Reviews

A very enjoyable read. I liked this book a lot more than the first one. The world building in Neverland was so fascinating, and I loved all the themes about shadows and fighting darkness.

Also, the ending was quite beautiful.

Content Warnings

hellohannahk's review

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4.0

I didn't connect with this book as much as the first one, or find it as captivating. The first one utilized the 'magic in the ordinary world' kind of intrigue, while this one was set entirely in Neverland and felt like it just kept getting more and more over-the-top to keep you reading. The characters and emotions were good but felt a little extreme at times. The ending was very satisfying though.

lavendergarden's review against another edition

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4.0

I was one of the lucky ones to get an early copy, and...Shadow is amazing. It has a strong and consistent plotline, well-written characters, and it incorporates a lot of the original Peter Pan into it. One of my all time favorite series' is the Peter Pan spinoff Peter and the Starcatchers (by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson) and Kara Swanson (perhaps accidentally) included a lot of personality from it as well as the fundamental ideas behind the world of Peter and the Starcatchers.

If you read the original Peter Pan, you can see it tells of his killing his Lost Boys and being this kind of ruthless, careless, self-centered child, and Kara Swanson did an amazing job portraying that while also revealing the thoughts (or lack thereof) behind those actions. She did an incredible job developing his character, and showing him discovering how awful he had been. I feel a lot of authors are prone to jump from a character being blind to their faults and mistakes to the character saying "I'm sorry" and then the other characters forgive them and things are fine. Kara Swanson is really good at showing not only him realizing his horrible behavior, but seeing it, apologizing (for actual things, not just "I'm sorry."), and then working to fix things.

I've found that it is rare to find a book written for teens or adults that doesn't cuss. It's something that may seem minor to some, but I really appreciated it.

I've never been much of a fan of fantasy or YA, but...Shadow is really good. It doesn't feel like YA as strongly as I would have expected. Claire doesn't resent dressing up, she doesn't blow off his compliments, she doesn't belittle her abilities. Peter doesn't just say "I'm sorry" and have her automatically forgive him. He sees his faults. He fixes things.

One last thing that I *love*: I have often been sad when a book ends, and wished that there could just be one more scene to show something of life after the main plotline has concluded, and Shadow came through for me.

Shadow is well-written, and though I am hesitant to say a book is one of my favorites...this book is up there. Shadow is...amazing.

Here are the songs I listened to while reading it (they are all completely clean), here's what I would recommend: Listen to all of them before reading Shadow to get a feel for them. Then when you read it, play the songs in the background and skip if something doesn't fit the mood. and when you read chapter 28 (the last chapter) play Stargazing by Kygo, followed by Moon River by Audrey Hepburn.
Here are the songs:
- Fake a Smile by Alan Walker ft. Salem Ilese

- Alone II by Alan Walker ft. Ava Max

- Moments to Memories by Adeline Hill

- Rise Up by Andra Day

- Upset With Me by David Archuleta

- Stardust by MIKA

- You by benny blanco, Vance Joy, Marshmello (this is my theme song for Shadow)

- Starlight by Taylor Swift

- Ground Control by All Time Low ft. Tegan and Sara

- Earth by K-391

- Stargazing by Kygo ft. Justin Jesso

- Moon River by Audrey Hepburn

- Walls by ROZES ft. Mat Kearney (my theme song for Dust)

izzy_c_porter's review

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5.0

I read this in a day. True story. Another true story: I own one book hardcover and the other paperback.

Also

Spoiler

I CAN'T BELIVE CLAIRE AND PETER BOTH DIE AND COME BACK TO LIKE LIKE WHAT? SORRY FOR THE SPOILER BUT THAT'S YOUR FAULT IF YOU READ MY SPOILER!

And another spoiler:

Spoiler

PETER PAN HAS A SISTER WHO FELL IN LOVE WITH CAPTAIN HOOK WHO WAS A LOST BOY THEN PETER FORGOT HE EVER HAD A SISTER WHO WAS THE FIRST EVER LOST GIRL THEN PETER AND CLAIRE GET MARRIED AND I CAN'T FULLY REMEMBER WHAT HAPPENS IN THE END BUT THERE WERE KIDS AND CLAIRE WAS PETER PAN'S WIFE

AND I CAN'T BELIVE I'M RAMBLING AND SHOUTING THIS MUCH OVER A BOOK I READ MONTHS AGO BUT FINALLY ADDED IT TO MY GOODREADS ACCOUNT AND WROTE A REVIEW ON IT

So yeah that is facts on all the plot twists except that

Spoiler

whatever else happens

and my opinions: I like this book. I also like Dust.

Also, my friends brought this up and I agree with them, Kara Swanson (she has a rly pretty name imho) should write a companion/prequel novel on Captain Hook's backstory. She does share some of it in Shadow, but she could definitely go more into his backstory, as well as

Spoiler

Paige's

Anyway if you find my sanity please turn it in to local authorities maybe they'll know what to do with it because apparently I did not. Thank you!

Almost forgot: I really liked the

Spoiler

areas of Neverland that were not completely messed up by the darkness

maryemmasivils's review against another edition

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3.0

How to describe my feelings about this book?

There were many worldbuilding elements and themes in the story that I loved—yet somehow, the plot didn't tie those things together to my satisfaction. Some characters felt like they had no purpose (I'm looking at you, Hook.), while the characters with purpose didn't actually...do that much until the end.
A few random notes:
- Claire giving away her connection to the island so naively made it hard to have any sympathy for her after that choice backfired.
- I was NOT happy with the backstory about why Peter cut off Hook's hand! I know this story was partly about Peter admitting his selfish, thoughtless behavior, but that instance seemed over the top and unnecessary.
- There was also very little resolution with Connor, and that disappointed me. It felt like the story brushed him to the side at the end.
- Tiger Lily's village was super cool! I wish more of the story had taken place there, because I wanted to know more about all of it!

This duology was a wonderfully creative take on Peter Pan, but not a perfect fit for me. Maybe I hold too much nostalgia for the original.

pageswithrachel's review against another edition

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adventurous dark tense medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

christian_faith_and_fiction's review against another edition

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5.0

Shadow by Kara Swanson is the second book in the Heirs of
Neverland duology. The first book is called Dust, which starts with Claire. She has unexplained dust on her skin and doesn't know from where it comes. The book also follows Peter Pan. In the beginning, he is running around London with Tiger Lily, trying to escape from the Lost Boys.
The first book begins in London, and the second book goes
into other places. Shadow also expands on the fantasy elements and the fantasy world.
I really enjoyed this book. I enjoyed seeing the conclusion to the story and what happened to all the characters. I also liked the character development.
The book is a little darker than I expected. Peter Pan is a story for children, but this book is definitely not suitable for children, in my opinion. There is a certain amount of romance in it, and it is a lot scarier than the original.
The characters deal with things like mental health and the problems inside themselves. It is definitely a more grown-up version of Peter Pan than the original.
There is a lot of adventure in this story, and I enjoyed all the twists and turns.
I got a bit confused at times, which is why I gave it 9.5 out of 10 instead of 10 out of 10. However, I did enjoy it, and I would read this fantasy duology again.

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