Book Review: Good Girls Don't Die by Christina Henry

Good Girls Don't Die
by Christina Henry
November 14, 2023
Genre: Dark Fantasy, Urban Fantasy, Suspense Thrillers
A sharp-edged, supremely twisty thriller about three women who find themselves trapped inside stories they know aren’t their own, from the author of Alice and Near the Bone.

Celia wakes up in a house that’s supposed to be hers. There’s a little girl who claims to be her daughter and a man who claims to be her husband, but Celia knows this family—and this life—is not hers…

Allie is supposed to be on a fun weekend trip—but then her friend’s boyfriend unexpectedly invites the group to a remote cabin in the woods. No one else believes Allie, but she is sure that something about this trip is very, very wrong…

Maggie just wants to be home with her daughter, but she’s in a dangerous situation and she doesn’t know who put her there or why. She’ll have to fight with everything she has to survive…

Three women. Three stories. Only one way out. This Ancaptivating novel will keep readers guessing until the very end.

Amazon

Celia suddenly awakens in a life she doesn’t remember with a family she’s certain isn’t hers. Allie reluctantly embarks on a weekend getaway with horrific results. Maggie is abducted and thrust into a human maze with macabre trials. All three woman, stripped of their power, must trust their instincts and rely on their own savvy to ensure their survival. In her newest novel, Christina Henry plays with the conventions of horror’s final girl to weave three thrilling horror vignettes into an absurdly satisfying finale that takes a satirical shot at society’s patriarchal institutions.

Each story is riveting and suspenseful. As a reader, I was easily immersed in the worlds of each woman. Just when you feel you are reaching some kind of conclusion or clarification, Henry moves to the next story. Finally, all three characters collide and collude in a conclusion that is wry and absurd but nevertheless entertaining. Fans of thriller and horror genres will appreciate Henry’s witty, aware use of convention. She marries these conventions with a very contemporary take on online culture and toxic ideology. It’s clear Henry thinks critically about society and what we’ve become and has some sharp observations.

Good Girls Don’t Die is a thrilling ride and a quick read. It wasn’t quite as touching or poignant for me as her other novels, but it has all the elements of an entertaining tale.

5 sheep




Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is a horror and dark fantasy author whose works include Horseman, Near the Bone, The Ghost Tree, Looking Glass, The Girl in Red, The Mermaid, Lost Boy, Alice, Red Queen, and the seven-book urban fantasy Black Wings series.
Learn more online at www.christinahenry.net.

Second Look Book Review: Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow By Christina Henry

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow
By Christina Henry
September 28, 2021
Publisher: Berkeley
ASIN: B08RJDN31M

ISBN: ‎9780593199787
In this atmospheric, terrifying novel that draws strongly from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the author of Alice and The Girl in Red works her trademark magic, spinning an engaging and frightening new story from a classic tale.

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking.

More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

I vividly remember an elementary school writing assignment. It was Halloween and we watched Disney’s interpretation of Washington Irving's The Legend of Sleepy Hollow. We were then tasked with extending the ambiguous ending of the story. I don’t remember what I wrote, but the story has stayed with me my entire life. For all its autumnal spookiness, this story has always captured my imagination.

Christina Henry’s re-imagining of The Sleepy Hollow Legend is a fantastically layered tale that expertly melds tenderness with the horrific.

Bente “Ben” Van Brunt is the inquisitive, adventurous grandchild of Abraham “Brom Bones” Van Brunt and Katrina Van Tassel. Though born a girl, Ben is a boy to his core. He longs to be just like his larger-than-life Opa Brom. He dismisses Oma Katrina’s relentless attempts to steer Ben into thoroughly feminine pursuits in preparation for domestic wedded bliss: “ ‘How many times have I told you?’ she said, coming out on the porch and grabbing my ear. ‘You are not a boy, Bente, you are a girl, and it’s high time you started acting like one.’ I said nothing, only glared at her. I hated it when Katrina told me this one thing, the one thing that I never wanted to hear.” At 14, Ben is positive he’s a boy, he’s never marrying, and there is magic in Sleepy Hollow. He still carries the wonderment of childhood, but realizes he’s on the cusp of irrevocable experience.

When a boy’s mutilated body is discovered in the woods, belief in the fabled Horseman, and other paranormal beings, is renewed:

But the woods near Sleepy Hollow were not the same as other woods.

There were places deep and dark that no one dared go. No one dared go there because it was known that those places were the haunts of creatures not of this earth. To go there was to invite their notice, and these were not things that you wanted to notice you.

Tenacious and fearless, Ben sets out to uncover the truth and begins to uncover deeply buried town and family secrets. Ben is sure the horseman is real, but more nuanced than a basic villain: “he was all that was beautiful and terrible in the world and I wanted to be beautiful and terrible, too.” Ben’s investigation mirrors his own self-discovery, loss of innocence, and ultimate transformation.

Horseman is a beautifully heartbreaking read. Henry expertly fleshes out the original characters and seamlessly integrates new ones. The inclusion of a trans main grants the tale a fresh, original perspective readers will appreciate. The elements of horror are written with a whimsical sensuality. Horseman is the perfect fall read and will hauntingly echo with readers long after the final page.

Check out Pamela Kinney's review of Horseman

Five Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Book Review: Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow By Christina Henry

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow
By Christina Henry
September 28, 2021
Publisher: Berkeley
ASIN: B08RJDN31M

ISBN: ‎9780593199787
In this atmospheric, terrifying novel that draws strongly from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the author of Alice and The Girl in Red works her trademark magic, spinning an engaging and frightening new story from a classic tale.

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking.

More than thirty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

Ben Van Brunt is the grandchild of Brom Bones and Katrina. Ben plays “Sleepy Hollow Boys” with her only friend, Sander, a boy from the village. They find a dead, headless boy, and soon after other deaths in the section of woods near where they play. Once talks of the Headless Horseman and other things that inhabit the woods start, Ben begins to investigate if it is the Horseman, or something else.

If you always wondered what happened to all the characters from The Legend of Sleepy Hollow and the village, this Young Adult novel is the perfect imagining of another spooky tale for reading during the cooler wisps of October.

Check out Bianca Greenwood's review of Horseman

I gave Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow 4 1/2 sheep.

Pamela K. Kinney

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Cover Grabby-hands Syndrome: Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow by Christina Henry

 Sometimes you run across a cover or series of covers that make you stop, bow down to the awesome, and maybe drool and develop grabby-hands.

Today, I give you Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow

by Christina Henry

What the what? Christina Henry's story must have pleased the cover gods. The cover artist deserves an award for this. The composition *chef kiss*. The other covers in Henry's reimagined fairytale series are stunning too, but this one... flocking awesome.

AND the German covers!

It has earned my Grabby-hands stamp of approval.

Horseman: A Tale of Sleepy Hollow
by Christina Henry
September 28, 2021
336 pages
Berkley

In this atmospheric, terrifying novel that draws strongly from "The Legend of Sleepy Hollow," the author of Alice and Lost Boy works her trademark magic, spinning an engaging and frightening new story from a classic tale.

Everyone in Sleepy Hollow knows about the Horseman, but no one really believes in him. Not even Ben Van Brunt's grandfather, Brom Bones, who was there when it was said the Horseman chased the upstart Crane out of town. Brom says that's just legend, the village gossips talking.

Twenty years after those storied events, the village is a quiet place. Fourteen-year-old Ben loves to play "Sleepy Hollow boys," reenacting the events Brom once lived through. But then Ben and a friend stumble across the headless body of a child in the woods near the village, and the sinister discovery makes Ben question everything the adults in Sleepy Hollow have ever said. Could the Horseman be real after all? Or does something even more sinister stalk the woods?

Amazon

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Double Book Review: The Ghost Tree Reviewed by Christina Henry

The Ghost Tree 

by Christina Henry

September 8, 2020
Publisher: Berkeley
ASIN: B083RZ5SYK 

ISBN: 9780451492302
When the bodies of two girls are found torn apart in the town of Smiths Hollow, Lauren is surprised, but she also expects that the police won't find the killer. After all, the year before her father's body was found with his heart missing, and since then everyone has moved on. Even her best friend, Miranda, has become more interested in boys than in spending time at the old ghost tree, the way they used to when they were kids.

So when Lauren has a vision of a monster dragging the remains of the girls through the woods, she knows she can't just do nothing. Not like the rest of her town. But as she draws closer to answers, she realizes that the foundation of her seemingly normal town might be rotten at the center. And that if nobody else stands for the missing, she will.

Reviewer: Bianca Greenwood

Five Sheep

Set in idyllic small-town Illinois, Ghost Tree is a delightfully whimsical horror novel that captures both the imagination as well as the mid-1980s North American teen zeitgeist. Henry has managed to craft a tale that is equally gruesome as it is whimsically tender. 

Lauren DiMucci, not quite 15, is set to start high school in the fall. On the cusp of womanhood, Lauren still clings to childhood and the ghost tree, her favourite secluded location in the woods. Lauren and best friend Miranda have spent their younger years adventuring in a wood that keeps their childish secrets. But when Miranda becomes more interested in boys with Camaros than traipsing through the woods, Lauren is confronted with forging her own identity apart from, and even in spite of, Miranda. Lauren is also increasingly estranged from her single mother Karen, and so when gruesome happenings occur in the small town – happenings Lauren feels strangely connected to – she’s left floundering. 

I adored this book from start to finish. As a child of the 80s, it transported me to a time that was simultaneously more simplistic and trying. I enjoyed watching Lauren’s transformation and the hints of strength that start as a whisper and end with a roar. Henry has an adept ability to embed contemporary sentiment and controversy in all her novels, regardless of setting. For example when Lauren wonders, “How come boys can bang all the girls they can find and they’re practically given a trophy for it, but girls are called sluts and everyone talks about them?” So while the countless tropes and pop culture references cement the story as an 80’s coming of age horror, there’s no mistaking this is a tale with contemporary appeal. This is an imaginative story involving curses, secrets, and murder, but also bigotry and misogyny. 

The Ghost Tree is the perfect summer read. The fantastic story and colourful characters kept me entranced throughout. It is terrifying at times, however, Henry’s descriptions, of gore even, are beautifully crafted. I could find nothing indicating this is part of a series, but am hopeful there’s a sequel planned for Lauren. 

Reviewer: Pamela K. Kinney

I gave The Ghost Tree 4 sheep.

Lauren DiMucci lives in Smith’s Hollow with her mother, Karen, and little brother, David. Odd things have been happening in the town for a long, long time. Like her father had been found near the ghost tree a year before, his heart torn out. And yet, Lauren feels peaceful and comfortable in the woods near the ghost tree, unlike everyone else. Her best friend, Miranda has been going a different direction than her and getting boy crazy. Meanwhile, Lauren is not interested in boys and rides her bike everywhere, well almost not interested, until an older boy shows interest in her and she realizes she might be interested in him as more than a longtime friend. But then she learns of a neighbor, the widow Mrs. Schneider, who discovers bloody parts of two dead girls. This is just the beginning of terrible murders like this, that people seem to forget, except a new policeman, Alejandro “Alex” Lopez, who begins to research through files in the basement no one ever goes to.

A Y.A. horror novel that isn’t just about a normal serial killer, but a monster, curse, and witches, seemed like a modern day fairy tale and was interesting and dark. But unlike fairytales of the past, we have complex human problems of teenagers and adults, with a special little boy who seems to know what is happening. So, if you enjoy fairytales, the paranormal, magic, and scary monsters, and don’t mind some teenage angst thrown in, The Ghost Tree will fill the bill for a great autumn read.

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Book Review: Looking Glass (The Chronicles of Alice Book 3) by Christina Henry

Looking Glass (The Chronicles of Alice Book 3) 
by Christina Henry
April 21, 2020
301 pages
Publisher: Ace In four new novellas, Christina Henry returns to the universe she created for Alice and Red Queen, where magic runs more freely than anyone suspects, but so do secrets and blood.

Lovely Creature

In the New City lives a girl called Elizabeth, a girl who has a secret: she can do magic. But someone knows Elizabeth's secret--someone who has a secret of his own. That secret is a butterfly that lives in a jar, a butterfly made by a girl called Alice.

Girl in Amber

Alice and Hatcher are just looking for a place to rest. Alice has been dreaming of a cottage by a lake and a field of wildflowers, but while walking blind in a snowstorm they stumble into a castle that seems empty and abandoned...at least until nightfall.

When I First Came to Town

Hatcher wasn't always Hatcher. Once, he was a boy called Nicholas, and Nicholas fancied himself the best fighter in the Old City. No matter who fought him he always won. Then his boss tells him he's going to battle the fearsome Grinder, a man who never leaves his opponents alive.

The Mercy Seat

Alice has a secret--a secret that not even Hatcher knows yet, but pretty soon she won't be able to keep it from him.

Looking Glass is a four-novella collection set in author Christina Henry’s reimagined Alice universe. The novellas stand alone, and intertwine, to create a wonderfully whimsical yet darkly dangerous collection. The four tales take place shortly after Henry’s Alice duology concludes. If you have not read Alice and Red Queen, start there. Not only is the duology stunningly fantastic, it provides the context for Looking Glass. Readers of the duology are treated to enhanced closure regarding Alice and Hatcher. We are also teased with future installment potential.

Henry is a masterful storyteller with an unparalleled imagination. She has created several ‘re-writes’ of well-loved stories and has never disappointed. Each time she approaches a well-known tale, she does so with poignant style and fresh perspective. She expertly intertwines current-day sentiment with familiar tropes all the while retooling and restyling what we thought we knew.

Looking Glass is an experience I devoured. I loved each tale equally and was delighted to be reacquainted with favourite characters like Alice and Hatcher and introduced to new characters full of potential. The world of Alice is so magnificent, beautiful, and cruel. This rabbit hole is deep and I sense there are still scape and stories left to weave.

Five Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Sheep Reviewer Bianca Greenwood's Top 5 reading discoveries of 2019 + giveaway

My Top 5 Reading Discoveries of 2019 

Sheep Bio

2019 was a year of personal game-changing discovery. I’ve embraced a fitness tracker, menstrual cup, and facial serum, all the while sharing my discoveries with an evangelical fervor. This year has also been one of my favourites in books. I was captivated by several series and compelled to read like a fiend, completing over 51 books this year. I’m so excited by some of this year’s reads, I wanted to share my top picks with I Smell Sheep community. So while not all these book/series were released in 2019, they were new to me this year. 

#5 Touch of Smoke, Karissa Laurel

Bianca's review

Released in February this year, Touch of Smoke is a standalone novel that had me enthralled from start to finish. It’s part paranormal romance, part mystery. The characters in this book are superbly developed and the storyline is imaginative. Laurel is a first-rate storyteller. I’ve always enjoyed Laurel’s strong female characters. The author’s Norse Chronicles is another great series to check out.

#4 The Girl in Red, Christina Henry

Bianca's Review

This book is part of Henry’s anthology series, wherein she re-writes classic fairy tales or folklore. It can be read as a standalone. Each entry in this series has been a fabulous read and Girl in Red is no exception. It’s a post-apocalyptic rewrite of Little Red Riding Hood. It’s suspenseful, dark, heartbreaking and heartwarming. While the post-apocalyptic trope is not my fave, Henry won me over with her complex, non-linear storytelling, and formidable main character, Red.

#3 Dark Court Rising series, by Bec McMaster

Bianca's Review

McMaster’s brand-new series premiered with book one, Promise of Darkness, released this year. This was perhaps the most entertaining book I read all year with memorable characters and a complex storyline. It’s a fantasy story loaded with fae court intrigue. It’s also sexy as hell and features my favourite new book boyfriend. I am impatiently waiting for the rest of this series to roll out. 

#2 Dark Maji series, by Kel Carpenter and Lucinda Dark

amazon

I discovered this dark fantasy series last July and was most pleased the entire series was included with my Kindle Unlimited subscription. There are currently three books released in this series, with the fourth due in early 2020. I adore the relationship dynamics in this series. The plot and setting are immensely creative and unique. The action is riveting. The series is quite dark at times, particularly book three. For me, however, it’s just the right amount of dark. I’m eagerly anticipating book four. 

#1 Gaslamp Gothic series, by Kat Ross

Bianca's Review

Gaslamp Gothic is another series, while not new in 2019, I discovered this past summer. It’s a smart, imaginative Victorian-era collection. There are five books in the series. I’m currently reading the most recent installment, Dead Ringer. Gaslamp Gothic is a masterclass in genre-blending; combining horror, mystery, crime, comedy, fantasy, history, and romance in a wonderfully addictive read. I ran the gambit of emotion while reading this series and was wholly riveted the entire time. There is something within Gaslamp Gothic for every reader. This is fresh historical fiction with contemporary relevance. For its entertainment value, complexity, and intelligence, it’s my top pick for 2019.

GIVEAWAY

One winner will get an ecopy of their choice from Bianca's top five list.

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Book Review: The Girl in Red by Christina Henry

The Girl in Red 

by Christina Henry

June 18, 2019
304 pages
Publisher: Berkley

From the national bestselling author of Alice comes a postapocalyptic take on the perennial classic "Little Red Riding Hood"...about a woman who isn't as defenseless as she seems.

It's not safe for anyone alone in the woods. There are predators that come out at night: critters and coyotes, snakes and wolves. But the woman in the red jacket has no choice. Not since the Crisis came, decimated the population, and sent those who survived fleeing into quarantine camps that serve as breeding grounds for death, destruction, and disease. She is just a woman trying not to get killed in a world that doesn't look anything like the one she grew up in, the one that was perfectly sane and normal and boring until three months ago.

There are worse threats in the woods than the things that stalk their prey at night. Sometimes, there are men. Men with dark desires, weak wills, and evil intents. Men in uniform with classified information, deadly secrets, and unforgiving orders. And sometimes, just sometimes, there's something worse than all of the horrible people and vicious beasts combined.

Red doesn't like to think of herself as a killer, but she isn't about to let herself get eaten up just because she is a woman alone in the woods....

The Girl in Red is a post-apocalyptic re-write of Little Red Riding Hood. Absent, however, is the vulnerable girl of the classic fairy tale. Instead, readers are treated to heroine with formidable survival instinct; a young woman channelling both the woodsman and the wolf: “I am going to my grandma’s house, and if you try to stop me I will slice off whatever I can reach and leave you here to bleed to death.” The Girl in Red is another of Henry’s classic tale reboots. She’s creatively and skillfully reimaged other stories including Alice in Wonderland and Peter Pan.

When a viral illness devastates the United States, Red seeks refuge in the remote cabin of her grandmother. To get there, she must embark on a cross country hike through dangerous territory. Armed with her beloved red hoody, a hand axe, and her exceptional survival instinct, Red faces unimaginable horrors throughout her quest. The plot unravels non-linearly between past and present. The story is terrifying, heartbreaking, and inspiring.

The Girl in Red is a study in society. Henry bravely launches a scathing critique of contemporary society. Woven into the fabric of the story is critical commentary on consent, discrimination, gender equity, racism, and guns. The best, and worst, parts of society are magnified and completely terrifying: “ ‘Do you think I don’t know what kind of men this world has wrought?’ … ‘Every woman knows. And those men existed before everything fell apart.’ ” There’s a twinge of optimism, though. Henry presents a diverse and inclusive cast of characters. While innocent victims abound, survivors are beautifully sensitive and intensely intelligent. 

Five Sheep

Review: Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1)
Review: Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice #2)
Review: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook
Review: The Mermaid

Five Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

Book Review: The Mermaid by Christina Henry

The Mermaid

by Christina Henry
June 19, 2018
336 pages
Publisher: Berkley
From the author of Lost Boy comes a beautiful historical fairy tale about a mermaid who leaves the sea, only to become the star attraction of history's greatest showman.

Once there was a mermaid called Amelia who could never be content in the sea, a mermaid who longed to know all the world and all its wonders, and so she came to live on land. 

Once there was a man called P. T. Barnum, a man who longed to make his fortune by selling the wondrous and miraculous, and there is nothing more miraculous than a real mermaid.


Amelia agrees to play the mermaid for Barnum and walk among men in their world, believing she can leave anytime she likes. But Barnum has never given up a money-making scheme in his life, and he's determined to hold on to his mermaid.

The Mermaid is Christina’s Henry’s most recent retelling of beloved fairy/folk tales and heroes. Henry has taken on Alice in Wonderland, Peter Pan, and now P.T. Barnum. The Mermaid tells the tale of a mermaid’s life on land as well as her subsequent exploitation at the hands of an enterprising and unscrupulous P.T. Barnum.

Amelia is a curious mermaid looking for more. She settles into a blissful, quiet domesticity as the wife of a costal fisherman. But when Amelia finds herself widowed but unaged, she longs to widen her world. She is offered a feature spot in P.T. Barnum’s museum of amusements and she reluctantly takes the position as a means to an end. Predictably, Amelia soon becomes acquainted with the cold, cruel world of humans.

I enjoyed The Mermaid for its subtle, nuanced storytelling. Henry is a true literary figure along fantasy writers. The book, however, lacked the magic and gripping storyline of her previous two retellings. Despite her integration into the human world, Amelia retains her secretive, closed-off character. While this is suitable in establishing the story, it makes it difficult for the reader to form an attachment. Feeling ‘other’ or ‘misfit,’ however, is a definite touchstone for readers.

Though this story takes place in the mid-1800s, it’s remarkable how applicable it is to a contemporary reader. The ideas of prejudice, exploitation, celebrity as commodity, and feminism are all integral pieces to the story. Amelia is the perfect vehicle to embody ideals far ahead of her time. She isn’t the popularized picture of a mermaid; buxom with a sea shell bikini, but rather something otherworldly, curious, and deadly. Amelia is afforded a feminist sensibility in this time and place because she alien and other: “All she’d found was that women spent a great deal of time saying they were pleased when they were not, smiling when they were not happy, and pretending their anger and frustration did not exist.”

Readers expecting a reprisal of P.T. Barnum as imagined by The Greatest Showman will be sorely disappointed. Henry’s Barnum is a self-interested, conniving business man who cares little for anyone or anything other than himself. Henry assumes a much more critical voice regarding the history of this man and his questionable and exploitive practices.

Review: Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1)
Review: Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice #2)
Review: Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

Four Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.

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

Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook

by Christina Henry
July 4, 2017
304 pages 

Publisher: Berkley
From the national bestselling author of Alice comes a familiar story with a dark hook—a tale about Peter Pan and the friend who became his nemesis, a nemesis who may not be the blackhearted villain Peter says he is…

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.

Peter lies.


Lost Boy is the untold story of Captain Hook, villain of Peter Pan fame. Some readers may be familiar with Christina Henry’s other retelling, The Chronicles of Alice duology. Once again, Henry has expertly hit the mark holding my rapt attention throughout her reimagining of a classic tale. I was simultaneously drawn to and repelled by the magic of Neverland Island and one of its principle residents.

Prior to becoming the infamous pirate Captain Hook, Jamie was Peter’s right hand and stalwart protector of the lost boys. My love of Jamie was an instantaneous as my hatred for Peter. It’s curious how Henry takes a seed of truth — Peter Pan is manipulative, selfish, and reckless after all — and manages to sow such contempt for a beloved literary character. Conversely, Hook is ruthless and crazed in his singular hatred for Pan, but how did he get that way? It can’t possibly be as simple as literary history would have us believe.

Lost Boy is a fantastic adventure story with a Lord of the Flies sensibility. Henry evokes Golding when the boys revel in their kill while en route to a pirate raid: “Somewhere along the way they’d all stripped down to their bare skin and painted themselves with blood. They were dancing and jumping whooping around the fire.” And we know how these things inevitably go: “Boys got hurt. They fell. They bloodied one another’s noses. They called one another cruel names. Sometimes they got eaten by crocodiles. Sometimes they got stabbed by pirates.” And the horror and devastation is rampant in Lost Boy. Henry’s telling of atrocity, though, is simultaneously tender and graphic, delicate and horrific.

As the book proceeds, Jamie’s love for Peter begins to wane. He realizes Peter has been duplicitous and not even Jamie, the island’s premiere lost boy, is spared Peter’s nefarious machinations. Henry has a way of temporarily relieving her readers’ fears and trepidations only to blindside us with the demise of those we were so sure would prevail. And so you’re compelled to read and read until finally you, and your beloved friends, can find rest. But, because we know better, that rest never comes.

Henry’s writing is among the most substantive and touching in the fantasy genre. As far as I’m concerned she has license to re-write any classic she wishes. Lost Boy has been perhaps my most meaningful read of the year thus far. I couldn’t wait to start, but was terrified to finish. And, for the record, if you love a little boy, which I do with all my heart, this book is all the more raw, poignant, and devastatingly tragic.

Review: Alice (The Chronicles of Alice #1)
Review: Red Queen (The Chronicles of Alice #2)

Five Sheep

Bianca Greenwood

About the Author:

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CHRISTINA HENRY is the author of the national bestselling BLACK WINGS (Ace/Roc) series featuring Agent of Death Madeline Black and her popcorn-loving gargoyle Beezle. She is also the author of the forthcoming dark fantasy ALICE (Ace Trade).

She lives in Chicago with her husband and son.