Post date: May 29, 2025

By Leigha Kline

This past year, I made a promise to myself that I would enjoy more media. Movies, shows, books, albums; anything that I could get my hands on, I strove towards. It was through these methods that I came across Stephen King’s The Shining – It truly is a “monster” of a novel, with one paper-back copy holding 688 pages total. That being said, every word on every page was worth reading, and if I could read them again for the first time, I would.

The Shining follows the Torrence family. Jack and Wendy Torrence, with their son, Danny, move to the Colorado mountains for the winter, where Jack has been hired to be the caretaker of “The Overlook Hotel” for its off-season. It’s a lavish hotel with an eccentric (nearly sinister) history, and almost immediately upon the family's arrival, Danny develops a dreadful feeling that would grow stronger over their months spent in the hotel.

They’d later find that the hotel had a mind of its own. The family began to see things that weren’t really there, and soon, the hotel grew hostile. The snow started to fall, and suddenly, in the face of one man’s insanity, it became clear that leaving was no longer an option.

Obviously, there’s more to the story, and obviously, I’m not going to tell you what happens. If you really want to know, you’ll have to read it yourself, but honestly, the book is incredible. King’s use of description paints a vivid picture of every interaction, and the story itself is dripping with suspense. While not number one on my list of favorite books, I would never hesitate to reread this story, and I recommend it to anyone who needs something a little more nerve wracking, because this novel has all the tension you’ll need.