet readers like you in the Fable For You feed, designed to build bookish communitiesFairy Tale Reviews
4.0
“This story was incredible! To think I was thinking of stopping after the first 3-4 chapters is almost mind boggling.
I loved the story plot, the characters, I just thought the first couple of chapters had excessive profanity. (Like I’ve said in past reviews I can understand if something is causing the character to react with excitement, Anger, and devastation, but just the first couple paragraphs were about a bridge….so much from a bridge.)
Once I muscled past it the angry man and his cursing was understandable, but still calling a physical therapist certain names …felt unnecessary. I get it, it hurts but made me think the man used to be a sailor and not a woodsman.
I won’t speak too much about the entire book, but I have to say the ending was a little sad. Couldn’t stay, went home and saw his Dad (YAY!) but then the way he speaks about closing the well with concrete I too was very upset.
Lastly, I would like this to have a happily ever after, and not an odd middle ground for wishing Charlie would see his friends again.”Change and growDiverse representationFormulaicMemorableMinor characters stand outMultilayeredOriginalRelatableStrong relationshipsStrong villainUnforgettable protagonistAction-packedClever plottingGripping/excitingSteady pacingUnpredictableAtmosphericBeautifulGrittyOtherworldlySetting fits the storyDescriptiveFunnyOriginalWhimsical toneAbuseDeathGriefMurderSubstance abuseViolence
““Hump, hump, hump!” 😂
This was my first book by Stephen King and I am honestly very glad I chose it. I usually go for romance and fantasy books but have been wanting to branch out- this book was perfect to start tiptoeing away from my typical romances.
One thing I am was surprised about with this one was how COZY it is. It is perfectly told like a fairytale you would be read as a kid all tucked in to the blankets right before bed- just… More gross 😅
The main characters are all likable (for me at least). The pace was slow at times but not unbearable. There are funny moments, heart wrenching moments, and then of course, a satisfying ending.
10/10 ~ would recommend ❤️”
“wow! i’m kind of sad to finish this one the other world in it was so fascinating and i just love how it was written!! it’s very different from the other stephen king books i’ve read but still so incredible!!”
About Stephen King
Stephen King is the author of more than sixty books, all of them worldwide bestsellers. His recent work includes Never Flinch, the short story collection You Like It Darker (a New York Times Book Review top ten horror book of 2024), Holly (a New York Times Notable Book of 2023), Fairy Tale, Billy Summers, If It Bleeds, The Institute, Elevation, The Outsider, Sleeping Beauties (cowritten with his son Owen King), and the Bill Hodges trilogy: End of Watch, Finders Keepers, and Mr. Mercedes (an Edgar Award winner for Best Novel and a television series streaming on Peacock). His novel 11/22/63 was named a top ten book of 2011 by The New York Times Book Review and won the Los Angeles Times Book Prize for Mystery/Thriller. His epic works The Dark Tower, It, Pet Sematary, Doctor Sleep, and Firestarter are the basis for major motion pictures, with It now the highest-grossing horror film of all time. He is the recipient of the 2020 Audio Publishers Association Lifetime Achievement Award, the 2018 PEN America Literary Service Award, the 2014 National Medal of Arts, and the 2003 National Book Foundation Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. He lives in Bangor, Maine, with his wife, novelist Tabitha King.
Other books by Stephen King
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