Written by American author Christina Henry, Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook is a 2017 dark fantasy retelling of J. M. Barrie’s original play, Peter Pan. Henry has written several dark retellings of fairy tales to date, including Alice, which is based on Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by Lewis Carroll; The Girl in Red, which adapts the story of Little Red Riding Hood; and The Mermaid, which based on Hans Christian Andersen’s The Little Mermaid. Henry’s work often delves into the darker themes of such classic tales, reimagining them as violent horror stories, and Lost Boy follows this pattern as well. Told from the perspective of Jamie, one of Peter Pan’s lost boys who will ultimately grow up to become Captain Hook, the novel explores a much darker side to the story and portrays a Peter who is a cruel and careless tyrant.

This guide uses the 2017 Berkley e-book edition of the novel.

Content Warning: Both the novel and this guide contain descriptions of many scenes of graphic violence. Many characters, most of whom are children, die violent deaths or sustain severe injuries. The novel also features children’s grief over the loss of parents and siblings, and descriptions of implied rape and abusive relationships are also included.

Plot Summary

Jamie is a boy who has lived on a magical island for hundreds of years, longer than any other boy besides Peter Pan. He and Peter share a special bond. Jamie also takes care of Charlie, a five-year-old boy who is younger than the other boys. Jamie estimates that when he himself first arrived on the island he was around eight years old, while Peter appeared to be 11. Now, Jamie looks 12, but Peter’s appearance has stayed the same. Jamie does not know why he has been very slowly growing up, but he does know that if Peter ever notices, he will cast Jamie out. Peter also finds Charlie irritating because the boy is too small to be a good playmate. 

The next morning, Peter wakes all the boys and announces that they must raid the pirate ship that sits in the bay. Among the other boys are Nod and Fog, twins who are always fighting; Del, who is dying of tuberculosis; and Nip, who wants to take Jamie’s place as Peter’s favorite. There are 15 boys in all. The boys cook rabbits for lunch, and each boy receives a portion based on Peter’s favor and their seniority on the island. Nip receives the smallest portion and starts a fight; Del kicks hot coals into his eyes, and then Jamie knocks Nip out at Peter’s request. Peter tells the boys a ghost story wherein a boy very much like Charlie gets eaten by a crocodile. Peter is jealous because Jamie pays Charlie so much attention.

Peter asks Jamie to wake Nip. Most of the other boys set out toward Bear Cave, where they will spend the night before heading to the pirate ship. Jamie wakes Nip by kicking him and proceeds to beat him severely. Jamie and Charlie arrive at the cave before Peter and Nip, just as the camp is attacked by a giant spider called a Many-Eyed. It kills one of the boys, and Jamie successfully kills the spider just as Peter arrives. Instead of raiding the pirates, all of the boys return to the hollow tree where they live, lest more spiders attack the cave. Peter sets out to lure the pirates to the home of the Many-Eyed, while Jamie lays a false trail to trick the spiders into thinking that the pirates killed one of them, not the boys.

Peter and Jamie meet up near the field where the Many-Eyed live. The pirates are now on their way because Peter has set fire to their camp. The boys split up and successfully lead many of the pirates into the lair of the Many-Eyed. Afterward, Jamie finds Peter again and witnesses him speaking to a fairy and then flying away; Jamie has never seen this before and feels jealous. On the way back home, Peter lets it slip that he has asked Nip to kill Charlie. Jamie rushes back only to find that Del has died defending Charlie, who is unharmed. The boys are about to hang Nip, but Peter intervenes. To resolve the conflict, the boys agree that Jamie and Nip will have a Battle to the death in 30 days’ time. Meanwhile, Peter goes to the Other Place to gain new followers to replace those who have died. In his absence, Jamie reminisces about his own arrival on the island, when Peter brought him through a hole beneath a magic tree that acts as a portal between the two worlds. One of the boys whom Peter brings back is named Sal, and he immediately connects with Jamie and Charlie.

A few days later, the boys spend the day at a beach close to Skull Rock. As the boys swim, the pirates sail their ship close to the beach and fire their cannons. Jamie watches six boys killed by a single cannonball. In a rage, he kills six pirates. Peter then heads to the pirate ship while Jamie rallies the surviving boys.

On the day of Jamie’s Battle with Nip, all the remaining boys trek up to a rocky plateau in the mountains. Jamie kills Nip in hand-to-hand combat, but just as the Battle ends, the pirates arrive. (Nip, wanting vengeance on the other boys, has given them directions.) A fight ensues wherein Fog is killed and Sal is injured. While helping tend to Sal’s injury, the boys learn that Sal is really a girl named Sally. Jamie swiftly develops romantic feelings for her, but Peter is furious, as no girls are allowed on his island. Peter leaves the island for a few days, and Jamie nurses Sal while she fights a fever.

Jamie and Nod realize that they are growing up quite quickly. None of the remaining boys like Peter anymore, but Peter gains Charlie’s favor by playing with him and making him a toy. Sal and Jamie plan to leave the island with the other boys, but when Jamie goes to the tree that leads to the Other Place, he finds that Peter has torn it down, trapping them all. He rushes back to the camp, but Peter and Charlie have vanished. Jamie and Sal go to the field where the Many-Eyed live just in time to see Peter flying with Charlie. Peter drops Charlie into the spiders’ nest, and Jamie rescues the young boy while Sal sets the field on fire, killing the spiders. As Jamie recuperates with his friends, he suddenly remembers that Peter killed his mother as an excuse to bring him to the island. Charlie reveals that Peter can fly with the help of a fairy named Tink. 

In a final confrontation, Peter sets a crocodile on Sal, and it kills her. Jamie is now rapidly becoming an adult. He learns that Peter is not human; the island brought him into existence, and he has always been a child. Peter is able to stay forever young through the act of blood sacrifice, using the violent deaths of the boys to sustain his own eternal youth. Peter and Jamie fight, and Peter cuts off Jamie’s right hand. He curses Jamie to grow up but to remain on the island forever, never dying. Peter, Charlie, and Nod join the pirates. Meanwhile, Peter brings new boys from the Other Place, which he now reaches by flying. Jamie becomes Captain Hook, but no matter how far he sails from the island, he is doomed to always return to it because of Peter’s curse. He hopes that he can one day find Peter’s weaknesses and kill him.