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jazzyjbox's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death and Grief
Minor: Car accident
emfass's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.25
I haven't yet read Cemetery Boys, but was so excited for this one because Peter Pan is probably my favorite story, and I absolutely love retellings. I think this story does some very interesting things with exploring the psychological connections to the Peter Pan story, and in the way it explores grief and trauma and memory. It was much darker than I expected, but I really liked the fresh take on the story of Peter Pan and Wendy.
There were a few times I struggled with the pacing and staying engaged. The reveals at the end are a great payoff and make perfect sense for the story, but parts of the plot leading up to that felt a little slow...though on the flip side, that also allowed for slowing down enough to sit with some of the after-effects of trauma. (Also I just seem to be in a grumpy reading slump in general right now, and am having trouble getting swept away in books like I was just a couple months ago.)
CW:
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Confinement, Violence, Blood, Medical content, and Car accident
Minor: Alcoholism, Medical content, and Stalking
ashleycmms's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Confinement, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Grief, and Alcohol
Moderate: Violence, Medical content, and Kidnapping
Minor: Car accident and Death of parent
invioletshadows's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
4.0
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
kharlan3's review against another edition
3.25
(YA, fairy tale retelling). Honestly, this one didn't super work for me. The protagonist felt immature (but like she was supposed to seem mature) and the story felt fairly predictable. Usually I like YA but this felt... too YA. I didn't like that the MC cut herself off from her best friend for the whole book and that that was portrayed as the right choice, and though most of the characters in the book didn't like/are scared of cops, it still felt like the BOOK likes cops.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Medical trauma, Car accident, and Alcohol
anyepagan's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
Graphic: Child death, Panic attacks/disorders, Kidnapping, and Car accident
booksthatburn's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
As a Peter Pan retelling, this fits into a sweet spot between “the story you remember happened a long time ago” and “the story you’ve been told was wrong”. Wendy doesn’t remember what happened when, five years ago, she was missing for six months, then suddenly reappeared without her brothers. There’s a sense of frustration running throughout the story as it becomes more and more apparent that Wendy’s missing memories are important, but she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get them back. It meant that when the book finally gives some answers almost at the very end there’s an enormous catharsis. I wasn’t frustrated at the book, I was frustrated for the characters, and so watching them (particularly Wendy) get answers and closure was immensely satisfying. I spent the first 80% liking it but not sure what the twist was going to be... and then the twist/reveal happened and I loved it. It's a take on Neverland that I haven't seen before and it works extremely well.
I wish Wendy’s friend Jordan had more of a positive presence, it seemed like she mostly existed as part of the crowd of well-meaning but currently unhelpful figures in Wendy’s life (though the epilogue makes up for a lot of the earlier lack). On the other hand, the feeling of being surrounded by a crowd of people who mean well but literally can't help worked really well to support the themes of trauma, repression, and helplessness which are integral to the story.
I liked this and it showed a new side of Wendy, Peter, and Neverland, which is the best part of any retelling. I'm very glad I read it.
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Ableism and Death of parent
kbergsten's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Kidnapping, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
bookishjude's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
10/10 reccommd it
Graphic: Child death, Death, Panic attacks/disorders, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Gun violence
Minor: Alcoholism and Car accident
wanderonwards's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Blood, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Medical trauma, and Car accident