Christine by Stephen King

Shane | Allentown High School, Grade 11

Rating: *****

Christine follows the story of Arnie Cunningham, a teen who after feeling like a waste for most of his life finds purpose in restoring a crimson red 1958 Plymouth Fury. Having been bullied most of his life, and growing up in poverty, Arnie couldn’t help but jump at the chance to buy Christine from alongside the road. The deal just seemed too good at $250. His love of the car afterwards grew into an addiction where he wouldn’t leave its side, pushing everyone he loved away for the sake of being with this vehicle. If only he had known about the true darkness that had possessed the car before buying it, and maybe, just maybe, he could have saved the unfortunate townspeople to be killed by the grill of the Plymouth on its joy ride through Pennsylvania without a driver in its seat.

I really liked this novel, despite how bizarre the story got the further I read on. It brought a new nightmare that wasn’t already so deeply explored by other writers, and it somehow managed to make a car scary. The combination of a decent plot, characters of both innocent and guilty intentions, and incredible detail to the environment allowed for this story to succeed in a way that most people would expect to fall flat. Props to Stephen King, but truly, I believe that this is one of his best works that could really be better appreciated for its originality.