Misery, by Stephen King, is about an author, Paul Sheldon, who, while drunk, crashes his car in the Colorado wilderness. He is found by his number one fan, Annie Wilkes, who is caring, but insane, burning his latest manuscript and making him drink soap water because said manuscript had too many swear words in it. Both of Paul’s legs are broken, and he realizes he is helpless and he knows he can’t escape Annie’s house. After another “Misery” novel comes out, a popular series written by Paul, Annie goes completely nuts when he kills off the main heroine. Annie holds him captive and forces him to write a sequel where the heroine, Misery, comes back to life. All the while, Paul becomes addicted to a fictional painkiller, Novril, and Annie repeatedly punishes him through torture for various reasons.

Sounds like an uplifting, family-fun filled novel, doesn’t it?! While reading Misery, I felt, well, miserable. Well, besides the disturbing subject matter, this book is amazing. It’s scary, suspenseful, and gut churning in some parts. It also has great detail, story, and characters. Also, it begs the question, is Annie wrong for torturing Paul into writing a sequel? She loves Misery, and she would do anything to save her life, even if Misery is fictional. Also, Paul is really complex, as he is somehow connecting his captivity, the book, and his life, to an obscure childhood memory of an african bird. I recommend this book to high schoolers, as it does have graphic language, violence, and content.