Reviews tagging 'Emotional abuse'

Die Chroniken von Peter Pan - Albtraum im Nimmerland by Christina Henry

31 reviews

belathora's review against another edition

dark emotional 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? It's complicated

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Violence, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Kidnapping, Toxic relationship, Blood, Injury/Injury detail, and Body horror

liketheriver's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad 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

 This book was such a page-turner and it’s been a hot minute since I’ve sped through a book so fast. There were so many twists  that kept me on my feet, wondering and worrying about where the characters will end up.  And as for our protagonist, Jamie…you can practically feel the weight of all the years he’s lost by the time you turn the last page. 

 

What I liked the most about this book was that it just seamlessly fits with the original Peter Pan story. Original Peter was already a menace to begin with, but this book really casts that in a whole new light. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Child death, Injury/Injury detail, Emotional abuse, Toxic friendship, and Gore

l_ander's review against another edition

dark fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Bullying, Abandonment, Kidnapping, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, and Grief

howlsbreakfast's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This is the origin story of

Captain Hook

This POV that I never would see as a kid who grew up watching Peter Pan. Like wow. It all makes sense now. Christina Henry wrote this so well. The twists?!! *chefs kiss* hella dark

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Blood, Genocide, Death, Child abuse, Injury/Injury detail, Violence, Grief, Emotional abuse, Child death, and Gore

Moderate: Fire/Fire injury and Toxic friendship

Minor: Death of parent and Domestic abuse

andromeda_1998's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious 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

4.5

I have a weak spot for Peter Pan retelling and I’ve read multiple ones I like. Lost boy is one of the good ones and a close second only to the childthief by brom. I liked that this story was more a prequel to Disney’s Peter Pan instead of a full retelling inspired by the original book. It was different and in a way more accessible. Everyone has seen the Disney classic but most people didn’t read the book. What makes lost boy one of the best retellings out there? 

Characters 
I loved Jamie as a main character. He is sweet caring, but also morally grey. I would do anything to protect his boys even if that means killing others. I like that he is softhearted but still strong. 

Worldbuilding 
Neverland is Neverland, it’s magical ik all kind of different ways and I’m
Thankful Christina Henry updated the story. She took out some of the racist elements of the story and she found a way to still stay true to the world Disney put onto screens worldwide. 

Story 
The story is set before the Disney movie, like i said multiple times before, and has a lot of darker elements. I’ve loved the way this
Books has been written so much! I recommend this book to anyone! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child abuse, Death, Toxic friendship, Mental illness, Death of parent, Grief, Kidnapping, Blood, Body horror, Bullying, Violence, Domestic abuse, Gore, Murder, War, and Emotional abuse

tprsjr's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence, Blood, and Emotional abuse

desiderium_incarnate's review against another edition

adventurous dark reflective tense fast-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

4.25

Meine Sicht auf Peter Pan wurde sehr verändert, weshalb die Originalversion viel an Leichtigkeit und Magie einbüßt. Das finde ich sehr schade. Andererseits ist es meisterhaft, wie gut dieses Buch zu der Welt passt. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Animal death, Blood, Bullying, Child death, Child abuse, Death, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Fire/Fire injury, Gaslighting, Gore, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Murder, Sexism, Toxic friendship, and Violence

morganish's review against another edition

dark sad tense 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

4.0

Full disclosure, I was in a rush and needed to read this for a book club, and could only get it on audiobook, so... 1. There might not be things I remember as clearly as if I was just reading. But 2. This was my first audiobook since... middle school!? Just, a really long time. I kind of just want to download all my thoughts about becoming a recent audiobook convert here instead of a review, but I'll do my best to focus on the actual book instead. 

Lost Boy is a Peter Pan prequel from Hook's perspective, where Peter Pan is a monstrous, manipulative sociopath. It's a really fantastic metaphor for how abuse, especially abuse of minors, works psychologically by pitting victims against each other, explored in a variety of ways that absolutely pull no punches. If you can hang with that kind of content, I can't really recommend it highly enough, and definitely sets this book at least at 4 stars for me. 

But as deeply entrenched as I was in the narrative, there's a particular plot direction somewhere vaguely in the middle of the book that really, really didn't work for me. From a queer lens in specific, it felt like a bit of an oversight how it's handled, though I'm not sure straight/cis readers will notice or think much of it. It soured a lot of the rest of the story in overall enjoyability for me personally. And then, ultimately, the ending felt like it was trying to wrap up and intersect with the canonical version of Peter Pan. This focus on intersection felt like it undermined the story's powerful themes, trying to hit a checklist of events instead of giving Lost Boy the emotional/psychological ending it deserved. For me, these two negative aspects stood out enough to take what was initially a really gripping story and put it in the category of enjoyable for the moment, but not making it into a new favorite. 

If you like retellings or tie-in stories about classic children's tales, especially if they shed a new, more adult, darker light on the original, you should seriously consider picking this up. From what I've seen so far, it succeeds at this more than any other retelling I've encountered. However if you're triggered by stories that realistically explore how abuse works, I definitely would advise proceeding with caution. And I'd also say if you have no tolerance for stories that don't consider/make space for queer interpretations of certain kinds of plot devices or storylines, this might not be the story for you. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Gore, Murder, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Sexism, and War

Minor: Abandonment, Death of parent, and Xenophobia

Additional content warnings: *

A character who is previously believed to be another lost boy is accidentally revealed to have breasts. No acknowledgement is made either by any characters or the text itself that this person could be trans. Additionally the MC (who had been growing close to said character before the reveal) and all of the other boys instantaneously find themselves with crushes on her, the lone major female character in the text. Which I read as problematic for being both a sexist portrayal of female characters and as a weird, unnecessarily forced "no homo" decision for the book.

lilly_anne'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? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Death, Emotional abuse, Murder, Torture, Toxic friendship, and Violence

juliezantopoulos's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was the dark Hook origin story/Peter Pan retelling that I didn't know I wanted but for sure did. I adore Peter Pan retellings (much more than the original) and this one was gory, and brutal, and heartbreaking. I loved it! I have yet to see a Peter Pan retelling that paints Peter in a positive light, and this one sure didn't. I loved the spin and even though the story itself was harrowing it spoke to trauma, loss, grief, and family. It didn't shy away from difficult topics, abuse, or violence, but that's the way life is sometimes. This one isn't for the faint of heart or those who want a retelling with faeries and lighthearted games...you won't find that here. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Grief, Murder, Toxic relationship, and Violence

Moderate: Physical abuse, Death of parent, Domestic abuse, Bullying, and Child abuse