bookcub's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
reflective
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? It's complicated
4.25
readingthroughtheages's review
5.0
A much needed retelling of Peter Pan that takes place in the present time.
jennderqueer's review against another edition
5.0
An excellent modern take on Peter Pan. I really enjoyed this. Wendy and Lily were fantastic and Peter was exactly the little sociopath I've always imagined.
ljrinaldi's review
5.0
The story of Peter Pan has always bothered me. Especially the part where he thought fighting was fun. It never made sense to me. I was also bothered by the stereotypical "injuns" in the story. I always think of the original as being strictly Victorian, but it turns out the original is much more recent than that, as the first version was written in 1904, making it part of the Edwardian era (pre world war I)
The author takes all the elements that didn't work, and that were troubling, and rather than eliminating them, explores them, such as the fact that Peter doesn't really care about anyone but himself, or that the pirates want to fight him as all, or why they stay in Neverland.
Wendy is still British, but has been living in the Tulsa with her blended family, as her father has married a woman who is Muscogee Creek. Lily is her step-sister (instead of being Tiger Lily, the "Indian Princess" on the Neverland Island.) John is older, and just graduated from high school, and Micheal is four years old and loves pirates. Wendy reads him Ella Enchanted, the retelling of Cinderella by Gail Carson Levine. (Apparently in the original there are a lot of fairy tales mentioned as stories that Wendy tells the Lost Boys.)
Besides being racist, the original was sexist as well, which is brought out in this retelling and adressed.
The author follows the writing style of the original, which was third person omnipotent, which also breaks the fourth wall all over the place. And sometimes the stars get into the story as well. It is all delightful, once you get used to it.
Wonderful retelling. Highly recommend it.
The author takes all the elements that didn't work, and that were troubling, and rather than eliminating them, explores them, such as the fact that Peter doesn't really care about anyone but himself, or that the pirates want to fight him as all, or why they stay in Neverland.
Wendy is still British, but has been living in the Tulsa with her blended family, as her father has married a woman who is Muscogee Creek. Lily is her step-sister (instead of being Tiger Lily, the "Indian Princess" on the Neverland Island.) John is older, and just graduated from high school, and Micheal is four years old and loves pirates. Wendy reads him Ella Enchanted, the retelling of Cinderella by Gail Carson Levine. (Apparently in the original there are a lot of fairy tales mentioned as stories that Wendy tells the Lost Boys.)
Besides being racist, the original was sexist as well, which is brought out in this retelling and adressed.
The author follows the writing style of the original, which was third person omnipotent, which also breaks the fourth wall all over the place. And sometimes the stars get into the story as well. It is all delightful, once you get used to it.
Wonderful retelling. Highly recommend it.
yapha's review
5.0
This reimagining of the Peter Pan story is fantastic! It is a great story in and of itself, and it also manages to call out all of the misogynistic, anti-Native, pro-colonialism themes in JM Barrie's original story. Lily is Creek and her stepsister Wendy is white. Wendy and their brother Michael set off for Neverland with Peter Pan and the fairy Belle. Lily follows soon after with Peter's Shadow, which was not successfully reattached. They both have very different experiences upon landing -- Wendy with the Lost Boys and Lily with the Native kids. I highly recommended this version for both those who love the original story of Peter Pan and for those who despise it. It definitely contains food for though as well as an excellent adventure. For grades 4 & up.
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
eARC provided by publisher via Edelweiss
charity1313's review against another edition
adventurous
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
The premise is great. The re-telling, character, and plot changes are all inventive. There is no reason why I shouldn't have been drawn into this book...but I wasn't. I was bored. I mean, I was on board with making Peter into a villain and bringing fresh perspective to the tale...it just didn't compel me to keep reading beyond the setup of the new premise. I definitely zoned out throughout the audiobook on this one but the kids enjoyed it so we finished it.
librarianaaryn's review against another edition
adventurous
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
3.5
panda_incognito's review
2.0
I am shocked that this book has so many rave reviews. I found it extremely dull, and put down the book for several weeks before skimming through the rest. The book starts out well, with an enticing omniscient narrative voice, sympathetic character situations, and a sense of magic, but the story begins to drag and the omniscient narrative voice falters for the rest of the book, with confusing head-hopping and distracting side commentary. I only powered through this because I was reading it for class.
To be fair to this book, I never liked Peter Pan either. I loved the premise as a child, and loved the extremely abridged version that my family got as a kid's meal from Chickfila, but I felt that the full version of the story dragged on and wasted its potential. I feel similarly about this book, and the author's effort to bring Native Americans into the story in a respectful way just seemed weird. I completely forgot that there were unexplained, stereotypically represented Indians in the original classic, but the author's attempt to explain and change that in this story was confusing and strange.
The whole story is bizarre. Very little of the action makes sense, almost none of the characters receive any real development, and Peter's sudden change of heart at the end is abrupt and unbelievable. The story also ends without resolving anything about the girls' family situation, dropping the plot point about the parents that the omniscient narrator had introduced when the children were heading to Neverland. This dropped storyline made the ending even more unsatisfying than it already was, and I would only recommend this book if someone was desperate for a fantasy story or classic retelling involving modern Native Americans.
To be fair to this book, I never liked Peter Pan either. I loved the premise as a child, and loved the extremely abridged version that my family got as a kid's meal from Chickfila, but I felt that the full version of the story dragged on and wasted its potential. I feel similarly about this book, and the author's effort to bring Native Americans into the story in a respectful way just seemed weird. I completely forgot that there were unexplained, stereotypically represented Indians in the original classic, but the author's attempt to explain and change that in this story was confusing and strange.
The whole story is bizarre. Very little of the action makes sense, almost none of the characters receive any real development, and Peter's sudden change of heart at the end is abrupt and unbelievable. The story also ends without resolving anything about the girls' family situation, dropping the plot point about the parents that the omniscient narrator had introduced when the children were heading to Neverland. This dropped storyline made the ending even more unsatisfying than it already was, and I would only recommend this book if someone was desperate for a fantasy story or classic retelling involving modern Native Americans.
foldingthepage_kayleigh's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
lighthearted
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? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Racial slurs, Racism, and Toxic friendship
avisreadsandreads's review
I didn't realize this was a retelling of the Peter Pan story, which I have no interest in.