I've never read an entire book as mindfully and almost physically painful as this is. I didn't initially care about Trish and her continuous failed decision making (because let's be honest, none would ever really prepare us thoroughly for that kind of situation, let alone a kid stuck in a forest), but then I started to feel her pain, the agony she was going through, and what seems like an endless journey which leads to nothing but death. After all, that's what books are here for, right? To make us empathize with the characters as if they were a friend, a family—or even ourselves.

At the back of my mind, I knew the things she was afraid of, the It she was afraid of, is just a made up thing, and Steve's portrayal of her hallucinations was on-point that I started to believe It myself. Although at times I even hoped that It was just watching and protecting her all along. I liked the bits of comic relief throughout which made me chuckle a couple times, and how Steve never forgets the importance of this style so as not to bury readers of too much terror.

I will be able to sleep earlier tonight.