Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Peter Darling by Austin Chant

8 reviews

greycifer's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful fast-paced

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

4.5

I started reading this thinking it would be light fanfic, but was quickly pulled into an emotional and complex world of its own right. 

Peter Darling sunk its hooks (ha!) into me and wouldn't let go; it left me an emotional wreck in the wee hours of the morning, but in a good way.

A must-read for transmascs who have ever felt the pull of escapism.

... and godsdamnit the yearning has intensified for my own little safe haven in the woods with my found family.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Death, Violence, Blood, and Dysphoria

Minor: Child abuse, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Suicidal thoughts, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Vomit, and Kidnapping

booksnbcys's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring medium-paced

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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, and Blood

Moderate: Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War

morgiei's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

5.0

I wish I could stretch every paragraph in Peter Darling into a whole chapter so I can live inside its pages for that much longer. A fantastic read.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, and Grief

Moderate: Sexual content and Violence

Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and War

callidoralblack's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful reflective tense medium-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: War and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Bullying, Deadnaming, Gore, Sexual content, Transphobia, Blood, Murder, and Abandonment

Minor: Death, Gun violence, Homophobia, Torture, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Suicide attempt

oworthyfool's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful tense fast-paced

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

5.0

A must-read for any queer kids who dreamed about Neverland.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Child death, Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Physical abuse, Sexual content, and Grief

Minor: Ableism, Homophobia, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Forced institutionalization, and Kidnapping

There is a happy ending

notpresent22's review against another edition

adventurous emotional reflective sad fast-paced

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

4.75

When I picked up Peter Darling the book I read was not what I was expecting. This was much better. I honestly found this to be a really interesting story about learning to love yourself with a strong moral at the end. 
Would recommend 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Emotional abuse, Gore, Transphobia, Blood, Grief, Gaslighting, and Dysphoria

Moderate: Forced institutionalization

strange_little_ranger's review

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring reflective fast-paced

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

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deadnaming, Transphobia, Blood, and Dysphoria

Minor: Animal death, Deadnaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Homophobia, Sexual content, Transphobia, Forced institutionalization, Blood, Gaslighting, Alcohol, and War

orcamagicka's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional hopeful reflective medium-paced

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

4.5

This book was deeply enjoyable and I binge read it within 12 hours of receiving it in the mail. The author puts a dark fantasy spin on this beloved children’s classic while also including the struggles of trans people, especially in a time like 1800s London. Peter was deeply relatable as a transgender man. His deep rooted anger due to his trauma and also this internalized belief that in order to be manly, he must conform to toxic masculinity. He’s deeply flawed and it was enjoyable to see a character like him develop. The plot twist later in the story about Never Land completely unraveled my original understanding of the story and made it that much more meaningful to queer people. This story is less of an exact retelling and more  of a sequel, imagining that Wendy transitioned into Peter. I knew when I saw the synopsis for this story I HAD to read it. This is definitely underrated and deserves way more attention within the queer book community, especially with how little trans representation there is in media. I REALLY wish this story had been longer and given the characters and the world more time to develop. I couldn’t put the book down!

My one major criticism of the story is the ages of the main characters, Peter and Hook. While it is specified that Peter is 18 and legally an adult (more so than by 1800s England standards), it is never explicitly mentioned how old Hook is. I found this a bit troubling at times when reading because we all already have this previous image of the story in our heads, wether we read the classic or watched the Disney version. We all imagine Hook to be an older man while Peter is the boyish child. Throughout the book I was very confused as how old Hook was, in the beginning I thought he was in his 30s, then I thought he was 19, and by the end of the story based on subtle context clues and his personality I *guessed* he was at most 25. But then again, it is never specified and for all I know Hook could have easily been 18 or 19, which would have been a way more palatable age range between these two characters. And since it is established in the story that Peter knew Hook when he was a boy, I was also interested as to how old Hool was in their past interactions. Did Hook age in Neverland? Did he maintain the same age? These questions are never fully answered. And this lack of specification made certain scenes uncomfortable to read because I already had this previous understanding of the characters in my head.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Violence

Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, and Blood

Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization