BookLens — See inside before you read

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Content snapshot

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What's in this book, at a glance — five things readers want to know before they start.

Violence

Very heavy

Graphic child murders; monster violence throughout; violent adult confrontations

Language

A lot

Strong language; kids' rough language and adult profanity

Sexual Content

A lot

A controversial sexual scene involving the child characters late in the book; adult sexual content

Substance Use

Some

Moderate; adult characters drink

Emotional Intensity

Very heavy

Child murders — graphic; Pennywise's genuinely terrifying manifestations; childhood trauma and its long shadow; the disturbing child sexuality scene late in the book

What this book is about

In 1958, seven children in Derry, Maine who call themselves the Losers' Club survive an encounter with It — a shape-shifting monster that most often appears as Pennywise the Dancing Clown. Twenty-seven years later, It stirs again, and the Losers return to face it as adults. Stephen King's masterpiece of horror is about childhood friendship, the protective power of imagination, the way fear works, and the terror of returning to your past.