It

A Love Story Disguised as a Horror Novel

I've read a number of Stephen King's books over the past 15 years, and had also read a number of his short stories prior to that period. King has always genuinely impressed me with his incredible eye for detail, his sense of place, and his ability to steadily pay out the rope line of a story's plot. Additionally, of course, he's the Jedi Master of creepiness. Although I was familiar with the premise of IT --- indeed, I watched the ABC miniseries back when it first aired in 1990 --- , I had never taken on this massive work as a reading challenge. With the recent release of the big-screen adaptation of King's story, I felt that it was time to shift this novel to the top of my bucket list. Now, having reached the conclusion of this tale, I stand entertained, inspired, and deeply moved. You see, to me, IT is not simply an epic horror tale; I feel that is also a powerful odyssey of friendship, belonging, coming of age...and love. From the late 1950s to the mid-1980s, the narrative chronicles the lives and times of a group of young pre-teens growing up in the small town of Derry, Maine. These young people are brought together by fate and circumstance to forge a fundamental bond, upon which is built not only all of their intense and complicated interpersonal relationships but, ultimately, their shared commitment to confront an unearthly monster that has, for generations, stalked and murdered Derry's residents --- especially children. As the members of the "Losers' Club" grow to know one another, become playmates, and evolve the fierce and pure loyalty and protectiveness towards each other that are so characteristic of young kids, their showdown with It looms closer and closer. Of course, the story’s titular antagonist is, ultimately, the most frightening of the Losers’ Club’s foes. However, what childhood would be complete without the unwanted attentions of schoolyard bullies? Led by Henry Bowers, a seething, dangerously angry son of a poor local farmer, a group of boys...