Early Review – Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christine Henry (3/5 stars)

Reading Level: Adult
Genre: Fantasy
Length: 304 pages
Publisher: Podium Publishing
Release Date: July 4, 2017
ISBN-13: 978-0399584022
Stand Alone or Series: Stand Alone
Source: Amazon Vine
Rating: 3/5 stars

“There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy.

Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter’s idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite.

Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever.”

I got this book to review through the Amazon Vine program. I have been a big fan of Christina Henry’s other books (The Adventure of Alice and her Black Wings series). However this book missed the mark for me. It’s not poorly written or anything, it’s just really boring and predictable. I think part of my issue is that I was expecting something as darkly creative and lush as Brom’s The Child Thief and this book is just so much less than that.

I kept expecting the story to gain more plot and/or depth and it never really did. It just plods along and ends exactly as you expect it to. The Many Eyed Ones seemed interesting at first and I was excited for our first encounter with them; but even that feel flat for me once it was revealed what they were…it just wasn’t that big of a mystery.

Basically the big reveal is that Peter Pan is a cruel forever child, which seems anti-climatic if you think about it. I mean imagine if you were stuck between the ages of 7 to 15 forever; there’s a lot of cruelty and thoughtlessness that happens in those years. Imagine if you are never held accountable for your actions or learn about consequences. I am not saying all kids are cruel, but if you were living in that sort of environment there would be no reason to not be selfish and immature. The whole story seems like…well duh.

Unfortunately there was nothing in the story here that really hooked me and drew me in. It was boring from beginning to end and I almost stopped reading it quite a few times. This is a book I truly could have skipped. I suppose if you worship Peter Pan as a symbol of hope and innocence then this book might floor you, but I have always thought Peter Pan was creepy and cruel so this book was nothing new for me.

Overall this is one I would skip. If you are looking for a dark expansion on the Peter Pan mythos that is interesting and builds an amazing dark world around the Peter Pan story I would recommend checking out Brom’s book The Child Thief. That is an amazing book about a darker look at the Peter Pan mythology and history.

This book goes towards the following reading challenges:
– You Read How Many Books? Reading Challenge
– New Release Reading Challenge
– Flights of Fantasy Reading Challenge