Lost Boy by Christina Henry- Book Review

Most of us know the story of Peter Pan and Captain Hook. The two caught in an epic battle- Peter as the Boy who doesn't grow old and Hook as the Pirate who lost his hand to an crocodile. But, what happened before that story? How did these two wind up hating one another? That is what is focused on in Lost Boy.

Peter Pan is the fun loving boy who hangs out with his gang "The Lost Boys." The gang fights pirates, wrestle with one another, and follow Peter's every whim.

Jamie is one of those Lost Boys. He has been on the island, following Peter, longer than any of the other boys. He is Peter's right hand boy. Jamie is Peter's strategist, his conscious, and he is starting to doubt Peter's leadership.

In Jamie's eyes, Peter has started to become too brash and has put the Lost Boys in danger on a number of occasions. He begins to notice that every time a Lost Boy dies, Peter just goes to the Other World to get a new one. Originally, Jamie was one of those children from the Other World, but his grasp on that world is slipping except for a dream that continues to haunt him. Jamie also notices that as he begins to doubt Peter, he begins to grow older. What is Peter's connection to the island and why does he need these boys? Why do the pirates exist on this island, if it is Peter's island? Is Peter a psychopath as Jamie begins to suspect?

When I received this from NetGalley, I was really excited. I loved what Christina Henry did with the Alice in Wonderland story in her book Alice and Red Queen, so I couldn't wait to see what she did with Peter Pan. Henry did not disappoint either.

I can see individuals hating this book because of how Henry paints Peter. He comes off as a crazed psycho, rather than the fun loving, joyful, Disney Pan. He craves violence, pits the Lost Boys against one another, and has a frantic way about him. He also begins to keep secrets from the rest of the boys and especially Jamie.

At the same time, the book is narrated through Jamie's eyes. We know who he will become from the very beginning, so as he begins to doubt Pan, one wonders- is this just Jamie's perspective or is this really who Peter is?

The story moves rather quickly and builds to a frantic pace as the book winds up. I found this a great page turner and didn't want to put it down. It is all on the shoulders of Peter and Jamie's relationship and it works in the book. I kept feeling like Jamie loved Peter deeply and it was breaking his heart to  doubt Peter. This was destroying him.

There were a few places in the book that seemed a bit forced, but they were not too distracting. One could figure out, once the reveal was there, what was going to happen to certain characters or who did a key item from the very beginning, but it didn't take away from the read.

I wound up liking this one more than I thought I would. I loved Peter as a frantic psycho. I wound up giving this one 4 stars.

Thank you to NetGalley for allowing me to read this book early in exchange for an honest review.