My aching heart! 
 The Good: 
 I am in love with anything King. I'm not sure why since I don't enjoy horror films, but his books are just so magnificent every time I finish one, I have to pick another. The Shining was my third King novel, and possibly my second favorite. Even though the story is sad and terrifying and rather wacky, it really tugs on your heartstrings. There were several times I was close to tears because life was so unfair to the Torrence family. 
 Jack, Wendy, and Danny were all relatable in their own way, and the repetition of certain plot points (wasps, redrum, thoughts, etc) really added to the fear level. I think I loved Dick most of all. He was so brave and kindly. A great addition. 
 I must say the ending was not what I expected. (view spoiler)[The moment where Jack breaks and tells Danny how much he loves him and to run almost killed me. Nearly started crying. (hide spoiler)] It was way more emotional than I would have imagined. Definitely a better ending than what I could have hoped for. 
 The Bad: 
 The beginning and middle are slow. Really slow. I became quite frustrated because I felt like nothing was happening. Sure, Jack was kinda descending into madness, but the scary factor I was looking for didn't start until the last 50 pages or so. 
 The plot is mostly thought driven, as in the reader is up close and personal in each character's head during the first 350-400 pages. That can get kinda tedious. Otherwise it's a great book! 
 Content: 
 Language: Heavy (frequent use of just about any curse word you can think of) 
 Religion: None 
 Romance: One intimate scene between a married couple; sexual references and innuendo throughout 
 Violence: Heavy (like really, really heavy)