Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry

My rating: 4.5/5 stars

“When I hear him laughing, out there in the sky and in the night, and that laugh burns me deep down in my heart, I know I’ll find a way to make him sorry.
I will make him sorry.
I hate Peter Pan.” 

Before he was James Hook, he was just Jamie. He was the first boy Peter brought to the island. He was Peter’s first friend. His only friend, some might say. He loved Peter, and he wished always to be a boy, and to have fun and to go on lots and lots of adventures together. But this special island wasn’t quite what it appeared to be, and neither was Peter. From best friends to archenemies, this is the amazing unbelievable story of the greatest pirate of all:Captain James Hook.

In this re-telling, Peter is selfish, cunning, loves to be adored and has little regard for anyone else, except Jamie. In all fairness, these characteristics aren’t any different from the Peter we know and love. (Or that I know and love). He has always been cunning, & a little selfish (okay, a lot selfish) & too full of energy to care about most things.

What I love most about this re-telling is that it reveals the darker side to Peter in a way that isn’t too different from the version of Peter we’ve been accustomed to. You really don’t have to search too deep to see how the darker sides of him have been masked in the Peter Pan we’re already familiar with. It reminded me a little of the Peter Pan in Season 3 of Once Upon a Time. Evil but brilliant, and charming as always.

“It will always be Peter and me, like it was in the beginning, like it will be in the end. Peter, who took everything from me and gave everything too.
Peter, who loved me best of everyone except himself.
He tells the new boys I am a villain, and they call me Captain Hook.

If I am a villain, it’s because Peter made me one, because Peter needs to be the shining sun that all the world turns around. Peter needed to be a hero, so somebody needed to be a villain.”

Throughout this book, and especially as I read the last few pages; my admiration for Jamie grew 5x large; my heart hurt for all the children who would always view him as the villain; who would never know of his love & sacrifice. And despite this, I still found myself thinking a little bit of Peter & how he had sealed Jamie’s fate forever as Captain Hook & I just couldn’t stop myself from saying:

Oh the cleverness of you Peter Pan, oh the cleverness of you.

 

To Capture What We Cannot Keep by Beatrice Colin 

My rating: 3.5/5 stars 

Choosing love over welfare or status? Chasing dreams despite limitations or supposed obligations? These are tough decisions to contemplate for a middle aged, single woman in late 1800’s Paris.

‘To Capture What We Cannot Keep’ is a beautiful story about following your heart even when society makes it difficult to do so. Cait was such a delightful main character, far ahead of her time for sure. And Paris, even in writing, regardless of the time period, still manages to feel just as magical and romantic as it is today.