Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

33 reviews

ka_ke's review against another edition

Too triggering. As an oldest sibling/child myself I found Wendy’s character to be too real. The anxiety, and the panic attacks all caused by her overwhelming sense of shame, failure and guilt hit too close to home. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Emotional abuse, Gaslighting, Grief, Medical trauma, and Panic attacks/disorders

Moderate: Abandonment

Minor: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Medical content, and Mental illness

allygator's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad tense fast-paced

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

4.5

This was such a unique Peter Pan adaptation. Aiden Thomas is a genius for making such a classic story into a YA horror/mystery -- it works so well. I couldn't put this down, it was so engaging and fast-paced and I was so invested in how the story was going to end. I loved the characters, and I was so tense trying to figure out what was happening to them. I was so nervous to pick this up after loving Cemetery Boys so much, but I was not disappointed. This has definitely cemented Thomas as an auto-buy author for me, and I can't wait to read what he puts out next.
I loved how well this book touched on trauma and PTSD, it felt very authentic and it made Wendy a much more compelling character than she was in the original story. I wasn't sure how much I would love her romance with Peter, but it wasn't overwhelming in the story and I honestly kind of enjoyed it. The trauma within Wendy's parents was really well-written and had me crying at some points.

When Peter speaks to Mrs. Darling in John and Michael's voices when she sleep talks??? I had a whole crisis.

I also really enjoyed Jordan's character, though I wish she had more page time. In general, this was a lot less diverse than Thomas' debut, but it didn't really detract from the story for me. The ending had me shaking it was so good, it was so bold and scary because it definitely could happen in today's world.
All in all, this was such a good retelling; I highly recommend picking it up.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Murder, Blood, and Gun violence

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Car accident, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Cursing, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit

ruthie__reads's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny mysterious sad medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Grief, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Gun violence and Mental illness

Minor: Animal death and Car accident

ainsley_reads's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny medium-paced

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

5.0

I think this is the best book I ever read. The characters were amazing the writing was great. The story was so Good and I was crying at some part. I am going to recommend this book to everyone.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Murder

Minor: Alcohol, Blood, and Mental illness

ali_k0's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional funny mysterious 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? It's complicated

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, and Kidnapping

Moderate: Mental illness, Medical content, Cursing, Injury/Injury detail, Panic attacks/disorders, and Sexual harassment

lipstickitotheman's review

adventurous emotional 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

2.5

It's not a bad book; I just didn't particularly enjoy it.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Alcoholism, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Child death, and Death

zythnillawafer's review against another edition

dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death

Moderate: Alcohol, Alcoholism, Body horror, Death, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, and Murder

brokereader's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious tense fast-paced

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

5.0

Absolutely loved this. The way the Mc develops and work through her mental problems is just amazing. Really amazingly written. Even though some of the themes in this book is heavy it’s an easy too read book. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Mental illness

Minor: Child death

anniereads221's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

I am so glad i was able to reread this a year later, this book still means so much to me, i loved this peter pan retelling that gives such a fresh take on the tale, but a take that i even thought about before this book and when i realised where this one was going i knew it would have such a special place in my heart

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Death, Child death, Alcohol, Mental illness, Medical content, Kidnapping, and Grief

emily_mh's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious slow-paced

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

3.0

The ending of this book is what saves it. I was going to rate this read two stars before the resolution came about and I saw what Thomas was trying to do with the story. But for the most part, I didn't really enjoy reading this book. The pacing was not it - there was no sense of mystery, tension or urgency despite the high stakes because those stakes were relegated to the background. Most of the plot ended up being Peter and Wendy essentially going on dates. Yet I couldn't feel invested in the romance because Peter is this kind of immortal being and Wendy is 18. Finally, I thought that the book lacked the magic and whimsy which made the original story so memorable.

But like I said, the ending saved this book. It provided a satisfying resolution. Apart from this I also liked Wendy as a narrator and I enjoyed the detail Thomas put into their description. I'm still going to keep reading their books as they always have intriguing and original premises, I just hope I can click more with their books in the future! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Kidnapping

Moderate: Car accident, Medical content, Child death, Death, Blood, Gun violence, Grief, and Murder

Minor: Violence, Injury/Injury detail, Fire/Fire injury, Animal death, Vomit, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Ableism, Alcohol, Alcoholism, Misogyny, Confinement, and Torture