Reviews tagging 'Medical content'

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

38 reviews

emily_mh's review

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

The ending of this book is what saves it. I was going to rate this read two stars before the resolution came about and I saw what Thomas was trying to do with the story. But for the most part, I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The pacing was not it - there was no sense of mystery, tension or urgency despite the high stakes because those stakes were relegated to the background. Most of the plot ended up being Peter and Wendy essentially going on dates. Yet I couldn't feel invested in the romance because Peter is this kind of immortal being and Wendy is 18. Finally, I thought that the book lacked the magic and whimsy which made the original story so memorable.

But like I said, the ending saved this book. It provided a satisfying resolution. Apart from this I also liked Wendy as a narrator and I enjoyed the detail Thomas put into their description. I'm still going to keep reading their books as they always have intriguing and original premises, I just hope I can click more with their books in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Murder

Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail

emfass'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? Yes

3.25

Read this book in anticipation of Aiden Thomas coming to visit the Bad Bitch Book Club - they were an utter delight and I also now have a huge crush on them. Aiden told us during their visit that although Cemetery Boys was published first, Lost in the Never Woods was written first, as their thesis project for their MFA in Creative Writing.

I haven't yet read Cemetery Boys, but was so excited for this one because Peter Pan is probably my favorite story, and I absolutely love retellings. I think this story does some very interesting things with exploring the psychological connections to the Peter Pan story, and in the way it explores grief and trauma and memory. It was much darker than I expected, but I really liked the fresh take on the story of Peter Pan and Wendy.

There were a few times I struggled with the pacing and staying engaged. The reveals at the end are a great payoff and make perfect sense for the story, but parts of the plot leading up to that felt a little slow...though on the flip side, that also allowed for slowing down enough to sit with some of the after-effects of trauma. (Also I just seem to be in a grumpy reading slump in general right now, and am having trouble getting swept away in books like I was just a couple months ago.)

CW:

Kidnapping, grief, death, gun violence, child death

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident

Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Stalking

acrea17's review

adventurous dark lighthearted tense slow-paced

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

3.25

I enjoyed this book but found I wasn’t drawn to pick it up often. It wasn’t one that stuck with me between reading sessions and I felt like I actually wanted it to end. I did enjoy this darker twist on Peter Pan - it has an almost true crime element woven into the magic and mystery surrounding Peter and Wendy. The book was very dark in some places but in others it was lighthearted; the banter between Peter and Wendy was cute and created a sweet relationship. I felt like the pacing was rather slow, however, and felt my mind drifting in many places. I know this is a young adult book and the beginning was so PROMISING but the pacing just wasn’t consistent. It was an interesting premise but the book didn’t deliver as much as I thought it would. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Medical content, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Alcoholism

ashleycmms's review

adventurous challenging dark emotional funny mysterious reflective tense medium-paced

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

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol

Moderate: Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping

Minor: Car accident and Death of parent

kharlan3's review against another edition

dark emotional slow-paced

3.25

i wanted to like this book. i liked the author's other book. i.... did not like this book.


(YA, fairy tale retelling).  Honestly, this one didn't super work for me. The protagonist felt immature (but like she was supposed to seem mature) and the story felt fairly predictable. Usually I like YA but this felt... too YA. I didn't like that the MC cut herself off from her best friend for the whole book and that that was portrayed as the right choice, and though most of the characters in the book didn't like/are scared of cops, it still felt like the BOOK likes cops.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol

alyxinthestars's review

dark emotional mysterious tense slow-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, and Grief

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism

wanderonwards's review

challenging dark emotional mysterious sad slow-paced

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

3.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident

mxfahrenheit's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Body horror, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident

alylentz's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

This was so excellent. A bit slower to get into than <i>Cemetery Boys</i> for me, but I didn't see the twists coming at all and was completely blown away by about the last 50 pages. Can't wait to read whatever Aiden Thomas publishes next!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder

Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, and Car accident

Minor: Medical content

emeraldelephant's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad slow-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

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, and Grief

Minor: Medical content