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skyhazzard's review against another edition
4.0
Actual rating 3.75
This book was very easy to get into, the writing just pulled me in and despite it being a rather short book I felt like I got so much information throughout it.
This book is a contemporary retelling of Peter Pan with surfing. I really did enjoy the surfing aspect and some of the Peter Pan similaires but I would have liked more of those. I wanted more of Pete being dodgy and charming, Belle being jealous and manipulative, more Lost Boys period, and just more Jas because I was here for it!
There were some twists I didn’t see coming and I was surprised but the route the story took but it was interesting. The ending threw me off a bit though.
This book was very easy to get into, the writing just pulled me in and despite it being a rather short book I felt like I got so much information throughout it.
This book is a contemporary retelling of Peter Pan with surfing. I really did enjoy the surfing aspect and some of the Peter Pan similaires but I would have liked more of those. I wanted more of Pete being dodgy and charming, Belle being jealous and manipulative, more Lost Boys period, and just more Jas because I was here for it!
There were some twists I didn’t see coming and I was surprised but the route the story took but it was interesting. The ending threw me off a bit though.
Spoiler
I mean did some of that stuff actually happen? Did she meet Jas and Pete? Was that picture of them another figment of her imagination?glowberry12's review
2.0
2.25 STARS
WENDY MOIRA ANGELA DARLING WOULD NEVER
I gave this book only 2.25 stars for many reasons. There were reasons that made it tip over the two star mark and reasons that it could have dragged it way below.
Everyone likes to hear the good first, so here you have it. This book was so good at portraying sunny California surf culture. I could feel the sea breeze, taste the salt, hear the waves crashing on the beach. It was really good in that aspect. It made me want to learn how to surf because then I could pretend I was cool enough to hang out with all of Wendy’s friends.
I also really enjoyed the concept of looking for the lost brothers—lost boys, lost brothers. It seemed to work. Wendy seemed really adamant that they weren’t dead and had just disappeared to chase the next wave. She was passionate about finding them and I felt like she really loved them a lot. The beginning did a lot for me—it had this whimsical quality to it that I really enjoyed.
Plus, the ending was okay. It was predictable, but okay. I was going to give the book two stars up until the ending, which swayed me a bit.
But for the negative (and there are a few, bear with me):
It was like the Percy Jackson movies. Aesthetically pleasing, but please God, don’t make me watch them because I’ll be confused.
Wendy as a character was totally unbelievable. She claimed to be obsessed with finding her brothers but seemed to forget about them the moment she was with her love interests, Pete and Jas. Michael and John who? Like girl, the only reason you met Pete and Jas in the first place was because you were on this wild goose-chase in pursuit of your brothers. On top of this, this girl is supposed to be smart. She was accepted to Stanford, was in the top of her class at her big California high school, had loving parents…the things Wendy did just didn’t imitate this at all. Which girl, with any common sense, goes up to a scary looking guy in a “wife-beater” and asks for him to light her cigarette in a rundown bar (AND SHE DOESN’T EVEN SMOKE)? Which girl decides to take drugs just to get into a party? Which smart girl skips out on her friends and parents for days to hang out with a drug-dealer and homeless teenager who steals from empty houses? Which smart girl totally forgets about her lost and possibly dead brothers the moment some guy on a surfboard tells her she’s pretty? Honestly, Wendy didn’t make much sense at all and it killed me.
Again, with characterization, both Pete and Jas were as basic as you get.
1. Choose any boy from any teen novel ever.
2. Find a scientist
3. Ask said scientist to clone him twice.
4. Once cloned, insert them into Second Star
5. Name them Pete and Jas
It was the typical story of the guy Wendy should be with (insta-love case #1) and the bad boy drug dealer who will change for Wendy (insta-love case #2). What more do I have to say on these two? Super basic.
The relationships (can we call them that?) were underdeveloped and I literally had to attachment to either one. I didn’t care if Wendy ended up with either of them because they were so fake. They both were cases of insta-love and they were both cases where Wendy knew she was a hot commodity. Pete tells Wendy he loves her after a week, basically. Jas tells her after a spur of the moment (I had no choice!) road trip. That took two days. Wendy knows she shouldn’t be with either boy (probably, can’t confirm for sure, though), but she stays with them anyway and continues to play the field with both of them.
The only conflict in this story is because of Pete’s ex-girlfriend and the guy at the bar Wendy entices with the cigarettes she doesn’t smoke. I was tempted to skim on several occasions.
There was no indication that Pete was supposed to be Peter and Jas was supposed to be Captain Hook. It’s like the author just took their names and made them into characters all her own. If you’re going to write a retelling, give us clues about who is who—some defining qualities. But I couldn’t tell one from the other. And Wendy Darling from Second Star is definitely not Wendy Moira Angela Darling from Peter Pan. Wendy Moira Angela Darling would never do what Second Star Wendy did.
Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.
WENDY MOIRA ANGELA DARLING WOULD NEVER
I gave this book only 2.25 stars for many reasons. There were reasons that made it tip over the two star mark and reasons that it could have dragged it way below.
Everyone likes to hear the good first, so here you have it. This book was so good at portraying sunny California surf culture. I could feel the sea breeze, taste the salt, hear the waves crashing on the beach. It was really good in that aspect. It made me want to learn how to surf because then I could pretend I was cool enough to hang out with all of Wendy’s friends.
I also really enjoyed the concept of looking for the lost brothers—lost boys, lost brothers. It seemed to work. Wendy seemed really adamant that they weren’t dead and had just disappeared to chase the next wave. She was passionate about finding them and I felt like she really loved them a lot. The beginning did a lot for me—it had this whimsical quality to it that I really enjoyed.
Plus, the ending was okay. It was predictable, but okay. I was going to give the book two stars up until the ending, which swayed me a bit.
But for the negative (and there are a few, bear with me):
It was like the Percy Jackson movies. Aesthetically pleasing, but please God, don’t make me watch them because I’ll be confused.
Wendy as a character was totally unbelievable. She claimed to be obsessed with finding her brothers but seemed to forget about them the moment she was with her love interests, Pete and Jas. Michael and John who? Like girl, the only reason you met Pete and Jas in the first place was because you were on this wild goose-chase in pursuit of your brothers. On top of this, this girl is supposed to be smart. She was accepted to Stanford, was in the top of her class at her big California high school, had loving parents…the things Wendy did just didn’t imitate this at all. Which girl, with any common sense, goes up to a scary looking guy in a “wife-beater” and asks for him to light her cigarette in a rundown bar (AND SHE DOESN’T EVEN SMOKE)? Which girl decides to take drugs just to get into a party? Which smart girl skips out on her friends and parents for days to hang out with a drug-dealer and homeless teenager who steals from empty houses? Which smart girl totally forgets about her lost and possibly dead brothers the moment some guy on a surfboard tells her she’s pretty? Honestly, Wendy didn’t make much sense at all and it killed me.
Again, with characterization, both Pete and Jas were as basic as you get.
1. Choose any boy from any teen novel ever.
2. Find a scientist
3. Ask said scientist to clone him twice.
4. Once cloned, insert them into Second Star
5. Name them Pete and Jas
It was the typical story of the guy Wendy should be with (insta-love case #1) and the bad boy drug dealer who will change for Wendy (insta-love case #2). What more do I have to say on these two? Super basic.
The relationships (can we call them that?) were underdeveloped and I literally had to attachment to either one. I didn’t care if Wendy ended up with either of them because they were so fake. They both were cases of insta-love and they were both cases where Wendy knew she was a hot commodity. Pete tells Wendy he loves her after a week, basically. Jas tells her after a spur of the moment (I had no choice!) road trip. That took two days. Wendy knows she shouldn’t be with either boy (probably, can’t confirm for sure, though), but she stays with them anyway and continues to play the field with both of them.
The only conflict in this story is because of Pete’s ex-girlfriend and the guy at the bar Wendy entices with the cigarettes she doesn’t smoke. I was tempted to skim on several occasions.
There was no indication that Pete was supposed to be Peter and Jas was supposed to be Captain Hook. It’s like the author just took their names and made them into characters all her own. If you’re going to write a retelling, give us clues about who is who—some defining qualities. But I couldn’t tell one from the other. And Wendy Darling from Second Star is definitely not Wendy Moira Angela Darling from Peter Pan. Wendy Moira Angela Darling would never do what Second Star Wendy did.
Thanks for coming to my TEDTalk.
sameaton23's review
3.0
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review, and nothing more.
Hello everyone! Here is that ARC that I’ve be promising! This one is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan story. Whether you’ve read the actual book or watched the Disney version, you’ll pick up hints of the original story in this contemporary retelling.
In this story, Wendy is the main character. When her brothers go missing while chasing waves, Wendy vows to find them. She cannot accept that they just disappeared. However, her search leads to her to Kensington beach where she meets Pete, the leader of the renegade surfers who live in the houses in the cliffside. She also becomes drawn to Pete’s nemesis, Jas, who happens to be a “dust” drugdealer. Wendy embarks on her journey to find her brothers, but then the truth becomes fuzzy for Wendy.
I loved the beginning and middle of this book, but I didn’t like the ending. I think things were just brushed off too easily. I was really into the story until right after the climax. Things just winded down way to fast, and the ending felt too anticlimactic for my taste.
I was also unsure about the relationships in this book. The words “I love you” seemed to be thrown a little too hastily, and I felt like Wendy didn’t really know Jas or Pete. She also seemed to flip flop back and forth between the two way too much for me. She seemed to be utterly in love with one, and then would just get mad at him and continue on her individual path, and then run back within a minute or two. It seemed as though Wendy didn’t know what she wanted, and I just wanted her to make a choice.
What I did love about this book, though, was the surfing aspect. I thought it was a pretty unique aspect of the book, and unique to YA in general. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story about surfing in all my years of reading YA books. This book made me want to surf. It made me miss the beach, which if you know me, the beach is a big part of my life, although my other home is on a beach that has very little waves, at least none good enough for surfing. This book also made me feel more knowledgeable about surfing, even thought I wouldn’t take this as a reference book for surfing, but more of a starting point to get into it. Don’t worry, I won’t be taking up surfing anytime soon. I live in a landlock state with the highest altitude. My options are limited to snowboarding.
Overall, this is a great beach read. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Peter Pan world, but I’m glad that this book didn’t take the Peter Pan story and just exchange a few words, and update it to the current century. The Peter Pan elements are there, but Sheinmel’s own retelling takes the stage.
2.75/5
Hello everyone! Here is that ARC that I’ve be promising! This one is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan story. Whether you’ve read the actual book or watched the Disney version, you’ll pick up hints of the original story in this contemporary retelling.
In this story, Wendy is the main character. When her brothers go missing while chasing waves, Wendy vows to find them. She cannot accept that they just disappeared. However, her search leads to her to Kensington beach where she meets Pete, the leader of the renegade surfers who live in the houses in the cliffside. She also becomes drawn to Pete’s nemesis, Jas, who happens to be a “dust” drugdealer. Wendy embarks on her journey to find her brothers, but then the truth becomes fuzzy for Wendy.
I loved the beginning and middle of this book, but I didn’t like the ending. I think things were just brushed off too easily. I was really into the story until right after the climax. Things just winded down way to fast, and the ending felt too anticlimactic for my taste.
I was also unsure about the relationships in this book. The words “I love you” seemed to be thrown a little too hastily, and I felt like Wendy didn’t really know Jas or Pete. She also seemed to flip flop back and forth between the two way too much for me. She seemed to be utterly in love with one, and then would just get mad at him and continue on her individual path, and then run back within a minute or two. It seemed as though Wendy didn’t know what she wanted, and I just wanted her to make a choice.
What I did love about this book, though, was the surfing aspect. I thought it was a pretty unique aspect of the book, and unique to YA in general. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story about surfing in all my years of reading YA books. This book made me want to surf. It made me miss the beach, which if you know me, the beach is a big part of my life, although my other home is on a beach that has very little waves, at least none good enough for surfing. This book also made me feel more knowledgeable about surfing, even thought I wouldn’t take this as a reference book for surfing, but more of a starting point to get into it. Don’t worry, I won’t be taking up surfing anytime soon. I live in a landlock state with the highest altitude. My options are limited to snowboarding.
Overall, this is a great beach read. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Peter Pan world, but I’m glad that this book didn’t take the Peter Pan story and just exchange a few words, and update it to the current century. The Peter Pan elements are there, but Sheinmel’s own retelling takes the stage.
2.75/5
itsme_lori's review
2.0
I'm not a fan. I'll have a review soon with my thoughts but mostly I didn't like the MC and her wierd decisions and the turn the book took around halfway through. The beginning really pulled me in but the middle completely blew it. I also didn't like either Pete or Jas and didn't understand Wendy's insta-love to either of them. Ok, I'm going to stop there and save my thoughts for a real review when they are much less scrambled. Overall, I'd recommend just skipping this one. It's a bummer. :-/
steffimeffi's review against another edition
3.0
This author Never ever surfed. I've only surfed a few Times myself but knew it from the First Page And this was quite annoying.
samsam99's review against another edition
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
4.0
brookeisabella's review
1.0
I went into this book with high expectations. Peter Pan is by far my favorite fairytale of all time. Surfing and Peter Pan combined sounded like an amazing premise but what I got was a major let down. Half the time I was confused whether the storyline was real or not. Wendy changed her mind constantly. And who thought it was a good idea to make Wendy end up with Peter Pan. So many times in this story Wendy hanged her mind on what’s she’s doing, who she loves. The author made us believe it was rap and then not real and then not and then when she finally convinces you at the end that it was all fake she says it’s real. The plot was all over the place, a real disappointment.
edwina's review
3.0
I thought that Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel was average. I didn't really like the concept of the story as it had a modern twist on "Peter Pan". The description of the beach was nice and was very imaginative however the way the novel flowed seemed like there were pieces missing from it. It went from the main character (who I won't tell), being obsessed and finding her twin brother's John and Michael's bodies to becoming psychotic as people think she is crazy in having "illusions" of Pete, Jas and Belle (who are part of this group of foster kids who have ran away). Instead these people are real....I wish that the author took some time to elaborate more...it sounded a bit confusing that's why I rated it 3 stars.