Reviews tagging 'Murder'

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

67 reviews

icarusandthesun's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious medium-paced

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

4.5

the things i would do and give to be able to experience this book again for the first time...

i first read lost boy around 2 years ago, give or take a few months. and i was in love. baffled. shocked. totally immersed and utterly impressed by all of henry's brutal, brilliant and exciting ideas.
[this was the book that sparked my passion for re-tellings (of peter pan and others)!]
jamie and peter's relationship is so frighteningly interesting and nuanced; the manipulation, the jealousy, the betrayal, the absolute madness - i loved it all.

the book is very character-driven, and with that i mean most of the book is the characters getting slaughtered or slaughtering each other. the plot beyond that was scarce, but that's okay because the pages were filled with other things, namely clever ideas, fantastic revelations and intrigues (but sometimes, sadly, also kinda lengthy scenes).

there's only one thing i didn't like, neither back then nor now, and it's the whole thing surrounding sal.

i didn't hate her character in and of itself (i guess she was even meant to debunk certain female stereotypes), but i hated the effect she had on all the others and the story.
i hated how the revelation that she's a girl seemed to change everything, from the boys' thinking to their language to even the narration (suddenly noting her physique and random blushing and so forth). and i hated how jamie came to the very quick realisation that he loved her right there on the battle ground. it was strange.
her whole arc didn't fit into the story and she brought a certain aspect to the book that i didn't enjoy. perhaps it was the romance that was obviously inevitable (because she's the only girl and jamie the main boy, which is just so stupid). perhaps it was the possibility of a happy ending. i don't know. the book seemed to lose its tone and charm as soon as jamie fell for her and even became a little unenjoyable from this revelation on until her inconsequential death. it got better after that, though.

but the ending was great. like really. it was impactful and so so SO thrilling.
still one of my favorite christina henry books, even after nearly 2 years.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Gore, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Body horror, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Terminal illness, Medical content, and Grief

Minor: Gun violence and Vomit

cozywithraven's review against another edition

adventurous challenging 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? It's complicated

4.5

I love this book. I've read it twice now, and it has a really wonderful way of pulling you in. It leans into what we already know and accept as canon and finds the threads that pull the narrative into a dark twist without completely re-writing the characters and making it into something unrecognizable. I wish some parts were more fleshed out, the fairies and pirates especially. The book goes a great job of showing the island itself, Peter and Jamie's relationship, and Jamie as he grows. But I feel like some of the magic is lost,

the mermaids aren't really described and only appear once, the pirates are only interacted with once. The Many Eyes are a cool touch and I like how they're described. And the ending doesn't tie together the crocodile eating Hook's hand, or Hook becoming captain or even just arriving at the pirate camp.

the ending just felt really stunted compared to the test of the book. 

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Content Warnings

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

Moderate: Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Medical trauma, Stalking, Murder, Fire/Fire injury, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Vomit and Kidnapping

Narcissism

hazelrinn's review against another edition

5.0

fav peter pan retelling, so good

Okay, one crit now I'm done basking in the good. I wish the romance pair was fleshed out a bit more, it's a bit flat even if I like both characters from it.

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Content Warnings

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

hayleystagg's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? No

3.5

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child death and Murder

definitelynotnina's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark 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? Yes

5.0

It was not at all what I expected when I picked this up, but it's a wonderfully twisted version of the story. Not for the faint of heart.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body horror, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Gore, Violence, Blood, Death of parent, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail

Moderate: Animal cruelty, Child abuse, Misogyny, and Kidnapping

Minor: Sexual violence and Outing

iamlexy's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

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

Minor: Vomit

ksuazo94's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional sad tense medium-paced

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

3.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Child death, Confinement, Gore, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Death of parent, Murder, Gaslighting, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

slightlylostwriter's review against another edition

adventurous dark 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? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail

tymtoread's review against another edition

adventurous dark emotional mysterious sad 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? It's complicated

4.5

I honestly love a good retelling of classic children's fairytales, and this one is no different. It's the story of Peter Pan told from the perspective of the notorious Captain Hook (A.K.A Jamie). It really goes to show how growing up changes our perspective on life, as we lose the carefree sensibility of childhood and add the burdens of the people we care about to our own. 

It's cruel,

it doesn't end well,

and it really makes you understand why Hook hates Peter so much. I do too tbh.

I'm devasted. Harry's death had me thinking, "Okay, so this is serious." And then Del, who fought so hard it makes my heart clench a little bit. And then the boys with the cannonball. And then Fog, and Crow, and Sal. I honestly thought we were going to end up with only Jamie, but his duckling and Nod made it out okay, if we can even call that a win. Plus, the PLOT TWISTS??!? Sal being a girl?? Peter killing Jamie's mother?! Battle LITERALLY sustaining Peter's life?!?!! I couldn't keep up. The sheer rage Jamie must feel when he sees more boys on the island. I really do understand it tbh. His cruetly and manipulation is equal parts impressive and maddening.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Gore, Death of parent, and Murder

kathigusi's review

adventurous dark emotional 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

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Physical abuse, Violence, Blood, Murder, Toxic friendship, and Injury/Injury detail