BUT - to give the guy credit (where it is due) he may have just been following the same-old-same-old that writers always have.
I mean, ‘Carrie’ was every bit as much a ‘coming of age’ (with special powers) story as any other. Or a persecuted person (through no fault of His/her own) who rose above it all (aka Jesus Christ).
It could go either way - because Carrie IS triumphant in the end.
Or it could just be a story of teenage angst, LOL!
Now my head hurts... *SMIRK*
That’s a good point. One guy in my writer’s group was telling me about a certain bestselling novel, and he mentioned that the villains are the equivalent of religious fundamentalists. He seemed to think that was very cool and satisfying, but I told him it’s a tired cliche. Who knows if the author has anything personal against ‘fundies’. He/she may just know what secular editors like.
Fwiw.