Unhooked

Sea monsters, faeries, warring tribes, and supernatural diseases result in lots of gore, dead bodies in various states of decay, etc. Many characters, including the "Hook" figure, have missing limbs. Both male lead characters survive by consuming the life force of their victims; one of them sexualizes the process and promises to "make it good" for his prospective victim. There's a lot of ethical hand-wringing about whether this behavior is justified. A character commits suicide to protect another. A character forces another (who pees his pants in terror) to walk the plank, after which the victim is quickly devoured by a sea monster. Teen characters are abducted to an alternate world and face many dangers.

A typical passage:

"Gasping for air, I stumble to my knees, and when I turn to look up, I see what's caused him to release me -- he's been stabbed. The tip of a dark blade protrudes from his belly. Around it, blood blooms. His shaking hands grab at the blade, like he's trying to push it back through, but it's too late. His body gives a violent jerk as someone else pulls at the blade, and blood gurgles from his mouth as his knees give out and he falls to the deck."

A few kisses, some passionate. One scene that's apparently a seduction is actually a predator consuming his victim's life force. Male and female characters sleep together for warmth. Mostly, though, the romantic elements of the story find expression in heated, somewhat clichéd language, e.g.:

"'Leaving so soon, lass?' he croons into my right ear, all confidence and rough masculine charm. The warmth of his breath brushes across my neck, and the scent of him surrounds me as completely as his arms. I have the uneasy feeling that he knows exactly what his proximity is doing to me. That he's completely aware of the way my traitorous heart has kicked into a gallop and my skin has gone hot and cold all at once.

"I'm too nervous and taken off guard by my reaction to him to resist when he turns me gently, until my back is to the door and his face is mere inches above mine."

"Christ!" "arse," "bloody," "hell."

Drunken revelry occurs among teen and younger boys.

Parents need to know that Unhooked, by Lisa Maxwell, is a dark twist on the Peter Pan story starring 17-year-old Gwen in Neverland, but it's but not the familiar place of childhood tales. Here, both the "Peter Pan" and "Captain Hook" characters are crazy-attractive teen boys who survive by consuming the life force of their victims; violent deaths are plentiful, by suicide, stabbing, hacking, slashing, devouring, and magic, as are vivid descriptions of the gore. Literally and psychologically, the ground is constantly shifting under protagonist/narrator Gwen's feet as she tries to save herself and her best friend, while trying to decide which of the two charming, murderous boys is less likely to betray her. Some language ("arse," "bloody," "hell," "Christ!") shouldn't be problematical to most high-school-age readers, but this version of the Peter Pan myth may be too dark for some.