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saltylane'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
3.5
The author also often includes a “best friend” who would be great to get to know more about and get to interact with in the story… but then gives them very little “screen time” and focuses on the two characters with a romantic connection. Maybe they have a hard time juggling multiple character interactions at once?
Overall, I think this book has a very interesting and unique spin on the “Peter Pan” story. I feel like the author struggled to find a believable way to end the main conflict, which is a shame because the surrounding plot seemed pretty solid. The writing style wasn’t for me, but I’m sure others can easily enjoy the book regardless.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Kidnapping, and Grief
Moderate: Torture, Murder, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Vomit, Medical content, and Stalking
lifeinsilver'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? No
4.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Kidnapping, and Grief
readingthroughinfinity's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.0
Buddy read with Helen.
I absolutely adored Cemetery Boys so I had high hopes for this Peter Pan retelling, but sadly they weren't met. The story follows Wendy, as she tries to discover more about Peter, a mysterious boy who appears one night, while also looking into the disappearance of her brothers five years before.
The main reason this didn't work for me was that the plot felt weak and not many critical moments happened between the inciting event and final few chapters. There was lots of travelling back and forth between the woods and Wendy's home, but little was actually achieved from these trips. The twist at the end was the novel's saving grace, but the characters felt under-developed and the writing seemed unlike Aiden Thomas's usual well-crafted style.
Content warnings for PTSD, kidnapping, grief, anxiety, death of family members.
Moderate: Child death, Death, Emotional abuse, Violence, Grief, Murder, and Abandonment
allygator's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
I loved how well this book touched on trauma and PTSD, it felt very authentic and it made Wendy a much more compelling character than she was in the original story. I wasn't sure how much I would love her romance with Peter, but it wasn't overwhelming in the story and I honestly kind of enjoyed it. The trauma within Wendy's parents was really well-written and had me crying at some points.
I also really enjoyed Jordan's character, though I wish she had more page time. In general, this was a lot less diverse than Thomas' debut, but it didn't really detract from the story for me. The ending had me shaking it was so good, it was so bold and scary because it definitely could happen in today's world.
All in all, this was such a good retelling; I highly recommend picking it up.
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Violence, Blood, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Cursing, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Torture, Medical content, Car accident, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
Minor: Vomit
taleofabibliophile'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? No
4.5
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Grief, and Murder
Moderate: Alcoholism, Violence, Car accident, and Alcohol
Minor: Blood, Medical content, Medical trauma, Death of parent, and Fire/Fire injury
anniereads221's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
Graphic: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Violence, Medical content, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
roseofphantom'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
5.0
Graphic: Child death and Violence
emily_mh's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
But like I said, the ending saved this book. It provided a satisfying resolution. Apart from this I also liked Wendy as a narrator and I enjoyed the detail Thomas put into their description. I'm still going to keep reading their books as they always have intriguing and original premises, I just hope I can click more with their books in the future!
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Child death, Death, Gun violence, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Car accident, and Murder
Minor: Ableism, Alcoholism, Animal death, Confinement, Cursing, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Vomit, Fire/Fire injury, Alcohol, and Injury/Injury detail
bisexualwentworth's review against another edition
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
I really enjoy Aiden Thomas's writing style. It's beautifully descriptive and always delivers just the right amount of information.
The plot structure and a lot of the relationships are actually very similar to Cemetery Boys. I felt like Cemetery Boys had stronger characters and Lost in the Never Woods had stronger plotting, but the details of the two books are very different and other readers might not agree with me on that. Both books explore grief, but they do so in very different ways.
The actual Peter Pan adaptational choices are creative and interesting. I don't want to spoil anything, but there were some choices and twists that really worked and made this old story feel new. Peter and Wendy felt like the same characters but reinterpreted in an intentional and interesting way. The take on the shadow was particularly compelling. The cops, especially a particular detective, felt like a new take on the pirates, which I thought was a fantastic choice. I also think it was wise of Aiden Thomas to fully write out Tiger Lily et al and create a new best friend character for Wendy named Jordan. I liked Jordan a lot and would have liked to see more of her.
I listened to the audiobook, and I highly recommend it. Avi Roque narrates both of Aiden Thomas's books, and they're fantastic. I will listen to any book they narrate.
I want to preface this critique with a disclaimer: I don't think that authors from marginalized backgrounds owe us diversity. They don't owe us identity-based trauma. They don't owe us autobiographical narratives. I fully support Aiden Thomas's decision to write a book that is not diverse because this is simply the story they wanted to tell.
But the whiteness and the heteronormativity of this book did bother me. And I think it's because of the subject matter.
See, a lot of this book is about missing children, and in reality, children of color go missing all the time and get less media attention and fewer resources than white children who go missing. Children of color are absent from a lot of conversations about missing children, and ultimately, they were totally missing from this book, too. I know that Oregon, where this book is set, is very white, but this just felt like a weird blind spot. Maybe I noticed this more because Cemetery Boys addressed this exact issue directly. Maybe that means that I'm holding the author to an unfair standard, but I think I would have had this issue no matter who wrote this book. And maybe all Peter Pan retellings are going to struggle when it comes to racial issues due to the inherent racism in the original text. I don't know.
Otherwise, my only real issue with this book was the romantic subplot. I didn't personally like it, but it was necessary for the plot and executed better than I expected.
Honestly, I think the reason I didn’t like this book more is just the inherent fact of it being a Peter Pan retelling. I don’t think that the Peter Pan story is fixable. I think it’s inherently problematic to ship Peter and Wendy together. I don’t think I’ll be reading any more Peter Pan retellings after this.
Overall, though, I enjoyed this book a lot, and I absolutely recommend it if the premise sounds interesting to you!
Graphic: Death, Gun violence, Violence, and Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism and Grief
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