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strawbeb's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Christina Henry is an addictive writer. Whether I was in love with what I was reading, or if I felt it was lacking, regardless I always turned the page. And I ended up finishing the entire book in two days (would've been one, but it arrived in the mail late in the evening.)
On "one hand", Lost Boy accomplishes exactly what it promises. It's a dark twisted version of the original tale. Heroes are the villains, and villains are the heroes. There is A LOT of death, blood, violence, psychological abuse, and then some. And none of it feels gratuitous. There's always a narrative purpose for the dark deeds that are done. Christina Henry writes "darkness" excellently.
Alongside this, the plot is intense and keeps you engaged.
On the "other hook", there were flaws I noticed. For one, while Jamie is an endearing character that you can't help but root for, at times he felt a bit like a Gary Stu. Perfect and amazing at everything, with everyone looking up to him all the time, and complimenting him at practically every turn.
The pacing also felt disjointed at times. Peter wastes nearly five (5) ENTIRE pages going on about a story about a crocodile. I did understand the significance of the tale, but I truly doubt it needed that many pages and details to get across. This was the worst time the pacing felt terribly slow.
But towards the later half of the story, a vital character suddenly switches sides. It's incredibly abrupt and feels like it comes out of nowhere. And then, barely even 3 pages later, the character returns back to their original side again. It felt like this might've been a scene Henry brainstormed early into production, then got further into writing only to realize she couldn't fit it in, but out of sheer determination, crammed the scene into the plot anyways.
All in all, the book definitely has flaws and is far from perfect. But what it does well, it does really well and it will keep you on the edge of your seat regardless of what chapter you're on. Flaws aside, I do wish Christina Henry would return to this world and these characters again. For a sequel sounds like it would be a wonderfully grand adventure.
Graphic: Animal death, Body horror, Child death, Death, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Terminal illness, Stalking, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Alcoholism, Bullying, Cursing, Misogyny, Sexual violence, Terminal illness, Abandonment, and War
Warning to readers that have arachnophobia.mykday's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
This book is dark and graphic and leaves some important elements unresolved...but it felt intentional.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, and Murder
lizrosereads8's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Gore, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Death of parent
annuminas's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
The relationships and dynamics between the characters are fantastic
It truly is a book that sticks with you.
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
tarynmyheart's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Bullying, Child death, Chronic illness, Death, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Blood, Vomit, Kidnapping, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail
josoko's review against another edition
- Strong character development? Yes
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Emotional abuse, Sexism, Torture, and Gaslighting
Minor: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping
aely's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.75
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Vomit, Kidnapping, Stalking, Abandonment, and War
Minor: Alcoholism, Cursing, Misogyny, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexism, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Medical content, and Alcohol
sarahbiegelsen's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.25
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Violence, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Torture, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
Minor: Gore and Kidnapping
rosenau's review against another edition
- 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
4.5
Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, War, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Animal death
icarusandthesun's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
i first read lost boy around 2 years ago, give or take a few months. and i was in love. baffled. shocked. totally immersed and utterly impressed by all of henry's brutal, brilliant and exciting ideas.
[this was the book that sparked my passion for re-tellings (of peter pan and others)!]
jamie and peter's relationship is so frighteningly interesting and nuanced; the manipulation, the jealousy, the betrayal, the absolute madness - i loved it all.
the book is very character-driven, and with that i mean most of the book is the characters getting slaughtered or slaughtering each other. the plot beyond that was scarce, but that's okay because the pages were filled with other things, namely clever ideas, fantastic revelations and intrigues (but sometimes, sadly, also kinda lengthy scenes).
there's only one thing i didn't like, neither back then nor now, and it's the whole thing surrounding sal.
i hated how the revelation that she's a girl seemed to change everything, from the boys' thinking to their language to even the narration (suddenly noting her physique and random blushing and so forth). and i hated how jamie came to the very quick realisation that he loved her right there on the battle ground. it was strange.
her whole arc didn't fit into the story and she brought a certain aspect to the book that i didn't enjoy. perhaps it was the romance that was obviously inevitable (because she's the only girl and jamie the main boy, which is just so stupid). perhaps it was the possibility of a happy ending. i don't know. the book seemed to lose its tone and charm as soon as jamie fell for her and even became a little unenjoyable from this revelation on until her inconsequential death. it got better after that, though.
but the ending was great. like really. it was impactful and so so SO thrilling.
still one of my favorite christina henry books, even after nearly 2 years.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief
Minor: Gun violence and Vomit