Reviews

The Bridge to Never Land by Dave Barry, Ridley Pearson

gimpyknee's review against another edition

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4.0

Peter Pan, Twink, Capt Hook, Never Land, the Lost Boys, et al., eventually make a long awaited and very satisfying appearance to bring the read to an end thus raising it from three to four stars. It's been ten long years with no sequel. I hope there will be since some closure must take place.

cleah's review against another edition

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4.0

Sarah and Aiden Cooper are playing around the house when Aiden accidentally opens a hidden compartment in an antique desk. Inside is an old, mysterious message, and the two quickly decide to follow it and see where it leads. They track leads from Pennsylvania, all the way to London (due to a convenient family trip), then back again through multiple states. But with every mystery they solve, a dark force is gaining strength and chasing their trail behind them.

I read the previous four Starcatchers books, and they were just okay. The series had an awesome premise that I was totally drawn to, especially since it related to Peter Pan. But I felt a lot of the books were drawn out too long. There was plenty of action, sure, just not enough interesting story to keep me glued to my seat. With The Bridge to Never Land, I was hooked from the first chapter. The series became self referential and mentioned the previous books by name! How cool is that?? I enjoyed this story much more, perhaps because it took place in modern times, with easily recognized technology and places (Disney World!). Ombra was also better in this book than in previous ones, with his control over Raven's being honestly spooky! I am not sure I agreed with the authors that Sarah was seventeen - she acted much younger. And then the reader is asked to pretty strongly suspend their disbelief towards the end. But these little missteps are largely over shadowed by the fun and action of the rest of the story. Definitely the best book in the Starcatchers series - and would be a great tie-in to the Kingdom Keepers!

acidmeringue's review against another edition

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3.0

Throughout the entire book, I had the strange feeling I'd read this before. I concluded that I picked it up once not knowing it was related to a series. I wanted to give it a higher star because duh, it's peter pan, but eventually I realized I was honestly bored the entire time that we were in the "real world" and was only interested toward the end, in Neverland. The main characters were boring and every major plot point felt like it had been done before, in a previous book, in a similar way. (in some instances, like when hook captured peter, it happened the exact same way once before.) Not great presentation, if you ask me. A cheap ending to a great series.

chelse34's review against another edition

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3.0

This book started out really good and really intense, but then it sagged by the end, which I why I gave it only a 3. But I liked how they took the characters from the star catcher books and created a story to involve them in modern day time.

fractaltexan's review against another edition

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5.0

A great ending to Peter and the Starcatchers. A worthy mention of Science used to access Neverland. By far one of my favorites!

emmykippy's review against another edition

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adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Character
  • Strong character development? No
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? No
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? No

4.5

dogtrax's review against another edition

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4.0

Great adventure and fun ...

laurak23's review against another edition

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3.0

I was excited to have a chance to return to the world of the Starcatchers. I knew this book would be different, as it's set in present-day times.

I thought the premise was interesting. Kids find something that leads them to believe their beloved series of books is not fiction or fantasy but reality! I liked their adventures, even if it felt a little forced that they just so happened to be going to England right after they found the letter. However, I liked their road trip and their trek to Disney World. I didn't realize how much I missed Jim Dale's narration until I got to the Never Land chapters.

I had fun with the story, but it wasn't nearly as good as the first four books. My biggest gripe was how obnoxious and disrespectful Sarah and Aidan could be sometimes. Other than that, I don't really have anything negative to say about this book. It just lacked some of the spark that the first set of books had.

tiffym's review against another edition

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1.0

I don't think this book is considered a Peter Pan adventure like the previous installments. Peter himself isn't even the prominent character. Instead, the fifth book of the series takes place in 2011, focusing on two siblings who bicker half the time. All other Neverland characters had a minor spotlight. I disliked the new protagonists. I disliked the modern element of technology and a highly-industrialized civilization. I disliked the ending which featured a decision from Peter Pan unlike anything he's done in the past four books. All the reasons I enjoyed the previous four books were absent in this one.

blainembentley's review

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4.0

 
This one took me by surprise! This is part of the Peter and the Starcatchers series, but it doesn’t really feel like it is part of the main story. Jumping right in and seeing this one takes place a hundred years after the previous book, and seeing it be set in modern times, I was skeptical of how this story would go. But this one intrigued me. 

This one was focused on two American characters that made an interesting discovery while traveling in London. Although this didn’t feel like a direct sequel to the previous books, I did love how they used the previous books in this story. I thought it was a very fun idea. It was also fun to see these characters travel and visit places that I was able to visit pretty recently. 

Although written for a younger audience, I felt this book did a better job at appealing to an older audience. It didn’t feel as much like a kids book as the previous books did. I would say this is my favorite of the series, though it is important to know the story of the previous books to fully be able to understand and enjoy this book.