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morgangrace3's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
2.5
brendalovesbooks's review against another edition
2.0
I don't quite know what to even think about this book. I love fairy tales and fairy tale re-tellings, but I don't feel like this was either, really. There were names and a few other things borrowed from Peter Pan, but it wasn't quite a re-telling of it. There were just too many things that were way off.
Wendy's two brothers have disappeared and are presumed dead. Her parents are understandably grief stricken, but beyond that I just don't get them. Their remaining child is all over the place, gone for weeks at a time (maybe?), and they don't really do anything about it for a long time.
And then there's the whole what the heck is really going on aspect of it. Without giving spoilers away, I'll say that it all just didn't work. Whatever was going on, it's very hard to reconcile the events of the book with what was supposedly happening. It almost feels like the author had an idea for the book, but wasn't sure exactly where she wanted to take it, and hadn't gotten all the details fleshed out quite yet, and then went ahead and published it anyway.
I was hoping for a more fantasyish, fairy tale like book. If that's what you're hoping from this, move on. If you're looking for an insta-love, complete with love triangle, teenagers doing stupid thing type book, this one is for you.
*E-copy provided by Netgalley
Wendy's two brothers have disappeared and are presumed dead. Her parents are understandably grief stricken, but beyond that I just don't get them. Their remaining child is all over the place, gone for weeks at a time (maybe?), and they don't really do anything about it for a long time.
And then there's the whole what the heck is really going on aspect of it. Without giving spoilers away, I'll say that it all just didn't work. Whatever was going on, it's very hard to reconcile the events of the book with what was supposedly happening. It almost feels like the author had an idea for the book, but wasn't sure exactly where she wanted to take it, and hadn't gotten all the details fleshed out quite yet, and then went ahead and published it anyway.
I was hoping for a more fantasyish, fairy tale like book. If that's what you're hoping from this, move on. If you're looking for an insta-love, complete with love triangle, teenagers doing stupid thing type book, this one is for you.
*E-copy provided by Netgalley
nadine_booklover's review against another edition
4.0
I don't know any other book that left me so confused in the end like this one....
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Can I have a second book? There must be a story after this! As I am a big dreamer, I would love to read more of Pete, Jas and Wendy!
PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE
Can I have a second book? There must be a story after this! As I am a big dreamer, I would love to read more of Pete, Jas and Wendy!
hanna_chandler's review against another edition
5.0
This has easily become one of my favorite books. I read it around 5 or 6 months ago and not a day goes by that I don't think about it. It's well-paced and very enjoyable and I've recommended it to all my friends that enjoy a quick, fun, and emotional read. If you're thinking about getting it this is definitely your sign.
Once again: THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL IN MY OPINION.
Once again: THIS BOOK WAS SO GOOD. ABSOLUTELY PHENOMENAL IN MY OPINION.
christiana's review against another edition
2.0
For me, this book really lost its way halfway through. The plot got really messed up. I love retellings and I love Sheinmel, but this was just disappointing for me.
Spoiler
Also: where was Tiger Lily?! I wanted Tiger Lily!nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
4.0
3.5/5 Stars
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book is hard to review because I really loved it at first - probably the first three quarters of the book, I was really enjoying it. And then it just got sort of, well, weird. I still enjoyed it, but I couldn't quite love it anymore.
The story is a loose modern interpretation of Peter Pan. It follows Wendy, who can't accept that her brothers were killed in a surfing accident, since their bodies were never found. She goes on a quest to find them and ends up in a tiny little surf community made up mostly of runaways and strays, led by the captivating Pete. Wendy is captivated by Pete (much to Belle's dismay). But, on the other side of the cove, lives Jas, a mysterious drug dealer who also captures Wendy's attention. Most importantly, though, Wendy wants to find her brothers, and that is what drives her, even when things start to get really complicated.
The negatives:
Jas.
I loved the first half of this book, but once Wendy started getting involved with drug dealer Jas, I was a little put off. It seemed that Jas was supposed to be Captain Hook, the bad guy - he gets people hooked on drugs, so perhaps there was supposed to be a play on the name there? On the one hand, Sheinmel made Jas really likable, sweet and thoughtful and loyal - but he's a drug dealer. Um, that's a pretty big flaw. The bad boy with a heart of gold I can usually handle, but it seemed like we were just supposed to accept that Jas was really a good guy who just "ended up" dealing drugs. I actually found myself liking Jas - Sheinmel did a good job at that - but I kept thinking that I shouldn't be liking him.
Neutral:
Blurred reality.
You're never quite sure what's real and what's not in this book. There are times when you're sure it's all real and times when you wonder if it's maybe magic or if Wendy is delusional or if she's just tripping. When Wendy tries to tell her best friend and family about Pete and the cove, everyone immediately insists that none of it happened (which I couldn't exactly figure out why they all jumped directly to that conclusion). Wendy doesn't always know what to believe and, well, neither do I. Is it real, magic, hallucination? Um, you tell me! Did this bug me? A little. But then, I think it kind of goes along with the Peter Pan story itself - is it just a fantastical tale or did it all really happen? You just have to choose to believe, right? So, it's kind of fitting.
What I loved:
The writing.
I thought that the writing in this book was really engaging and often beautiful. This added to the magical feeling of the book and I was definitely drawn into the story.
Surfing.
This was somehow the second surfing book that I've read recently. If you'd asked me if I liked surfing a few weeks ago, I'd probably shrug and say, "Not really." So, I was surprised that I liked the surfing side of both books. I thought that the surf culture was a great modern counterpart to Neverland - the boys who don't ever want to grow up. And I loved the comparisons of surfing to flying. I thought it worked.
Peter Pan.
I found myself fascinated with the ties to the original Peter Pan story. I really loved trying to figure out how this book matched up (or didn't) with the original tale and making little comparisons. Some things were easy. Pete was a good Pan - the perpetually happy boy who takes care of his little band of lost boys (the other surfers). Belle was a good modernization of Tinkerbell. She wasn't always likable, but then, neither was Tink - she's sometimes jealous and petty, but she's good deep down. I didn't really quite get how Jas was Hook besides the fact that he was Pete's nemesis and kind of a bad boy, but I liked that the drug was called Fairy Dust - quite fun! Like I already said, I thought that the cove was a good modernization of Neverland and I liked that there was always kind of a magical quality to the story (but it never went completely toward magic, like I expected it to). There were lots of other little comparisons too and I really enjoyed them.
So, in the end, I liked this book, but there were just some things that kept me from loving it. I'd still recommend it to fans of Peter Pan (as long as you don't mind definite twists to the original story). I think you'll be intrigued. I was. 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (the publisher) in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
This review and many others can be found on my blog - Feed Your Fiction Addiction
This book is hard to review because I really loved it at first - probably the first three quarters of the book, I was really enjoying it. And then it just got sort of, well, weird. I still enjoyed it, but I couldn't quite love it anymore.
The story is a loose modern interpretation of Peter Pan. It follows Wendy, who can't accept that her brothers were killed in a surfing accident, since their bodies were never found. She goes on a quest to find them and ends up in a tiny little surf community made up mostly of runaways and strays, led by the captivating Pete. Wendy is captivated by Pete (much to Belle's dismay). But, on the other side of the cove, lives Jas, a mysterious drug dealer who also captures Wendy's attention. Most importantly, though, Wendy wants to find her brothers, and that is what drives her, even when things start to get really complicated.
The negatives:
Jas.
I loved the first half of this book, but once Wendy started getting involved with drug dealer Jas, I was a little put off. It seemed that Jas was supposed to be Captain Hook, the bad guy - he gets people hooked on drugs, so perhaps there was supposed to be a play on the name there? On the one hand, Sheinmel made Jas really likable, sweet and thoughtful and loyal - but he's a drug dealer. Um, that's a pretty big flaw. The bad boy with a heart of gold I can usually handle, but it seemed like we were just supposed to accept that Jas was really a good guy who just "ended up" dealing drugs. I actually found myself liking Jas - Sheinmel did a good job at that - but I kept thinking that I shouldn't be liking him.
Neutral:
Blurred reality.
You're never quite sure what's real and what's not in this book. There are times when you're sure it's all real and times when you wonder if it's maybe magic or if Wendy is delusional or if she's just tripping. When Wendy tries to tell her best friend and family about Pete and the cove, everyone immediately insists that none of it happened (which I couldn't exactly figure out why they all jumped directly to that conclusion). Wendy doesn't always know what to believe and, well, neither do I. Is it real, magic, hallucination? Um, you tell me! Did this bug me? A little. But then, I think it kind of goes along with the Peter Pan story itself - is it just a fantastical tale or did it all really happen? You just have to choose to believe, right? So, it's kind of fitting.
What I loved:
The writing.
I thought that the writing in this book was really engaging and often beautiful. This added to the magical feeling of the book and I was definitely drawn into the story.
Surfing.
This was somehow the second surfing book that I've read recently. If you'd asked me if I liked surfing a few weeks ago, I'd probably shrug and say, "Not really." So, I was surprised that I liked the surfing side of both books. I thought that the surf culture was a great modern counterpart to Neverland - the boys who don't ever want to grow up. And I loved the comparisons of surfing to flying. I thought it worked.
Peter Pan.
I found myself fascinated with the ties to the original Peter Pan story. I really loved trying to figure out how this book matched up (or didn't) with the original tale and making little comparisons. Some things were easy. Pete was a good Pan - the perpetually happy boy who takes care of his little band of lost boys (the other surfers). Belle was a good modernization of Tinkerbell. She wasn't always likable, but then, neither was Tink - she's sometimes jealous and petty, but she's good deep down. I didn't really quite get how Jas was Hook besides the fact that he was Pete's nemesis and kind of a bad boy, but I liked that the drug was called Fairy Dust - quite fun! Like I already said, I thought that the cove was a good modernization of Neverland and I liked that there was always kind of a magical quality to the story (but it never went completely toward magic, like I expected it to). There were lots of other little comparisons too and I really enjoyed them.
So, in the end, I liked this book, but there were just some things that kept me from loving it. I'd still recommend it to fans of Peter Pan (as long as you don't mind definite twists to the original story). I think you'll be intrigued. I was. 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: This book was provided to me by NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (the publisher) in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given. All opinions are my own***
susanthebookbag's review against another edition
4.0
I love the old classic stories that we have all heard or read when we were growing up. Second Star is a modernized retelling of one of my very favorites, Peter Pan. I enjoyed the way that this author set this wonderful tale in modern times and had the characters face modern problems, all while keeping the basic foundation of the original.
This story does not have the scary alligator or Captain Hook that we see as the evil components of the older tale, but Second Star does have it's own set of evil influences. This retelling has enough similarities to the original story that I was nostalgically reminded of the classic, with all of the old familiar and loved characters.
This story does not have the scary alligator or Captain Hook that we see as the evil components of the older tale, but Second Star does have it's own set of evil influences. This retelling has enough similarities to the original story that I was nostalgically reminded of the classic, with all of the old familiar and loved characters.