Reviews tagging 'Child death'

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

73 reviews

peeshpish's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Physical abuse, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Child abuse, Body horror, Child death, Death, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Toxic friendship, Bullying, and Grief

Moderate: Animal death, Chronic illness, Animal cruelty, Domestic abuse, Medical trauma, Fire/Fire injury, and Medical content

Minor: Sexual harassment, Kidnapping, Rape, Misogyny, Sexism, Sexual violence, Trafficking, Gun violence, Cursing, Alcoholism, Alcohol, Sexual assault, and Abandonment

tifftastic87's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

Peter told the boys they would play games and have adventures, they would never grow up and they would be boys with him forever. Peter lies. Jamie has been on Peter's island for longer than he cares to think about, and through all those years he's been looking out for the other boys and burying them when he wasn't able to. But when Peter went too far, bringing back a boy too young, Jamie started to really look at Peter and didn't like what he found there. 

This was the pick me up I needed after some let downs this month. I am probably a little biased as I love the story of Peter Pan and Captain Hook, and especially the ideas of Peter being not what he seems. This was a Hook origin story and I really liked what Henry did with the lore and characters. As an oldest sibling, Jamie was so relatable. I felt for him even when the characters he was attached to weren't well developed, he was and his emotions were so it picked up the slack a bit. There was a lot this could have done better, the ending was a little rough and some of the characters were a little flat but overall it was really good. Hands down I would read a sequel. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Murder, Child death, Gun violence, and Blood

Moderate: Child abuse

Minor: Misogyny

dottiewankenobi's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

there were a few small things I thought were done in a clunky way, but overall this story knocked me to the ground and bashed my head in as if I was the one in Battle,,, but like in a good way? I'm crying too hard to write a good review

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Murder, Child death, and Gore

meesha_mo's review against another edition

dark tense fast-paced

• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

For some reason, I thought

Sally

would make it. I would classify this as horror fantasy because I felt horrified at the end.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, Death, and Child death

Minor: Sexual violence

priscillarobock's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Blood, Body horror, Child death, Toxic friendship, Bullying, Death, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Gore, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, and Animal death

charisreading's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? No

5.0

I’m a huge sucker for Peter Pan related stuff :( The story and reimagining are fantastic, and the complicated relationship and constant sense of danger we’re handled brilliantly. There were some points where the writing felt a little immature but I think I’m a little above the target audience anyway.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Murder, Toxic friendship, Grief, Death of parent, Death, and Violence

unicornofblue's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Child abuse, Violence, Confinement, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Blood, Bullying, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Sexism, Toxic friendship, Vomit, Child death, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Animal death

Minor: Rape

bcsylve's review against another edition

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Animal death, Blood, Violence, Child death, and Death

Moderate: Gun violence, Toxic friendship, Fire/Fire injury, Animal cruelty, and Emotional abuse

Minor: Addiction, Alcohol, Physical abuse, Sexism, Misogyny, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Alcoholism, and Domestic abuse

gabography's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

If Peter Pan has a million haters, I'm one of them. If he has one hater, it's me. If he has 0 haters, I have died. If the world is against Peter Pan, I am with the world. If the world is for Peter Pan, I am against the world.

Okay, that aside this was an incredibly gripping read. I would have finished in a day if it weren't for obligations.  So many things in this story just make sense if you're familiar in any way with the Peter Pan story. There's something so odd about him and Neverland that's just written off as magic and childish whimsy, but thinking about it too hard makes ol' P.P. a bit of a creepy figure who is more in the wrong than people may think. Even before reading this book I'd wondered as a child what exactly did Hook do that was so bad to earn Peter's constant torment and pestering beyond being annoyed with the little bastard who refuses to mature or be responsibility. Hook is one of those childhood antagonists that doesn't really feel like one if the only lense looked at him with is "well, he spoils the fun of children" because... so? and?
The author painted such a tragic image of the boy who would captain the Jolly Roger that it is impossible not to join Team Hook-Did-Nothing-Wrong before it's done. Literally everything that's led him to the point of becoming Hook was casued by Peter's  meddling and you'd have to be on something to even try to convince me that he shouldn't give that "kid" what he deserves. I also feel like I am never going to look at the more cheerful depictions of Peter and his Lost Boys the same way after this book

revealed that the children brought to Neverland from the "Other Place" are all but sows being saved for slaughter, so the blood spilled through Peter's games are what keep the island teaming with magic and Peter young, all-knowing, and immortal

. That went beyond the "Lord of the Flies" vibe that is very present and true, so it's going to stay with me for a little bit.
While some retellings of childhood stories can edge too close to "look at how edgy everything is oooooh", Henry truly Told A Story with sympathetic characters you root and feel for, believable dangers and stakes, and an ending that is both understandably bleak and still hopeful for the day, somewhere, somehow, Peter finally stops getting his way. If only for there to finally be justice for everything he's caused in the name of fun.

Edit: f it. changing my 4.75 to a 5 because this book really grabbed me. No notes on the writing (Henry did great) or any characters beyond the antagonist getting on my nerves, so yeah. A perfect book if you know what you're looking for and what you're getting into.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Violence, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, Gaslighting, Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Grief

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Gore

therealanakin's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? N/A

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Toxic friendship, Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Gaslighting