Lost Boy
Ratings34
Average rating4.1
It's a bit of a slow start, but I really ended up enjoying how the story unfolded. And while I had my suspicions about who Jamie was when I started (it's obvious by the American cover so avoid looking at that too closely, but I have the international one because it's better designed), it was actually a bit of a surprise by the last chapter. All of the retellings of Peter Pan I've read make Peter out to be basically a monster, like this one, which is probably not what [a:JM Barrie 16940170 JM Barrie https://s.gr-assets.com/assets/nophoto/user/u_50x66-632230dc9882b4352d753eedf9396530.png] had in mind but it's a lot more of a realistic idea. This is different in that it's from the POV of a Lost Boy that's been on the island for a long time (Jamie mentions hundreds of ‘seasons' have passed, I assume he means years but they're in a temperate climate so there'd only be a slight change between summer and winter) so he knows Peter more than any others and isn't still dazzled by the magic of Neverland. There are some new elements like giant tick-like bugs that seem to have some intelligence and the fact that none of the boys are aware of the fairies or their flying magic dust until later in the story. If you like darker retellings of classic fairy tales, definitely check this one out. And if you like this one, also try [b:The Child Thief 6308379 The Child Thief Brom https://images.gr-assets.com/books/1336347513s/6308379.jpg 6493440] - still my favourite retelling of Peter Pan.
The way they go deeply into Peter as a characte was amazing. I loved the way he was really slowly discovered to be this psychotic child. And how the way he is describe shifted along with the story. I keep comparing it to Lord of the Flies even though its so different. Either way I far preferred this.
I enjoyed it. It's an intriguing, and often violent backstory of Peter Pan and Captain Hook where Pan is described as a psychopath. I wish it was longer, there's a long bloody path to Jamie breaking away from Pan, but you're left without a satisfying resolution. I would be interested to know how exactly Jamie and his other rescued Lost Boys actually manage to become leaders of the Pirates. And of course, a truly satisfying ending would result in Jamie finally taking revenge on Pan.
I have always been interested in reading theories about Captain Hook before Peter Pan and I was so excited to see this book and read it — and it didn't disappoint! It was different enough that you don't feel you're just reading about the island we see in the film but also has enough little hints to things to come. It was a bit of a slow start for me but once you get about 1/3 of the way in the story really picked up the pace and I really enjoyed it.
When reading these type of books. The ones that are a rewriting of tales I am super familiar with. Thi howveer was all I could expect. It is much darker than the tradional tale. As an example the games playd are often leading to death, Peter when a lost boy dies just turn to get a new one, and we also quickly undertand who the mc will become later on I really enjoyed reading this book. It was just a little too long chapters for my taste4.75/5
A very enjoyable read, as always from Christina Henry. I would say neither as dark/horror nor as unexpected as Alice. I always interpreted Peter Pan as a sinister figure, even as a child, so the flipped villain narrative in this one was sadly less novel for me.
OH MY GOODNESS, THAT WAS SO GOOD! I will try my hardest to make my brain work in order to process the things that I just read because I'm totally in shock right now.
Lost Boy, is about the “true” story of Captain Hook before we knew him as Peter Pan's greatest enemy, but he's not immediately called Captain Hook from the start, he was once a boy named Jaime. Back in their old days, both Peter and Jaime, were just boys. They played together, did all the fun together and they never grew old. They were the best of friends until Jaime realizes that Peter was not a great friend after all, because Peter is nothing but a liar, a manipulator and he never cared about any of the boys that he brought in the island.
This is a perfect retelling where the story we used to know was completely interchanged. We get to see how Jaime's love for Peter has blinded him from seeing how dark and monstrous he actually is. This book literally played with my feelings. It made me treasure the friendship that Jaime and Peter had and it also made me frustrated and angry because of Peter's selfishness. Now, I can fully understand where Captain Hook's hate towards Peter is coming from. I don't have anything much to say except everything in this book is exceptional and I can't wait to read more of Christina Henry's books in the future.
Reading this during a depressive period when I'm not feeling like reading is weird. It's just so okay but it refuses to go where it promises to go. I wish there was more but not because it's so good but because it needs to continue; original material be damned.