Reviews tagging 'Death of parent'

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

46 reviews

cozywithraven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

I love this book. I've read it twice now, and it has a really wonderful way of pulling you in. It leans into what we already know and accept as canon and finds the threads that pull the narrative into a dark twist without completely re-writing the characters and making it into something unrecognizable. I wish some parts were more fleshed out, the fairies and pirates especially. The book goes a great job of showing the island itself, Peter and Jamie's relationship, and Jamie as he grows. But I feel like some of the magic is lost,

the mermaids aren't really described and only appear once, the pirates are only interacted with once. The Many Eyes are a cool touch and I like how they're described. And the ending doesn't tie together the crocodile eating Hook's hand, or Hook becoming captain or even just arriving at the pirate camp.

the ending just felt really stunted compared to the test of the book. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Kidnapping

Narcissism

i_write_on_occasion's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A very enjoyable read, with only one glaring issue I had with it. That issue, however, was not enough to detract from my overall enjoyment 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Violence, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Animal death, Child abuse, and Death of parent

Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault

hazelrinn's review against another edition

5.0

fav peter pan retelling, so good

Okay, one crit now I'm done basking in the good. I wish the romance pair was fleshed out a bit more, it's a bit flat even if I like both characters from it.

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Content Warnings

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

definitelynotnina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark tense medium-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

5.0

It was not at all what I expected when I picked this up, but it's a wonderfully twisted version of the story. Not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual violence and Outing

iamlexy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Vomit

ksuazo94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

tymtoread'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? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I honestly love a good retelling of classic children's fairytales, and this one is no different. It's the story of Peter Pan told from the perspective of the notorious Captain Hook (A.K.A Jamie). It really goes to show how growing up changes our perspective on life, as we lose the carefree sensibility of childhood and add the burdens of the people we care about to our own. 

It's cruel,

it doesn't end well,

and it really makes you understand why Hook hates Peter so much. I do too tbh.

I'm devasted. Harry's death had me thinking, "Okay, so this is serious." And then Del, who fought so hard it makes my heart clench a little bit. And then the boys with the cannonball. And then Fog, and Crow, and Sal. I honestly thought we were going to end up with only Jamie, but his duckling and Nod made it out okay, if we can even call that a win. Plus, the PLOT TWISTS??!? Sal being a girl?? Peter killing Jamie's mother?! Battle LITERALLY sustaining Peter's life?!?!! I couldn't keep up. The sheer rage Jamie must feel when he sees more boys on the island. I really do understand it tbh. His cruetly and manipulation is equal parts impressive and maddening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death of parent, and Murder

booksanddopamine's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• 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? Yes

3.0

I had a hard time figuring out what rating to give this book. The writing was well done and I was interested enough that I didn't DNF it. However, the whole time I read it I didn't quite like it, maybe because it's just not my jam. It was brutal, violent, and certainly dark, but not what I would call horror. Lost Boy was very Lord of the Flies - esque, a book all these years later I look back on with strong dislike. 

I didn't feel like I had time to emotionally connect with the lost boys but still found it hard to listen to the details of their gruesome deaths. The pacing was also hard for me. It took a while to get going, then most of the fast-paced action involved graphic violence. I liked the ending but it felt rushed and I was left thinking, "Wait, that was it?" 

The book did a fine job showing why Hook hates Peter Pan so much (in this prequel at least which doesn't rely heavily on the original story of Peter Pan), but it painted Peter in a purely evil light. I hoped there would be more shades to him rather than a completely selfish, conniving, unhinged, uncaring jerk. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent

darkty's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal cruelty, Animal death, Child death, Death, Blood, Death of parent, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment

Moderate: Alcoholism, Animal cruelty, Animal death, Body horror, Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Gaslighting, and Abandonment

Minor: Gore, Rape, Violence, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship

thathiplass's review against another edition

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Domestic abuse, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail