Reviews tagging 'Child abuse'

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

31 reviews

charisreading's review

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

aely's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Abandonment, Child abuse, Stalking, War, Kidnapping, Terminal illness, and Vomit

Minor: Pedophilia, Rape, Alcohol, Cursing, Misogyny, Alcoholism, Medical content, Physical abuse, Sexism, Sexual assault, and Sexual violence

mercydesy's review

adventurous dark tense fast-paced

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

4.0

This book gives you a whole new perspective of peter pan and his lost boys and it's truly enjoyable to read.

The beginning started of really slow and reading through the first half of the book was a bit of a pain, because nothing important really happend and the book didn't really get to the point. Many scenes were way too long and could be shortend a bit.

I loved Jamies development! His anger and annoyance for Peter were pretty obvious since the beginning.

Despite that, you could clearly feel the pain that boy went through and the moment he fell completly out of love with Peter and finally started to act like that and  to grow into an adult 

The book was brutally written and at some points it was repulsive and disgusting to read if you keep in mind that 8-12 year old boys did those gruesome things like slaughtering others without a bit of mercy. This writing made the book really thrilling and fascinating for me. It was very gripping at the second half of the book because of the fast pace and hoping that your favorite side characters do not brutally die like most of the others. 
The fast pace at the end made it also very enjoyable to read and even though we know the ending of the book since the beginning, there are many small plottwists and turns that keep you occupied.

All in all I would recommend this book and encourage to keep reading even if the first half is a bit slow, it is  worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Murder, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death, Gore, and Child death

Moderate: Confinement, Grief, and Kidnapping

Minor: Child abuse, Sexual violence, Stalking, Alcohol, Animal death, Sexual assault, Alcoholism, and Animal cruelty

scully_wannabe's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I LOVED this book! It puts a new twist on Peter Pan without it feeling played out or boring. Written from Hook’s perspective, you’re given an insight into how and why he became “Hook” as we know him. This book had me obsessed  from start to finish and I couldn’t put it down. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Child abuse, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, and Child death

aparker89's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional tense fast-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

5.0

If you ever wondered how Captain Hook came to hate Peter so much, this retelling from Jaime's perspective is it! This heart-wrenching, gut punching story will literally leave you shocked and joining in his hatred! 
Peter isn't like other boys, maybe he isn't even a boy at all. Peter's idea of fun and happiness involves blood, raiding, pillaging, narrow escapes and tossing aside anyone who gets in his way- except Jaime. Jaime is special, he is the first, but he isn't up to Peter's antics anymore and that is the adventure we witness. The devolvement of friendship, the falling of the curtain of childhood and above all, discovering what the monsters really are on the island. 
Be prepared to audibly gasp, shake your head and cry for the boys who are forever lost. This book shakes the very foundations of Neverland. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Confinement, Fire/Fire injury, Violence, Kidnapping, Animal death, Blood, Body horror, Emotional abuse, Alcohol, Abandonment, Bullying, Child abuse, Suicidal thoughts, Death, Gaslighting, Gore, Injury/Injury detail, Toxic friendship, Grief, and Toxic relationship

icarusandthesun's review

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

• 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

the things i would do and give to be able to experience this book again for the first time...

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 didn't hate her character in and of itself (i guess she was even meant to debunk certain female stereotypes), but i hated the effect she had on all the others and the story.
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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Death of parent, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, and Violence

Moderate: Domestic abuse, Grief, Body horror, Child abuse, Medical content, and Terminal illness

Minor: Vomit and Gun violence

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

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

Minor: Vomit and Kidnapping

Narcissism

i_write_on_occasion's review

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: Gore, Child death, Violence, and Toxic friendship

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

Minor: Domestic abuse and Sexual assault