It

I didn't feel like I was reading a five-star King novel for most of my time spent with It, even up to the 80% mark. Sure, It is a horror novel, and a damn effective one at that. But to call it just a horror novel would be a disservice. At its core, It is a story about friendship, and that truth doesn't fully hit until the final stretch.

The last 10% absolutely wrecked me. I was sobbing. If you'd told me I'd be crying my eyes out over It, especially after having seen the films and knowing pretty much exactly what was going to happen, I would've laughed in your face. But when this book hits, it really hits. The ridiculous length finally feels worth it by the end. The emotional payoff is huge, and the heart of the story, something no adaptation has truly managed to capture, hits you hard.

In that moment, like the characters, you forget about the monsters. You forget about the weird stuff (yes, that scene, awkward, maybe unnecessary, probably a mistake, but I don't believe King wrote it with any twisted intent). What you're left with is a reflection of your own life: the friendships you've made, the ones you've lost, and the realization that while friends may fade from memory, they're never truly gone.