Rating: 
Summary: Heartwrenching
Review: The Lost Boys broke my heart. True, at some points it was overly long and also true, some sections were unneccesary. I did not think that the point of the book was the lost boys at all. Yet, in the last hundred pages, I found myself crying as I realized the inevitable conclusion. Orson Scott Card must have cried as he wrote it. A wonderful book, but hard to read if you have children.
Rating: 
Summary: An excellent, but sad story. Intersting sidelights...
Review: Although I loved the writing and was completely entranced throughout the entire book, it was too sad at the end to rate a 10. Being a PC buff, I was delighted to hear his description of the early days of PC programming, even though that part was relatively minor.
Rating: 
Summary: Card's Folley: "The Lost Boys" should have remained lost...
Review: A constant loving fan of OS Card's work, I was disgusted at this work. This piece feels like his first attempt in high school at a manuscript. This would be the one he threw away, not the one he turned in. It concerns a family which has moved to a new place; Father has a new job, son starts acting strange, playing with kids who arent there, Children start turning up missing, etc. Card tries to twist and turn the plot to point at different characters: a overly strict school teacher, a strange neighborhood boy with a twisted sense of religion, etc, but these plots are cheap and not well thought out; I was almost insulted and kept returning to look at the cover to make sure the author was not some one else. The ending was the best, but only because it was the ending. I rated the book a '2', only because I saw the original manuscript to "Plan 9 from outer space". It got the '1'. - Bob Meads
Rating: 
Summary: Mixed feelings
Review: First of all, I must admit, the pages were turning. So that's a plus. But occasionally, even often, I found myself gaping in disbelief at the reactions of the characters to events happening around them. The newspaper comes and shows pictures and names of 7 boys who have been murdered and (get ready...or, if you haven't read the book yet, tune out) they match those that the 8-year-old semi-protagonist has invented as playmates: this is slightly shocking news for a parent to digest. Yet they barely react. Just as they barely react to the same son's death. I don't know, this book troubled me and not in the probing way that thoughtful novels do. Maybe with more thought I'll see what Card was trying to do. I couldn't tell if it was a thriller, a chiller, or an allegory.
Rating:
Summary: A Heartrending tale of Family Love and Loss
Review: I have never been so profoundly affected by a book before in my life. Each member of this Mormon family comes alive and Card makes you love each one of them. I read chapters of this book while holding my breath between pages! The book captures the evils that we all encounter in our everyday lives. I worried about the oldest son, Stevie, when he went to school and about the father at work every day. The book is very spiritual and I would not classify it as fantasy. The small details about the Mormon religion were fascinating and inspiried me to read a book by a former Mormon after finishing Lost Boys. The ending is unbearably sad but also uplifting. I read the last chapter with tears streaming down my face and finished the book sobbing uncontrollably. I couldn't really regain my composure the rest of the evening and the book will always remain with me. I think that parents will be especially affected by the story of this family.
Rating:
Summary: A heartbreaking yet uplifting tale of family love.
Review: I'm not a science fiction fan, so I almost missed this one. But having read another Card book (Saints), I took a chance on this one, and I'm very glad I did. I read Lost Boys about two years ago, and I'd read it again if I thought I could handle it. It's a beautiful story of a family being subjected to terrible hardship and stress, a family whose faith and love strengthen and keep them together through the worst kind of sorrow. A word of caution: if you have ever buried one of your children (as I have), be careful with this one. You don't have to be a Mormon to enjoy this novel. The doctrine is presented as part of the story, it's easy to understand. The plot is rather complicated, but basically concerns a recently relocated software designer and his family who find themselves facing religious prejudice, serious problems with the husband's new employer, self-righteous busybodies, a severly disabled newborn, and a serial killer. All at the same time. They are blessed with a truly exceptional eldest child, Steven, who seems to be a conduit of supernatural forces. Yes, the ending is wrenching, and yes, you will cry, but that is the essence of life, isn't it? If you want to escape to a place where all the endings are happy, don't read this book. If you want to experience a slice of Mormon theology mixed with suspense and tragedy, then don't miss this one. You'll find yourself counting your blessings and hugging your children a little more tightly afterwards. I'm glad I read Lost Boys, and I recommend it to anyone with an open mind and a tender heart.
Rating:
Summary: This one will tear your heart out...
Review: I walked in the door from work one sunny afternoon and found my husband holding 'Lost Boys' with tears streaming down his face. I had picked up the book by chance one day from the 'top ten sellers' rack. Although the end result is a bit implausible, the beauty behind this novel is the heartwrenching emotion it draws from the reader. You cannot read this novel without feeling the heights of joy in this close knit Mormon family and the heartrending agony resulting from a tragic event. It is a story you will long remember.
Rating:
Summary: Good narration, bad plot...
Review: Its hard to give this book either a good or bad review... Card's writing technique is, as usual, outstanding. He is an author that is very easy to read. However, there is one question to be brought up... what is the point of this book? To say that ghosts exist? To show what Mormonism is about? to show what faults people may have? (i.e. obsessive, stalking teacher, mean classmates, A pedophiliac teenage programmer, a misguided mormon zealot, etc...)
I mean, whe I was done with the book, I was like, "Is that IT?"
Well, I give it a "10" for Card's awesome style of narration... a "1" for the material of the story...
P.S.: The movie "Lost Boys" (the vampire flic) is just as pointless... :-) If you like the book anyway, DON'T rent it or watch it on TV. They are totally different stories...
Rating:
Summary: Great, haunting story of a family under stress
Review: I could not believe how much I enjoyed this book. I was immediately caught up in the life of the characters, who are some of the most realistically written I have come across in awhile. The strength of family under stressful situations, and the love that is always there is the fabric of this story. The ending, however, totally caught me by surprise. I walked around shell shocked for hours, and desparately wished that I had someone to talk to about the ending. It was a great ending to a great book.
Rating:
Summary: An extremely accurate, gut wrenching view...
Review: Having recently moved from Utah to the south to start a new programming job when I bought this book, it was hard not to look over my shoulder while reading. I even had to stop and count my kids every so often and snuggle closer to my sleeping wife. After more than a year this book still gives me pause
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