The hardback edition of Carrie sold modestly; it was not a best seller.[42][35] Sources of the number of sales for the hardback edition vary, ranging from 13,000 copies to 17,000 copies.[35] In contrast, the paperback edition sold exceedingly well. In its first year, the edition sold one million copies.[43][33] The sales were bolstered by the 1976 film adaptation, totaling four million sales.[42][44] Carrie became a New York Times best seller, debuting on the list in December 1976 and remaining on it for 14 weeks,[45] peaking at number 3.[46]
Carrie received generally positive reviews and has become a fan favorite. Several critics considered it an impressive literary debut.[33] Newgate Callendar of The New York Times stated that despite being a debut novel, "King writes with the kind of surety normally associated only with veteran writers".[47] The Daily Times-Advocate's Ina Bonds considers the novel an "admirable achievement" for a first novel,[48] and Kirkus Reviews believes that the debut novel is handled well by King with little nonsense.[49] Bob Cormier from the Daily Sentinel & Leominster Enterprise believes that the novel could've failed because of the subject matter, but didn't, and thus finds King to be "no ordinary writer".[50]
Various critics wrote that the plot will scare readers,[51][52][53] with Library Journal declaring the novel "a terrifying treat for both horror and parapsychology fans".[54] Mary Schedl of The San Francisco Examiner wrote that Carrie "goes far beyond the usual limitations of the [horror] genre" to deliver a message about humanity.[55] Publishers Weekly praised the novel for its sympathetic portrayal of Carrie.[56] Both Joy Antos of Progress Bulletin and Gary Bogart of Wilson Library Journal wrote of enjoying Carrie despite the foregone conclusion.[57][58] Nonetheless, Booklist stated that reading the novel required a "willing suspension of disbelief and taste".[59]
Retrospectively, Carrie has received appraisal. Michael R. Collings and Adam Nevill declared that the plot holds up decades after publication. Collings attributed it to focus and conciseness,[60] and Nevill attributed it to the characterization and structure.[61] In his literary analysis, Rocky Wood called the plot "remarkably short but compelling".[46] Michael Berry of Common Sense Media lauded the characterization and said that the epistolary structure "lend[s] a sense of realism to the outlandish proceedings".[62] While both Grady Hendrix and James Smythe similarly praised the story; Hendrix felt that the writing was awkward much of the time,[63] and Smythe found the epistolary-style extracts to be the "worst [and slowest] parts of the novel".[64] Although Harold Bloom found the characterization and style to be unremarkable, he thought the novel had strong imagery and said that "Carrie at the prom scene ... is a marvelous culmination of melodrama."[65]
