Book Discussion
Book Discussion - Lost Boy
Hello Nail-Biters!! We hope you enjoyed this month's read and you are ready to discuss the book!
- What is your general review of this book?
- Which part of the original book/Disney version/other retellings would you have liked to see explained in this story?
- Which secondary character's origin story would you have loved to read?
- Which scene in the book do you consider the most important?
- After Lost Boy, which retelling would you love to read? And which path would you like it to follow?
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We also launched our e-mail account thenailbiterbookclub@gmail.com to which you can e-mail your submissions, questions and any feedback!
Have fun!
Because I stopped reading at about 60% of the book, I won't rate it, however, I will tell you the reasons I could no longer keep reading.
ReplyDelete- The Gary Stu trope. Jamie is a Gary Stu: a character so "speshul" so much better than everyone else, that becomes ridiculous and distracting. We were told (REPEATEDLY) that he was the tallest, the strongest, the kindest (with Charlie) but also the most dangerous and brutal (chopping off hands and such). He was the most everything, while the rest was nothing but second rate. And, I quote, "They all thought they were special, but only I was. I was the first and none of them could take that from me. I was first and best and last and always." Which would've been a great part of the story if we weren't told this every step of the way. It became ridiculous in my opinion, like a wish fulfilment story for the author and it really got on my nerves.
- There was barely any story. It was 5% action, 7% dialogue and 88% Jamie thinking about things that we already knew ("I'm special" "Charlie needs me" "I'm Peter's favourite" "I'm so strong" "I could kill anyone" "But I must protect everyone" blablabla) And this information instead of being told repeatedly, could've been shown through action, through story and plot. But wasn't.
-The writing style was inconsistent. Sometimes it tried to be very fluid and musical and grand, like poetry and old-timey prose, but then would slip into informal, simple and standard prose like most YA nowadays. I like both proses, I just don't like the changing back and forth.
- The only parts I genuinely liked about the book were the world building and the magic feel of the story WHICH weren't the author's at all, it was from the original Peter Pan book. Meaning, the author didn't contribute to the actual story, in my opinion. She did explain and add some details to the world, and added the Many Eyes as big threat to the boys, but those parts weren't well developed enough for me. (Like the characters and plot.)
I stopped reading, in summary, because the novel read like an underdeveloped, poorly executed fanfic rather than a retelling novel.
When I gave up, I wondered if it got better and if I were missing a great book, but later I found out the book introduced another cliche I hate and I'm very glad I didn't get to that part of the story.
A retelling I'd like to read would be of the Arabian Nights, but without the misogyny and racism, and with a focus on Sherazade's story rather than gloss over it. I think her story was so fascinating but was never fully developed.
There are a few YA retellings of the Arabian Nights out there which I've been meaning to read.
Awesome review!!! "Speshul" killed me ahahaha I really have to read Arabian Nights, and that's an amazing idea!
Delete1) Lost Boy
ReplyDelete2,5*
Pros: Retelling of a beloved tale. Nice world-building. Some well-done links to the original story. Good description of battles and fight scenes. The gore was well-written too.
Cons: Lots of repetition: we get it, all the boys loved Peter and Jamie was the first and best (was there really a need to repeat it every sentence?). Underdeveloped characters, both secondary and main characters. Lack of emotional depth from Jamie (he really only had two thoughts on repeat). Gary Stu trope. Little to no physical description of characters. And worst of all, insta-love, which happened in literally three sentences, and the sexualization of children.
2) From other versions, I would have liked to know more about Tinkerbell, how she lived, how she met Peter, how she learned to speak with the Many-eyed. In this same version, I felt like the ending was too focused on Jamie, and I would have liked to know what happened to Nod and Charlie. Did they stay with Jamie? Did they eventually returned to the Other Place? Did they grow old and die or were they cursed like Jamie was?
3)I would have loved to read the origin story of Tinkerbell, as I've mentioned, but also of Nip and Crow.
4) I think a big mark was Peter's story of the duckling and the crocodile. It was pretty standard, but in my opinion it changed the storyline's direction and changed the perception of many characters.
5) I'd love to read a retelling of Rapunzel (I heard there are a few good ones)! I would love to read retellings of mythological tales from other cultures too.
I really enjoyed this book but then this is probably my first fairytale retelling so didnt really know what to expect!
ReplyDeletePros: I loved the magic of the story.
The world-building to me was pretty awesome.
I liked reading a perspective different to Peters.
Cons:The characters could of been slightly more developed.
I would liked a lot more story surrounding Tinkerbell.
The insta love like it happened quick. 😂
I loved the battle element in this book especially when it came to Jamie battling Peter and the challenges he faced.
Id love to read more fairytale retellings although Im not sure which ones!
Hi! That's a very good review. I see what you mean, the narrative was fun to follow, I was just disappointed that it had those unpleasant factors. I completely agree on the battle part, I liked how violent and gory it was, because it gave a dark twist to the story.
Delete-I actually really liked this book.
ReplyDeleteTo keep it brief here- I adored Jamie and all he came to represent. He was a child that grew up despite his wishes to never do so; he grew up because he realized that being a child on the island wasn’t all fun and games; he became an adult because he loved and he lost people.
I loved Peter because he was a better representation (in my mind at least) of the original than the Disney version.
Also the remaining Lost Boys were very interesting- maybe not as developed as I’d liked but I understand that that would be rather difficult to accomplish.
-I’d love to know more about mister Smee from the Disney animated classic. How did Hook and he meet?
Considering Lost Boy here, would Mister Smee and Nod be equivalent characters? Since Jamie-Hook- could not find any other land, just how did Mister Smee come to be on the ship?
-I would have loved a bit more on Nod and Fog. These two were so fun to me. And Peter obviously. How was he actually created? And why?
-When Jamie loses his first love- basically the moment he decided to leave childhood behind and just grow up for good.
Also when Jamie points out that Nod has a beard (or peach fuzz I don’t remember the specifics here) and he simply states that he ceased to be a child when his brother died. I may have shed a tear at that one.
-Despite having read many retellings of this story already, I’d really like one of Alice in Wonderland that dealt primarily with the folk back in wonderland after Alice goes back home.
I’d love to get to know what passes for mundane for the Hatter, the March Hare, Tweedle-dee and Tweedle-Dum. How the kingdom works when there are no humans running amuck.
Those are really great points! The beard part is definitely important, I didn't think of that one.
DeleteI was also wondering about Smee and your theory is a good one, but I was thinking it would be Charlie, since he never got the Neverland magic and would grow up at a normal pace.