This is the best kind of adventure story--just what you'd expect from a Peter Pan retelling--pirates and mermaids and naughty little boys. But those naughty little boys follow a sort of Lord of the Flies society, where only the strongest survive, and Peter is king.

Not everything is pixie dust in Neverland.

In fact, this is a story about abuse, emotional and physical, and the horrible cycle of gaslighting. Jamie slowly realizes how dismal his situation is, but how does he get himself and everyone else, off the island?

I'm pretty sure my eyes just got bigger and bigger as I was reading this. Christina Henry turned a children's story (though, to be fair, the real Peter Pan is kind of a dark character to begin with) into an intensely deep metaphor for real life domestic violence. THIS IS NOT A DISNEY STORY. There is magic at play, but it is dark dark magic.

I think my favorite part about this book was the hidden meanings everywhere. Pay attention when Peter talks about playing. It's innocent at the beginning, but he really starts to get twisty as the book goes on. I won't spoil anything else, but this is a story you really want to focus between the the lines, and not just dabble on the surface. You're going to get lost in Neverland. Just make sure you know how to get back out again.

In a world full of fairy tales and happily ever afters, it’s always refreshing to read a retelling that has a dark side. LOST BOY: THE TRUE STORY OF CAPTAIN HOOK by Christina Henry definitely fit the bill and I loved every creepy, eerie, and scary moment of it. The entire story was just cloaked in darkness. If you love Peter Pan…well, let’s just say you won’t after reading this retelling.

Jamie is our narrator for the entirety of the book, and we get to see from the perspective of a boy who has been there from the beginning. The story we all know and love about Peter Pan is far from the truth. The promise of never growing up, adventures, and endless fun are how Peter lures his new play things to his island and away from The Other Place. In reality, the island was full of nothing but darkness, death, and danger – in the form of the pirates that Peter taunts, and the Many-Eyed, just one of the monsters that inhabit the island (their entire chapter gave me the CREEPS).

I don’t want to give away too much of the story. It’s an adventure all its own and I would hate to ruin it. Jamie – who will later become Captain Hook – is slowly beginning to see Peter for what he really is and because of this the wonder and love is wearing off. Jamie is slowly beginning to grow up as he learns new things about his friend.

With new boys being brought to the island by Peter, Jamie learns the hard way that caring for and watching over them is a bad idea. Peter will go to extreme and twisted lengths to keep Jamie all for himself. We quickly learn that everything Peter does is just to keep Jamie as his friend and play thing – and he does NOT like to share.

If you want a great retelling with a slasher movie twist, then you need this one! Not only will you love Captain Hook, but your love for Peter Pan might disappear with this one! Henry did an incredible job setting the scene, developing the characters, and building a story so that the reader’s rose tinted glasses are taken off so we can see the real Peter Pan.

I give this 5/5 stars!

Big thanks to Berkley Publishing for the advanced copy in exchange for my honest review!

We all know the story of the heroic Peter Pan, and the villainous Hook. But, what if that story wasn't the whole truth? Lost Boy is a dark, imaginative retelling of the illusive Captain Hook. Christina Henry paints us a dangerous picture of Neverland and our beloved Peter Pan. This one is a story of peril and nightmares, of sorrow and betrayal.

The Plot: Peter promised Jamie they would be friends forever. He promised they would never grow up and never die. Peter made a lot of promises, but the promise he didn't make was to care for the boys he brought to the island and ensure their safety. It's all fun and games until a boy gets eaten by a crocodile, or killed by a pirate.

Lost Boy hooked me from the beginning. I fell in love with the lost boys and cared for Jamie. I feared Peter Pan. I found humor in the games the boys played, and felt sadness when a lost boy died. I felt fear when the boys faced the Many Eyed, and felt wonder when the island was described to me in detail. The author did an amazing job with transforming Neverland in to something dark and dangerous. She made me feel like I was fighting alongside of the boys and gave the characters such depth. I didn't need long histories on each boy to know that they came to the island with Peter because their lives in the Other Place were unsatisfactory, and dangerous even. I felt the childish innocence and the child-like wonder emanating from each character.

Jamie, of course, was my favorite character. He cared so much for the boys, and at one point, cared deeply for Peter. He had a hard life in the Other Place, so it was no wonder that he followed Peter to the island. He was a major father figure to the rest of the lost boys, and through his struggles on the island, it is obvious why he would become Captain Hook.

Peter was such a complex character. It is definitely hard to re-write a beloved character from a classic tale that everyone loves, but Henry did such a phenomenal job with his development and characteristics. He was dark and dangerous. Brooding and conniving, yet he had all the boys fooled in to loving him. He cared only for himself and about having fun and playing games, but underneath he was quite murderous. He definitely prayed on the younger, weaker boys like Charlie.

Charlie is so adorable and lovable. He represents the childish innocence of all the boys. He is kind and caring, and definitely a little gullible. He is taken under Jamie's wing and is a wonderful representation of Jamie's heart.

Lost Boy is a fantastic, horrific retelling of two characters we have grown up with. Their personalities are redefined so well that you can really believe that this is the true story of Captain Hook and Peter Pan. This book holds all the fun, humor, and child-like wonder that we know and love from the original story, but offers so much more in the way of darkness, peril, betrayal, and heartache.

Thank you to NetGalley and Berkley Publishing Group for providing me with this free e-ARC in exchange for my honest review!

I have heard of lot about this author from her Alice book but since I am not a Wonderland fan I never tried it. I am on the other hand a Captain Hook fan and I am not a Peter Pan fan which is a good thing cause I hated Pan in this book. :)

Jamie is Peter's first boy and the one he loved the most but as years went by watching all those other boys die because of Peters fun and games he is starting to see another version of Peter. In trying to save the lost boys that are left Jamie starts to grow up. Just a little at a time and he hopes that Peter doesn't notice because he doesn't allow boys to grow up.

Peter never cared about any of the boys but Jamie. He didn't care if a boy got killed as he would just go and get a new boy. When he got Charlie and he was to small to really play with he gets jealous of Jamie's relationship with the young boy. It starts a spiral of events.

I felt so bad for Jamie and could slowly see why he would start to grow up. His blinders are taken off when it comes to the Peter that is not fun but evil. Peter is just pure evil, those who like Peter Pan might not like this book, but since I was not a fan I loved hating Peter. I rooted for Jamie and the other lost boys. Not all the lost boys were great but they never deserved the bad things that happened, well there was one I hated and he deserved what he got but the others didn't.

I have never read the original Peter Pan but I have never been a fan of any of the movies, except Hook, so I don't know exactly how Peter is in that story but this is a very dark story. It has a few features that you might associate with Peter Pan like the crocodile. :) It could be a little gory at times as well. At times in the beginning it was a little slow to me but once it picked up I just had to know how it was going to end.

This book is about the story behind Captain Hook on how he went from being one of the lost boys' of Peter Pan to being Captain Hook. This story focuses on the relationship between Jamie/Captain Hook and Peter Pan.
Overall I rated this book four stars out of five. This was a very creative story. You can definitely tell how creative the author is by reading this book. I really did enjoy the story. It was dark, but lightly entertaining. The only thing I was wishing for was more excitement. I kept reading waiting for the moment I would fall in love with this book, although I really liked that book this moment never came and I was completely expecting and hoping it would. It seemed that this book was missing something as for what I can't seem to put my finger on it. But I definitely am glad I read this book and am looking forward to reading "The Chronicles of Alice" series that I have already purchased.
I would like to thank Netgalley, Christina Henry, and Berkley Publishing Group for giving me the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

Now, I know I haven't read too many retellings, but this one has to be one of my favorites!

Every lost boy that lives on the island was pulled in by Peter's promises of never growing up, never having rules, never having to be told what to do, and of being happy, forever. They were supposed to live happily ever after...

But that's not what happens.

This is a retelling of Peter Pan told from Jamie aka Captain Hook's point of view. I think that's one of the biggest factors that pulled me to this story. I'm a sucker for books told from villains or complex character's point of view. The kind that are "misunderstood" or you can never quite tell if they're good or bad. Jamie fits that well because there is just the one version of him that everyone knows, and this is him telling his side of things. Jamie telling his truth.

Peter doesn't start off too bad. He's kind of petulant and irresponsible, but he is just a kid so you just kind of shrug it off. All the while we have Jamie right next to him and it is the biggest contrast. He's the one always caring about the lost boys, making sure they're clean and fed. Peter makes a joke that Jamie is basically like their mother and that he babies them all too much. That's pretty accurate, but it makes me love him that much more. Jamie was definitely my favorite character in this book. 

It's only when Peter starts telling his "ghost" story that it starts to get a bit creepy. That was when I started going "I think Peter is a little darker than I thought". Things start changing between Peter and Jamie before they get back to the tree, when Jamie is reminded of exactly how dangerous Peter can be. If you like dark retellings this is a good one because there will be danger, blood, violence, and not everyone will survive.

However, it's not until Battle day that the rest of the boys stop blindly worshiping Peter. After the Battle, everyone starts to see Peter in a new way--seeing the worst parts of him. This is also when the boys start changing physically (although it's not explained until later I could kind of guess the reasons behind it). The actual explanation for how the boys stayed young forever was kind what I expected but it was still so twisted and creepy in a way. It fit the story though, because of how selfish Peter was, how everything had to be his way, and how he had to be that "shining sun".

There was also some budding romance in this book that caught me a little by surprise, for reasons I can't exactly give without spoiling a secret about another character. Once I knew about that character though I could see it coming--and I really wanted Jamie to be happy, because he deserved something of his own. I felt like he needed someone else to share the weight of everything he dealt with for years. 

I was also really pleased with the relationship between Jamie and Peter because of its complexities. On the one hand, Jamie loved Peter so much because of what he'd done for him. They were supposed to be best friends forever... But Jamie could get tired of Peter's antics sometimes, and of having to be responsible to make up for Peter's childishness. I think Jamie made Peter out to be so dependent on him, because Jamie was the first boy on the island, and Peter couldn't stand to share Jamie with anyone. But Jamie was kind of the same about Peter. He needed to know that he was special to Peter, that it would always be just them when it came down to it because he was the first, and that there were no secrets between them. And even though he could really hate Peter at times, he never considered leaving to the Other place. Jamie was just as dependent on Peter's praise and assurances as Peter was dependent on Jamie's love and devotion. It was a very destructive and unhealthy friendship/relationship that made me love this book. 

In the last section of the book things pick up fast and the stakes get raised even more. Everyone knows what kind of person Peter really is, and he's not holding back anymore. Which is as scary as you think it would be when you read/consider everything that he did before in the book. I loved Nod in this part of the book because of how he finally let out everything he felt about Jamie and how he could finally appreciate everything Jamie had done up until then. 

The ending of the book tied things together really well. Pretty much everything I'd wanted to know about Peter was answered. I knew why he had done so many things. And it wasn't so simple as him just wanting someone to play with. He had darker reasons too that made the island seem like less of a paradise. I think how things ended between Peter and Jamie was really fitting because it plays into that whole destructive relationship aspect. Neither of them can really let go of one another, no matter how much hate boils between them. I felt upset coming to the ending because I was rooting for Jamie, and I felt he had been wronged. But I loved it at the same time because it was such a good ending!

I am highly recommending this book for anyone who likes retellings, especially dark retellings! It does feel like it moves a little slow in the first part, but I really enjoyed the focus on character development. The only other thing that knocked it down a peg was that there were so many characters coming and going that sometimes I forgot who these side characters were (not that they were terribly important). But still, just something to keep in mind. 

This wonderful book is coming out on July 4th so please, please, please, go check it out if you have the time because it is well worth it!

*review will be published to my blog on June 26th, I will update with the link at that time

Great job providing a compelling back story for Captain Hook! The plotting and pacing move everything along perfectly. The well-drawn characters will make the reader want to take sides and identify with the injustices they feel. Certain situations are harsh and gory, but not out of line with the nature of the story. Terrific alternative point of view for fans of retold classics.

As always, Christina Henry is a queen.Besides Disney, I don't have a whole lot of exposure to Peter Pan, so this was a more than welcome background to one of Peter Pans' more interesting characters.

This was much better than I expected. It took me a few pages to get in to the style of Jamie, the narrator, but after that I was hooked, pun intended! This origin story for Captain Hook is a riveting look at what made him who he is. The revelations of Peter Pan's origins and just exactly how he stays young were shocking. I will definitely be purchasing this book for my school's library.

Peter lies. Peter is a manipulator. Peter thinks only of Peter. He is not the rescuer of unwanted children. He is not a magical hero or purveyor of fun and excitement. Peter is a monster, but the boys he brings to his island are too naïve to realize, until it is too late, but the boys did have Jamie.

Jamie was one of Peter’s first boys. Jamie was the teacher, the nurturer, the voice of reason, the protector and the one whose attention Peter craved the most. Jamie knew the real Peter, the ugly side of the boy who never wanted to grow up. What he didn’t realize was the length Peter to which would go to keep his island world as his personal fiefdom, until Peter pulled his most cruel stunt ever and Jamie fought back for all the boys lost, all the boys who were tricked by Peter and all the boys who died for his entertainment.

Christina Henry’s Peter Pan is not the fantasy boy in a wonderful world of adventure. LOST BOYis a tale of a truly lost soul in search of the love he never understood, a boy jealous of real little boys who knew family and love and security, a boy just skewed enough to use his “boys” as pawns in his wicked games.

Told through the eyes and heart of Jamie, we see a world that is not as pretty, not so magical, but rife with deceit, treachery and lies, because, as Jamie says, Peter lies…and someone must pay the price. That price will give rise to Captain Hook, as we must decide, was he really the villain or just another of Peter’s victims?

Fabulous story telling with an intriguing concept that feels right as one boy fails to mature while those around him may, but only after they have seen through his façade and learn to think for themselves with both their minds and their hearts. For as much as I felt badly for Peter and his lost soul, there isn’t a boy in this tale that one wouldn’t want to protect and save.

I received an ARC edition from Berkley in exchange for my honest review.

Publisher: Berkley (July 4, 2017)
Publication Date: July 4, 2017
Genre: Fantasy | Fairy Tale
Print Length: 302 pages
Available from: Amazon | Barnes & Noble
For Reviews & More: http://tometender.blogspot.com

Deliciously dark and equally as captivating, Lost Boy is the novel you have been waiting for!

Posted on OuroborosFreelance.com on 5/16/2017:

A plethora of books on the market now retell old fairytales. Skip all of these – read Lost Boy by Christina Henry instead!

Lost Boy is Jamie’s story. Jamie is the first boy that Peter Pan brought to his island. He is also the defacto father-figure for the other boys, but only because he is the “oldest” and realizes that they still need to eat and, occasionally, bathe. And given that their lives consist of roughhousing, battle simulations, fighting off the Many-Eyed, and ransacking the pirates’ camp, he is also the closest thing to a doctor the boys have.

Everything changes when Peter brings back a boy who is younger than usual. Charlie is only five years old, and takes much of Jamie’s time and attention. Much of the book deals with Peter’s jealousy over Charlie and Jamie’s relationship and the schemes of Peter to separate Jamie from the young boy.

The addition of Nip and Sal bring further complications, of which you will need to read yourself.

And then after many crying jags (mine) – Captain Hook.

Suffice it to say, I will never look at Peter Pan the same again. I am now and forever a Captain Hook fan.

A review copy of this book was provided by the publisher. (A huge thank you to Berkley Publishing Group!)

Rating: 95/100

Buy this book July 4th!

Christina Henry, author of the chilling Alice, which is a brilliant re-telling of Alice in Wonderland, has shifted focus to a new fairytale. In Lost Boy, readers get to experience the story of the boy-who-never-grew-up through the origin story of his arch-nemesis. And what a story it is.

Jamie is a fierce fighter- the best. And he protects the younger and weaker members of those lucky few that Peter brings back from the real world or in this tale, the Other Place. This protective instinct is sneered at by Peter who accuses Jamie of "babying" or "mothering" the boys. In truth, there is no worse insult in Peter's arsenal. Grown ups either abuse you or take your stuff or both. They're pirates.

The stage is set. Love and hate intertwine with magic, blood and, of course, a little bit of fairy dust.

Peter lies. With just that one sentence I knew we were not going to be fed the Disney version of Peter Pan. More like the Grimm's Fairytale version. 

If you read Ms. Henry's Alice, you know this isn't going to a sweet, lovely tale. And it isn't. It is dark and Peter is not a nice boy at all. The tale is told from the viewpoint of Jamie, Peter's favorite playmate. And life is full of fighting pirates and each other and playing in the ocean. Until Jamie starts noticing things. 

This Peter is cold, menacing and uncaring of his lost boys. Basically a narcissistic sociopath.  While Peter and Jamie are pretty well-developed as characters, the rest of the boys weren't. We didn't really know their stories and I wish we had, but this was more Jamie and Peter's story, so I understand. 

I'm sure this will do quite well overall. It just wasn't right for me.  Release Date is July 4, 2017.

Everyone grows up knowing the fairytale of Peter Pan...but what if all of our lives we've been told the wrong story? A fairytale to keep keeps happy, thinking this story exist, but its just a fairytale. This story gives us the true story of Peter Pan, the one that will make you see the infamous hero in a different light. We follow Jamie ( as the story is told from his perspective) and Peter, we learn how Pan takes boys from the other place, and brings them to this magical island... But everything is not as it seems, he promises no rules and fun all the time, but then they come and he has rules that all must abide by, and its not all fun and games all the time. Throughout the book Jamie begins feeling tingly in his legs and arms, and day by day he finds himself taller, and thinking in a new way.. Is he growing up finally? And why now? You get the answers to all these questions and you will quickly figure out who Jamie is in the infamous fairy tale we all know and love. This was a great twist on a classic and i loved this version much more than the tale we were told as children...

I received a DRC from publisher in return for a fair review.

What a great retelling! Makes me very sympathetic for Hook. This book is dark, gritty, and full of adventure. It starts off with Peter and his early band of misfit boys. He has collected them over the years, and replaces them when one dies. James was the original Lost Boy, and the favorite of Peter's. He has always been the responsible one, taking care of the others. Over the many years he has spent with Peter he has slowly become disillusioned with his hero, and his adoration has become something of a different nature. When Peter pushes James too far, it's a battle to the end - and the beginning of the original tale.

This was a fun intense read. Even though the reader knows what is going to happen and how it will end, the action and emotion portrayed by the characters draws readers into the story and keeps them invested in the outcome. Peter is a narcissistic sociopath with no care for anyone. James fights valiantly for the boys, but in the end, they are set to be forever at war with each other.

I may be more of a villain at heart as I love reading their backstories and getting to know their motives, and this one definitely puts a different spin on things. A perfect read for those who like their retellings to be a little darker.

Review for Monster Librarian forthcoming. I'm not usually one for villain backstories, but this one was really well done.

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.

I continue to enjoy the trend of novels retelling classic fairy tales, so when this story came into my radar, I couldn’t wait to read it. The author grabbed me in quickly with the story of Captain Hook and immediately gave the book a “hook” of its own by seeing him as a boy himself.
The idea of Captain Hook, “Jamie”, as Peter Pan’s first lost boy was brilliant. Henry gave Jamie a great voice that started out quite young, even if it was a little old considering he is telling the tale as a man, and then grew as the story went on. There was a great feel for Jamie’s moods, concerns, and changes as each day passed and each event took its toll on him.
Peter was presented as the new villain, and embraced the character. He was brilliantly manipulative and positively terrifying at times, yet we wasn’t fully rounded. He was presented as a whiney kid that did anything to get what he wanted, and although there was more and more depth showing the lengths that he would go to get his way, there was no real insight into Peter’s life.
The story itself, fell somewhat short. It seemed to drag on from point to point and never really reached an ending that would satisfy a younger reader. Jamie’s voice became droning as he, more and more, began to realize the true Peter. His thoughts were understandable, but quite repetitive. I wanted more insight into the island instead of Jamie’s head most of the time. I felt that the battle between Peter and Jamie was too short for the amount of buildup and then the story fizzled out quickly after. We saw why Jamie left Peter and the reasons behind his anger. What was left out, and much needed, was his path to becoming Hook.

I'm thoroughly enjoying the way this author is going back to stories from childhood and reinventing them from her insights into a older feeling Alice and even the infamous Red Quenn . So obviously a somewhat darker look at the Peter Pan story held great appeal. Now I admit it's set before the more well known story and honestly it's a lot more intense then any Disney version. Please don't expect singing and happy times but be ready to see the boy that didn't grow up as a lot more monstrous then previously portrayed.
This is essentially a glimpse into just how Captain Hook might have become Peters arch nemesis . We know they were enemies but what started it? Well how about Jamie was once a boy who ran, played and laughed with Peter? An original 'lost boy' brought to a magical island to keep Peter company and never grow old alongside other playmates . The problem is Peter is a child with all the egocentric feelings that youth can bring. He doesn't understand love or loyalty and is utterly selfish to the point that only his own needs and gratification are important . Here is were Jamie struggles as he's seen so many of the other children who are promised eternal youth and happiness by Peter fall and yes he's buried them. This story slowly escalates as characters fight amongst themselves ( think Lord of the Flies) with pettiness, jealousy and violence rearing their ugly heads. Yet all this is escalated by Peter as he pushes , plots and then even he makes big mistakes that change so much.
So not a typical piece of fan fiction that could have been written about Neverland and if Peter Pan is your hero then here he is solidly given feet of clay! This was a shock and very harrowing to read at times. I'd read about half and had to go to bed but my mind kept returning to this story and the characters turmoils which shows I think just how gripped I was by it. What I will say is that it's Jamie who dominates this story with an almost absent mercurial Peter. Seeing the different dynamics as Jamie was portrayed as the caring protagonist and Peter frankly is possibly the villain but then I remind myself that it's a portrayal of a side of childhood we ignore . Not a sweet , funny retelling. Yet I was totally immersed in it even if at times the utter bloodthirsty antics horrorified me. Yet I finish by understanding just possibly why Hook and Peter became unwavering enemies . I'm left with a sense of sadness and the hope that in real life friends can always be there to support each other .
This is a voluntary review and my thoughts and comments are my own honest and I believe a fair opinion