The SHINING

This is a guest review from my fifteen year old grandson, Kai O:

In The Shining, author Jack Torrance, his wife, Wendy and his five year old son, Danny, move to the Overlook Hotel for the winter off-season as caretakers. Winter begins as a relaxing vacation but, as time goes on, it becomes apparent that the Overlook Hotel is more than a winter getaway. Strange happenings start when the topiaries that Jack is trimming almost seem to move. Soon after, Danny, blessed with “the shining” (the ability to read minds and see into the future) finds himself trapped in the playground with some sort of apparition. Another time, Jack finds a mysterious scrapbook.

Stephen King is known for his horror novels, but The Shining has more elements of being suspenseful than anything. The reader gets a good understanding of every character (even the ones briefly mentioned). Stephen King also gives the reader a good sense of every character’s personality, no matter how minor their role is. Thanks to this, the world of The Shining seems bigger than just the Torrance’s at the Overlook. No character feels like a throw-away.

After reading this novel, not many books can compare to The Shining and after reviewing this novel, I only have a desire to read more Stephen King novels. Clearly I enjoyed this novel more than anything I’ve read before with a few exceptions. I would recommend this novel to readers YA (13) and above. I guarantee you will not regret reading The Shining.

RATING: 5 out of 5 stars

Comment: Yea, I agree that you can get hooked on Stephen King very easily.