Reviews tagging 'Toxic friendship'

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

10 reviews

queenofodas's review against another edition

adventurous dark sad medium-paced

• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? No

2.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Racial slurs, Racism, Toxic friendship, Violence, and Murder

Moderate: Animal cruelty and Misogyny

camiclarkbooks's review against another edition

adventurous funny hopeful lighthearted fast-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? No

4.5

“Peter Pan” is a classic, it’s undeniable. It’s the quintessential tale of childhood whimsy and imagination, which contrasts nicely against the underlying theme of the inevitability growing up. 

It is important to note that Barrie’s book is from a very different time and thus feature outdated views and language. 

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Content Warnings

Minor: Toxic friendship, Racism, Racial slurs, Bullying, and Sexism

tattymouse's review against another edition

adventurous medium-paced

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

1.5

A huge shock to read this book for the first time in 2024 and be horrified by its contents the entire way through. Which is a shame, because the method of narration and sentence structure in the book are lovely and magical and are the only reason this gets a 1.5. The content issues I had cover all types of concerns: Peter routinely murders both children and adults and this is completely glossed over as something that doesn't alarm the children at all. Yet I see no indication in the text as to why this particular type of violence wouldn't stir them from the childhood spell Neverland seems to cast, especially when they're perfectly capable of remembering many nice things about the real world. The language used to describe the Native tribe is racist enough, but there is also a chapter of generalizations about Native People's versus "the white man" and that chapter in particular was difficult to listen to. Throughout the book there are several mentions of food and body size that I would also be very hesitant to let any child hear. And the father in the book is maybe the most unlikeable character I've encountered in children's literature, and that includes villains. 

Reading this book once was enough - it will not get a place on my bookshelves and I hope my children never ask to read it.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Sexual content, Animal cruelty, Misogyny, Sexual harassment, Child death, Toxic friendship, Emotional abuse, Bullying, Violence, Sexism, Murder, Racism, Body shaming, Physical abuse, and Suicide

marsh_mall0w's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional fast-paced

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

2.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Misogyny, Racism, Murder, Cultural appropriation, Sexism, and Toxic friendship

Moderate: Grief and Violence

mitzee's review against another edition

adventurous funny sad fast-paced

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

3.0

Surprising in many ways:

• The prose was funnier than I thought it would be. 
• Some parts were actually more graphic  than I had expected it to be.
  like the descriptions of pirates killing people
• Definitely contains the same racist tropes I first learned about in the Disney film and actually contains racist slurs, which I was not expecting.
•  I also didn’t expect to dislike Peter so much.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Toxic friendship, and Racial slurs

Moderate: Murder

Minor: Animal death

ok7a's review against another edition

adventurous dark medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Racism, Racial slurs, Misogyny, and Violence

Moderate: Abandonment and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cannibalism

writewithapendragon's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

OBVIOUSLY PROBLEMATIC REPRESENTATION OF NATIVE CHARACTERS, slurs included, stereotypes used. Period-typical language and stereotypes.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Racial slurs, Abandonment, Bullying, Murder, Racism, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Blood, Child death, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Sexism, Misogyny, and Toxic friendship

Minor: Cultural appropriation, Cursing, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Violence, Animal death, Toxic friendship, Toxic relationship, War, Murder, Racism, Sexism, Abandonment, and Racial slurs

niche's review against another edition

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Child death, Racism, and Toxic friendship

lisa_m's review against another edition

• Loveable characters? No

3.0

It's a good book and it's exciting to read the original story. It is quite  brutal though and Peter Pan is the most unlikable character in my opinion. Even Hook is not as bad as he is.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Death, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Toxic friendship, and Violence

kat_mayerovitch's review against another edition

adventurous dark funny medium-paced

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

3.0

Wow, how do you even review a book like this? 

Let's get the elephant in the room out of the way first: this book is racist. Like, super, grossly, offensively racist. If you saw the movie or the play, know that it's worse than that. Hoo boy, don't read this book to children. 

All that said, this book is cynical as heck, darkly funny, and scathing in its descriptions. The narrator hates ... pretty much all of the characters. The adults, including Captain Hook, are obsessed with appearances and social class. The women and girls are weak. The boys are gullible. Peter is arrogant beyond belief and can only stay innocent because he loses track of how many people (adults and children) he's murdered. Perhaps the only character portrayed as being worthy of admiration is Nana, the dog. Which ... is fair. Dogs are great. Put Nana in charge of everything. But still.

So, is it worth a read? Sure, if you're curious. It was fun to see so many lines I remember from the stage play. If you like cutting humor, sure. It's quite a roast. But otherwise, there are plenty of better children's classics to return to. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Racism and Racial slurs

Moderate: Violence, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Sexism