Reviews tagging 'Confinement'

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

18 reviews

emfass's review

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, Grief, Gun violence, and Kidnapping

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

Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Stalking

ashleycmms's review against another edition

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, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Kidnapping, Medical content, and Violence

Minor: Death of parent and Car accident

alyxinthestars's review against another edition

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: Grief, Child death, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Confinement, Gun violence, and Medical content

Minor: Alcoholism

wanderonwards's review against another edition

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

stardustandrockets's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted mysterious sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I did NOT see that ending coming. Talk about your dark take on Peter Pan. Hot damn. I'll hopefully have my thoughts collected and a more cohesive review up soon!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood

Minor: Alcoholism

ofbooksandechos's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious slow-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

I liked this but the more time passes, the less I remember what this book was about 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Kidnapping, and Medical content

caseythereader's review

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious tense slow-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

3.25

 📚 LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS is not just a modern retelling of Peter Pan, but an exploration of loss and grief, and the many ways trauma and PTSD can manifest for survivors of terrible events.
📚 I loved Peter and Wendy's dynamic - the fact that Peter isn't a static young boy in this version gives them so much more room to grow.
📚 Thomas' creepy visuals remain a highlight of his writing.
📚 The big drawback of this book for me was that because we already know the classic Peter Pan story, we are a few steps ahead of Wendy for much of the book. Even when the plot is unfolding fast, it still feels like it drags a bit while we wait for her to piece things together. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Murder, and Violence

whatiskatelynreading's review

dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No

3.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Grief and Kidnapping

Moderate: Child death and Confinement

Minor: Gun violence