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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
Shoutout to NetGalley for providing this read! Thank you!
This book puts a dark twist on the story of Peter Pan that we all know and love. We start the book post Neverland where Wendy is now an adult with a husband and daughter. Her daughter Jane is whipped away to Neverland and it falls on Wendy to get her back. Through flashbacks, we learn that after her return as a child, Wendy has had to struggle through obstacles resulting from her trip to Neverland.
This story includes many, many flashbacks that show Wendy's life post Neverland. While there were some moments in the flashbacks that were important for context, I felt like most of it served no purpose to the present day conflict. They did provide background information but I don't think I needed to be given background information throughout majority of the book. It felt like the flashbacks into Wendy's past were meant to make me sympathize for her more or make me feel more attached to her but they didn't fulfill that purpose. If anything, I sympathized with her after hearing what she went through with her family at the very beginning. I didn't need so much in depth context of the events of her past. I'd rather her describe her past than show it in that way.
Keep in mind that I personally don't enjoy flashbacks in books but others might really love them!
This book also has multiple POVs which I enjoyed. I loved being able to know what was going on in Jane's POV while also being able to check in on Wendy's progress and thoughts. While I did enjoy the two POVs, I also think that their inner monologues were a little repetitive. Jane and Wendy had very repetitive thoughts and actions throughout most of the book. Basically I felt like most of the book I was either in Jane's head, Wendy's head, or I was reading through the past.
Overall I LOVED the darkness and eeriness that was described in Neverland. It made me feel creeped out and the mystery behind what was lurking on the island made me want to keep reading. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Peter Pan as a character the same way ever again and I love that this book influenced me in that way!
This book puts a dark twist on the story of Peter Pan that we all know and love. We start the book post Neverland where Wendy is now an adult with a husband and daughter. Her daughter Jane is whipped away to Neverland and it falls on Wendy to get her back. Through flashbacks, we learn that after her return as a child, Wendy has had to struggle through obstacles resulting from her trip to Neverland.
This story includes many, many flashbacks that show Wendy's life post Neverland. While there were some moments in the flashbacks that were important for context, I felt like most of it served no purpose to the present day conflict. They did provide background information but I don't think I needed to be given background information throughout majority of the book. It felt like the flashbacks into Wendy's past were meant to make me sympathize for her more or make me feel more attached to her but they didn't fulfill that purpose. If anything, I sympathized with her after hearing what she went through with her family at the very beginning. I didn't need so much in depth context of the events of her past. I'd rather her describe her past than show it in that way.
Keep in mind that I personally don't enjoy flashbacks in books but others might really love them!
This book also has multiple POVs which I enjoyed. I loved being able to know what was going on in Jane's POV while also being able to check in on Wendy's progress and thoughts. While I did enjoy the two POVs, I also think that their inner monologues were a little repetitive. Jane and Wendy had very repetitive thoughts and actions throughout most of the book. Basically I felt like most of the book I was either in Jane's head, Wendy's head, or I was reading through the past.
Overall I LOVED the darkness and eeriness that was described in Neverland. It made me feel creeped out and the mystery behind what was lurking on the island made me want to keep reading. I don't think I'll ever be able to look at Peter Pan as a character the same way ever again and I love that this book influenced me in that way!
Great concept, but the execution was not what I was suspecting. As you can surmise from the book blurb, Neverland is real and all is not well there. Peter wants a new Wendy so he claims her daughter Jane, and Wendy must find her inner child in order to save her. Much of the book is spent on flashbacks of Wendy's life growing up, and it paints a realistic picture of what would happen to some kids who visit a magical land and then get dumped back into their real life. Some of the Darling siblings are able to let go and adjust, although life will leave its bruises. Some are not. There are also some themes of queer and asexual love and romance.
I liked the characters, the story was well plotted but the scenes from Wendy's past were more interesting than anything in the present. The Neverland sequences were lacking and just never fully gelled for me. How does this place work? How did Peter even get here? Did he create Neverland, or find it? There is a "Lord of the Flies"-esque incident that I thought was leading to something truly sinister, but it never fully goes there. Peter is set up as the villain, but he's not given any real backstory and the final confrontation ends rather abruptly. He's just an obstacle that other characters react to, and that's what kept me from fully enjoying this.
I liked the characters, the story was well plotted but the scenes from Wendy's past were more interesting than anything in the present. The Neverland sequences were lacking and just never fully gelled for me. How does this place work? How did Peter even get here? Did he create Neverland, or find it? There is a "Lord of the Flies"-esque incident that I thought was leading to something truly sinister, but it never fully goes there. Peter is set up as the villain, but he's not given any real backstory and the final confrontation ends rather abruptly. He's just an obstacle that other characters react to, and that's what kept me from fully enjoying this.
This was a particularly hard book to review. My love for it is too great. I didn't want to tell anyone else about it because how could anyone ever love this book the way I do?
This book is so special, so very perfect, it's like A.C. Wise came down from the heavens and handed this book to me.
Wendy's never forgotten Neverland and never stopped missing Peter. She's adjusted to life, but he's still in the back of her mind.
But when he does finally come back, it's not her he takes, but her daughter Jane.
Wendy has something no other mother of a Lost Boy has, the knowledge of where her child has gone and who has taken her, and she will get Jane back.
The story is woven from different perspectives, like a braid, twisting and turning.
Wendy, chasing her daughter, Jane, unsure and trying to get back home, and Wendy's time between Peter and the life she has now.
As much as I want to keep this book all to myself, even more than that I want everyone to read it. I want to scream to the world that every fantasy character has a mother, and she will tear apart the world to protect her child.
Thank you to the author for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
This book is so special, so very perfect, it's like A.C. Wise came down from the heavens and handed this book to me.
Wendy's never forgotten Neverland and never stopped missing Peter. She's adjusted to life, but he's still in the back of her mind.
But when he does finally come back, it's not her he takes, but her daughter Jane.
Wendy has something no other mother of a Lost Boy has, the knowledge of where her child has gone and who has taken her, and she will get Jane back.
The story is woven from different perspectives, like a braid, twisting and turning.
Wendy, chasing her daughter, Jane, unsure and trying to get back home, and Wendy's time between Peter and the life she has now.
As much as I want to keep this book all to myself, even more than that I want everyone to read it. I want to scream to the world that every fantasy character has a mother, and she will tear apart the world to protect her child.
Thank you to the author for a free ARC in exchange for an honest review.
5/5 for the very pretty cover. 2/5 for the content.
I really wanted to like this book but it was just kinda a letdown.
The whole buildup of the big bad Neverland being a nightmare and Peter being a monster. Sure the suspense was built up. But then the very climax of Wendy finally confronting Peter and everything that happened to her, all the built-up trauma, all the suppressed memories was jut so... anti-climatic? She flies off before we even see what happens. What is the actual fate of Neverland? Is it gone? Is it rebuilt? Nothing. We don't really get a sense of what Peter the Monster is, or was, or will be. Is he a fairy? Is he some kind of alien on a star? Is he just a nightmare dreamt up by children? There is zero explanation for his existence. Hook is just, gone. We never even meet or interact with him, just tour around his ship. We never find out what happen to him. Mermaids, dead. The only interesting character from Neveralnd we interact with is Tiger Lily, and I think she's like... a mummy or something? (There's also a very huge lack of Tinker Bell. No explanation or anything) The Lost Boys are stolen children from the real world, and I think Peter is... eating them? Killing them? Slurping up their shadows? I am still very confused.
The whole book you're waiting to figure out what the big Twist is that AC Wise is going to have in her retelling of Peter Pan and it all just felt very clumsy to me, like I wanted it to be neater, all the loose ends and and all explanations tucked in. And it just wasn't. I felt like there must be better renditions elsewhere, which is sad, because I was hoping this one was it. It felt like it was the Feminist rendition of a rendition of Peter Pan. Which that's all good and fine, but I was looking forward to the retelling part of Peter Pan.
Can't really say I recommend it. But man, that cover sure is pretty haha.
I really wanted to like this book but it was just kinda a letdown.
The whole buildup of the big bad Neverland being a nightmare and Peter being a monster. Sure the suspense was built up. But then the very climax of Wendy finally confronting Peter and everything that happened to her, all the built-up trauma, all the suppressed memories was jut so... anti-climatic? She flies off before we even see what happens. What is the actual fate of Neverland? Is it gone? Is it rebuilt? Nothing. We don't really get a sense of what Peter the Monster is, or was, or will be. Is he a fairy? Is he some kind of alien on a star? Is he just a nightmare dreamt up by children? There is zero explanation for his existence. Hook is just, gone. We never even meet or interact with him, just tour around his ship. We never find out what happen to him. Mermaids, dead. The only interesting character from Neveralnd we interact with is Tiger Lily, and I think she's like... a mummy or something? (There's also a very huge lack of Tinker Bell. No explanation or anything) The Lost Boys are stolen children from the real world, and I think Peter is... eating them? Killing them? Slurping up their shadows? I am still very confused.
The whole book you're waiting to figure out what the big Twist is that AC Wise is going to have in her retelling of Peter Pan and it all just felt very clumsy to me, like I wanted it to be neater, all the loose ends and and all explanations tucked in. And it just wasn't. I felt like there must be better renditions elsewhere, which is sad, because I was hoping this one was it. It felt like it was the Feminist rendition of a rendition of Peter Pan. Which that's all good and fine, but I was looking forward to the retelling part of Peter Pan.
Can't really say I recommend it. But man, that cover sure is pretty haha.
adventurous
dark
mysterious
sad
tense
medium-paced
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
Wendy Darling is grown up and married, having been committed to an asylum for several years for refusing to give up her tales of Neverland. Peter Pan returns and takes her daughter, and Wendy fights to get her back. I liked the plot of this, the ideas of how Peter and Neverland work (it's creepier than I expected). There were some themes and repetitions that I found a bit heavy-handed, writing-wise, but overall I enjoyed this!
dark
mysterious
slow-paced
adventurous
emotional
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
Really enjoyed this. Easy read. Love Wendy’s development throughout.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Child death
I'm a super fan of creepy fairy tale retellings.
This was a wonderfully creepy Peter Pan tale, where evil is on the menu and no one is safe. I really enjoyed reading through this mucky water of a story to find out the really reason Peter has lost his mind.
A.C. Wise has done an amazing job of painting a dark picture, from the characters to the story itself. There is no stone unturned and no plight to deep.
If you need a twist on your mundane story, I would recommend this read.
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina
This was a wonderfully creepy Peter Pan tale, where evil is on the menu and no one is safe. I really enjoyed reading through this mucky water of a story to find out the really reason Peter has lost his mind.
A.C. Wise has done an amazing job of painting a dark picture, from the characters to the story itself. There is no stone unturned and no plight to deep.
If you need a twist on your mundane story, I would recommend this read.
Sara | Book Confessions of an ExBallerina