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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
reflective
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:
Complicated
Content Warnings
Graphic: Racial slurs, Racism, Violence
Moderate: Child death, Sexism, Violence, Murder
If you are looking for a book at match the movies you may know and love, then this is not the book for you. However, if you are a fan of the darkness of fairytales, then Baum’s story may be just what you’re looking for. Peter Pan is at its core a dark and disturbing tale about a young boy who has been lost to the world and refuses to grow up and reconnect with the life he could have had. Following the Darling children on their adventures into the night following the mysterious, cocky, and self-obsessed Peter Pan and his easily angered sidekick Tinkerbell to a world where the inhabitants are constantly at war. This book is full of themes ranging from absentee parents who care more for image and money than their children, to fear of growing older and being trapped in a meaningless life, to actual murder as a way to stave off boredom. Peter Pan himself is a narcissistic character who rules over the Neverland with an iron fist in the name of make-believe, going so far as to force the lost boys to bodily change themselves to fit his world whether they want to or not. The story of Peter’s attempt to kidnap Wendy to be his mother grows only darker the further into it you read. Along with the everlasting hunting circle of the lost boys being hunted by the pirates, who are hunted by the Indians, who are hunted by the beasts. As well as the ticking crocodile bringing up the rear of the chain, who is solely after Captain Hook after acquiring a taste for his flesh. Peter Pan leans into the darkness that exists between a child’s imagination and naivety, and the crushing destruction of the inner child by the grown up world. If you are a fan of delving into the world of original fairytales with true darkness and potential for evil and pain then I would recommend checking this book out.
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
A very cute story and very humorous. The language an ideas about women and minorities are no longer acceptable, but not so offensive that you can't finish the book.
Content Warnings
Minor: Misogyny, Racism, Cultural appropriation, Colonisation
lighthearted
I think I've grown up too much to fully appreciate this book. I wonder if my younger self would've had different thoughts on the book had I read this earlier in life.
Some of the magic was still there. However, I'll admit my first introduction to Pan was in a children's book created by Disney & also the 1953 original Disney Family movie. The interpretations were, as expected, very different from Barrie's original creations in typical Disney-esque fashion. I didn't realize that the play came out before adapted to the 1911 book.
Tinkerbell was always my favorite character in the modern stories & films. However, J.M. Barrie had much less story devoted to her.
I guess we all have to grow up some day.
This book was read for the 2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge prompt "A book about pirates".
Some of the magic was still there. However, I'll admit my first introduction to Pan was in a children's book created by Disney & also the 1953 original Disney Family movie. The interpretations were, as expected, very different from Barrie's original creations in typical Disney-esque fashion. I didn't realize that the play came out before adapted to the 1911 book.
Tinkerbell was always my favorite character in the modern stories & films. However, J.M. Barrie had much less story devoted to her.
I guess we all have to grow up some day.
This book was read for the 2024 Popsugar Reading Challenge prompt "A book about pirates".
The story is well-known: Peter Pan, a boy who never grows up, takes Wendy and her brothers away to Neverland. They stay there for months while their parents grieve, having rather violent adventures. Adventures, for Wendy, meant a whole lot of housework most of the time. Even when she agrees to go back with Peter once a year, it is to do his spring cleaning.
The book is rather strange at times and closes by making the point that children in general are gay, innocent and heartless.
The book is rather strange at times and closes by making the point that children in general are gay, innocent and heartless.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Wanted to like it, but the I found the writing REALLY unappealing. I didn't like Peter in the book as much, the pirates seemed really stupid and not scary at all, and other characters, like Mr. Darling kind of just knocked the whole deal. At one point, Mr. Darling actually argues with Michael about who should take their medicine first. He was just extremely immature and unlikeable. I did like Tinker Bell and Wendy though. I liked the concepts that the book brought up about the Never Lands being the lands of make belief that we make up when we're children. I liked that it showed that eventually we have to grow up and leave these worlds behind. Definitely some interesting themes, but I had to push myself to keep reading.