Reviews tagging 'Domestic abuse'

Lost Boy by Christina Henry

25 reviews

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

strawbeb's review

adventurous dark reflective 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? No

3.75

This book was simultaneously NOT what I thought it'd be, and EXACTLY what I thought it'd be. As soon as I heard the premise and saw a few snippets, I was "hooked". And while I did have a fantastic time, maybe I set the bar too high?

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.

One of the most compelling elements is that you know Jamie/Hook and Peter will survive at the end. They must or else there'd be no story. Because you know this, and you know Henry knows this, the curious and shocking ways she writes the "in between" is made all the more impactful. There are fates worse than death.

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.

There's even a surprise female character, and of course her and Jamie have a romance. Because Jamie has both brains, brawn, and now "the girl".

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.

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Emotional abuse, Stalking, Terminal illness, Fire/Fire injury, Gore, and Domestic abuse

Minor: Abandonment, Bullying, Sexual violence, Cursing, Alcoholism, Misogyny, War, and Terminal illness

Warning to readers that have arachnophobia.

There are creatures in the book that are basically Giant Sp*ders. The descriptions of them are disgusting. They aren't focused on TOO heavily, but they do get time in the spotlight throughout the book.

Several mentions, but fortunately only two major encounters.

tarynmyheart'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
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.75

If you liked Lord of the Flies and Peter Pan + want an easy/quick read, this is it. Can be graphic at times.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Animal death, Death, Vomit, Kidnapping, Murder, Abandonment, Bullying, Domestic abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Blood, Animal cruelty, Child death, Chronic illness, Death of parent, Fire/Fire injury, and Grief

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

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

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: Gore, Child death, and Violence

Minor: Domestic abuse and Death of parent

darkty's review

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

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

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