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Reviews tagging 'Physical abuse'
Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry
14 reviews
isthisakissingbook_'s review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
5.0
WWWWOOOOOOOWWWW
I’m a big Peter Pan retelling fan, and this one was tremendous. I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t realise the twist much sooner, but it was honestly phenomenal. I promise it’s miles away from what you’re expecting this book to be.
I’m a big Peter Pan retelling fan, and this one was tremendous. I’m a bit disappointed in myself that I didn’t realise the twist much sooner, but it was honestly phenomenal. I promise it’s miles away from what you’re expecting this book to be.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, and Murder
Minor: Sexual assault and Sexual harassment
littletiramisu's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Animal death, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Abandonment
Moderate: Gore
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.
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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Blood, Murder, Gaslighting, and Toxic friendship
Moderate: Animal cruelty, Body horror, Domestic abuse, Misogyny, Sexism, Kidnapping, Grief, and War
Minor: Xenophobia, Death of parent, and Abandonment
Additional content warnings: *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.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Toxic relationship, Violence, Blood, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, and Death of parent