I first read IT at the ripe old age of 12 or 13. IT is not exactly and age appropriate book for a 13 year old but how many 13 year olds do you know that can read an 1100 page book? When i was reading it the first time the made for TV movie of IT debuted. I don't really remember the movie though. I do remember thinking this story is not suitable for Prime Time television. The book as I remembered it as a teenager was frightening and extremely gory. Reading at as an adult the book took on a different meaning to me.

The book is definitely still frightening. Just picturing an evil clown hiding in the sewers talking to you and saying things like "We all float down here" is extremely creepy. I'm not a big fan of clowns anyway, I think they hide an unspeakable evil beneath the grease paint but that's just me, I feel the same about the Wal-Mart smiley face. The book is also very gory. Stephen King uses imagery very well throughout the book and kept me engrossed on every page. It awakened my imagination and I could see everything I read. So the book still retained its scary and gory aspect but as an adult I found the story to be quite beautiful in its underlying meaning.

The book is essentially about seven kids defeating an unfathomable evil force that feeds on a small Maine town called Derry (many of King's books take place in Derry). This evil force takes the shape of Pennywise the Clown but has the ability to take the form of your deepest darkest fear. The true form of IT is revealed in the book and I remember thinking it was stupid as a teenager but as an adult I understand why it was what it was. The seven kids, Bill, Ben, Mike, Stan, Eddie, Beverly and Ritchie are pretty much the typical kids who are generally picked on in school. Bill has a horrible stutter. Ben is the school fat kid. Stan is Jewish. Eddie has asthma and other ailments (these ailments are caused by his mother's over protectiveness of her son). Mike is the only black kid in town. Beverly comes from the poor side of town and Ritchie just has a big mouth that gets him in trouble. All seven of them are tormented by the local bully Henry and his gang. Throughout the book Henry is slowly going crazy, a trait he seemingly inherited from his crazy father. The seven kids are drawn together and piece together what is going on in Derry. IT runs on a cycle. Every 27 years or so horrible things happen. Children start disappearing and are found dead and half eaten. Horrible acts of violence take place. These active periods last about a year and then they end and IT goes to sleep. Bill, the leader of the group, had his younger brother killed by the clown and he wants to destroy IT. They devise a plan and set out to beat it. The confrontation with IT is forced due to Henry chasing them into the sewers. They battle IT and think they kill it. Once out of the sewers they make a vow that if IT comes back they will return to Derry and defeat it once and for all.

They didn't kill IT and 27 years later they all get the call from Mike who remained in Derry. The others left Derry and became very successful people. None of them remember anything about what happened. As they all head back to Derry the memories start to come back. Stan couldn't take it and commits suicide. Once they are reunited the memories start flooding in and each have an encounter with IT. IT basically called them back to finish them off now they are not children. Eventually they have the big fight and they do finally kill IT but it cost them the life of one of their friends.

That is the down and dirty version of the story. What I found beautiful about the story is it isn't just about good versus evil. It is about the power of love, friendship and a child's imagination. They didn't defeat IT by shooting it or blowing it up, they defeated it with the power of the love they each felt for each other and their innocent child minds. They believed so much in what they were doing IT couldn't combat it. As adults our minds are occupied with thoughts of bills, jobs and other mundane things that our imaginations start to fade, unless of course you are a writer, actor or an artist of some sort. In order for them to defeat IT as adults they had to force themselves to think like children, awaken the imagination and use that love and friendship they shared 27 years ago to defeat their darkest fears.

Reading this book again made me realize how important it is to have love and friendship in your life. Without them you will be defeated by your fears. You will never be able to overcome anything without the support of the ones you love and the ones who love you back. I am not even talking about the love between a man and woman but I am referring to the love of true friendship. We are not designed to be loners, just looking at ancient history will show you that. We need each other more than we think we do. You never know when you will be called upon to defeat an unimaginable evil lurking beneath your city calling your name through the drains.