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novella42's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
What a brilliant execution of a truly fascinating concept.
I got lost partway through and had a hard time returning to it. My God, I am so glad I did. By 2/3 of the way through I couldn't put it down. The metaphors alone... Just. Wow. I couldn't figure out why a friend of mine gave it five stars, why another friend was singing its praises. By the end? Yeah. I get it now.
I can't tell how spoilery this is. CW for mental health and spoilers through maybe the first half of the book?It's not exactly how my own dissociation works, but it's damn near as close as any depiction of dissociation as a mental health survival skill as anything I've ever seen. How it feels to forget. How it feels to remember when you've forgotten something vitally important because it hurts so much. How it feels to willingly return to the unknowing. How it feels when it all falls apart.
I'm a little in awe. I definitely want to read this again.
Also, here's a tip I will second from a person commenting on the book in the Austin Public Library system: "After you read it, make sure you listen to the March 2017 Hopeless Romantic podcast episode where Chant and editor Amanda Jean recorded their thoughts at various stages of the writing and editing process for this book. Fascinating peek behind the scenes." Apparently Austin Chant co-hosts a podcast?! Yes, please! (Episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1b1Uz904rbNC0xeOPVuXJ4?si=Wnt96ik8Sd2dGVPgchTtZg)
I got lost partway through and had a hard time returning to it. My God, I am so glad I did. By 2/3 of the way through I couldn't put it down. The metaphors alone... Just. Wow. I couldn't figure out why a friend of mine gave it five stars, why another friend was singing its praises. By the end? Yeah. I get it now.
I can't tell how spoilery this is. CW for mental health and spoilers through maybe the first half of the book?
I'm a little in awe. I definitely want to read this again.
Also, here's a tip I will second from a person commenting on the book in the Austin Public Library system: "After you read it, make sure you listen to the March 2017 Hopeless Romantic podcast episode where Chant and editor Amanda Jean recorded their thoughts at various stages of the writing and editing process for this book. Fascinating peek behind the scenes." Apparently Austin Chant co-hosts a podcast?! Yes, please! (Episode here: https://open.spotify.com/episode/1b1Uz904rbNC0xeOPVuXJ4?si=Wnt96ik8Sd2dGVPgchTtZg)
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, Blood, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Moderate: Domestic abuse, Emotional abuse, Gore, Gun violence, Mental illness, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Medical content, Grief, and Schizophrenia/Psychosis
Minor: Animal death
booksnbcys's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming, Death, Transphobia, and Blood
Moderate: Murder, Dysphoria, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Child abuse, Confinement, Homophobia, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Forced institutionalization, Grief, and War
greenrequiem's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.25
Content Warnings
Graphic: Deadnaming and Transphobia
Moderate: Child abuse, Child death, Death, Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, and Grief
Minor: Confinement, Misogyny, and War
orcamagicka's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was deeply enjoyable and I binge read it within 12 hours of receiving it in the mail. The author puts a dark fantasy spin on this beloved children’s classic while also including the struggles of trans people, especially in a time like 1800s London. Peter was deeply relatable as a transgender man. His deep rooted anger due to his trauma and also this internalized belief that in order to be manly, he must conform to toxic masculinity. He’s deeply flawed and it was enjoyable to see a character like him develop. The plot twist later in the story about Never Land completely unraveled my original understanding of the story and made it that much more meaningful to queer people. This story is less of an exact retelling and more of a sequel, imagining that Wendy transitioned into Peter. I knew when I saw the synopsis for this story I HAD to read it. This is definitely underrated and deserves way more attention within the queer book community, especially with how little trans representation there is in media. I REALLY wish this story had been longer and given the characters and the world more time to develop. I couldn’t put the book down!
My one major criticism of the story is the ages of the main characters, Peter and Hook. While it is specified that Peter is 18 and legally an adult (more so than by 1800s England standards), it is never explicitly mentioned how old Hook is. I found this a bit troubling at times when reading because we all already have this previous image of the story in our heads, wether we read the classic or watched the Disney version. We all imagine Hook to be an older man while Peter is the boyish child. Throughout the book I was very confused as how old Hook was, in the beginning I thought he was in his 30s, then I thought he was 19, and by the end of the story based on subtle context clues and his personality I *guessed* he was at most 25. But then again, it is never specified and for all I know Hook could have easily been 18 or 19, which would have been a way more palatable age range between these two characters. And since it is established in the story that Peter knew Hook when he was a boy, I was also interested as to how old Hool was in their past interactions. Did Hook age in Neverland? Did he maintain the same age? These questions are never fully answered. And this lack of specification made certain scenes uncomfortable to read because I already had this previous understanding of the characters in my head.
My one major criticism of the story is the ages of the main characters, Peter and Hook. While it is specified that Peter is 18 and legally an adult (more so than by 1800s England standards), it is never explicitly mentioned how old Hook is. I found this a bit troubling at times when reading because we all already have this previous image of the story in our heads, wether we read the classic or watched the Disney version. We all imagine Hook to be an older man while Peter is the boyish child. Throughout the book I was very confused as how old Hook was, in the beginning I thought he was in his 30s, then I thought he was 19, and by the end of the story based on subtle context clues and his personality I *guessed* he was at most 25. But then again, it is never specified and for all I know Hook could have easily been 18 or 19, which would have been a way more palatable age range between these two characters. And since it is established in the story that Peter knew Hook when he was a boy, I was also interested as to how old Hool was in their past interactions. Did Hook age in Neverland? Did he maintain the same age? These questions are never fully answered. And this lack of specification made certain scenes uncomfortable to read because I already had this previous understanding of the characters in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization