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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
We listened to the audio version of this book . It was so well done and filled with rich language. Some of the language is very dated though. I’d likely give it more stars if I listened to it with older kids (maybe 8+), but I listened to it with my 6 year old. I should have held off a few more years
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
I sure would love this book if I was a straight white man, but gladly, I'm not.
The portrayal of Natives is obviously racist, and hard to overlook in a modern reading. None of the characters are likable: all are entitled and cocky, and this isn't really addressed in the narrative. This was hard to stomach when the children came home and expected a righteous welcome from their parents - maybe this was mostly because I read it as an adult, but they were so selfish that I didn't enjoy the plot at all.
My main issue is that the entire book is filled with misogyny, and while it could have been reworked as a feminist critique of toxic masculinity, it was not. Wendy's role throughout the plot was to take care of men, and she was made to grow up quicker because of her gender. We see the same thing in real life ("boys will be boys," girls have to mature quicker), but the book never addressed this. It was just a plot point that Wendy would take care of the boys because that's what a woman would do, without question.
I also hated the ending: cycles of women giving their lives to men until they're abandoned, and on and on. This wasn't whimsical at all - it was terrifying. Maybe I'm missing the appeal, but I never did find patriarchal confines to be a good bedtime story.
The portrayal of Natives is obviously racist, and hard to overlook in a modern reading. None of the characters are likable: all are entitled and cocky, and this isn't really addressed in the narrative. This was hard to stomach when the children came home and expected a righteous welcome from their parents - maybe this was mostly because I read it as an adult, but they were so selfish that I didn't enjoy the plot at all.
My main issue is that the entire book is filled with misogyny, and while it could have been reworked as a feminist critique of toxic masculinity, it was not. Wendy's role throughout the plot was to take care of men, and she was made to grow up quicker because of her gender. We see the same thing in real life ("boys will be boys," girls have to mature quicker), but the book never addressed this. It was just a plot point that Wendy would take care of the boys because that's what a woman would do, without question.
I also hated the ending: cycles of women giving their lives to men until they're abandoned, and on and on. This wasn't whimsical at all - it was terrifying. Maybe I'm missing the appeal, but I never did find patriarchal confines to be a good bedtime story.
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I can’t believe I am just now reading this. It took me back to my childhood, to a place in time where I can remember what pretending really felt like.
Although this classic has some problems, it is still endearing from a child’s perspective. And, it is still enjoyable even as an adult.
I never knew the ending, and I thought it was very satisfying.
4 stars.
Although this classic has some problems, it is still endearing from a child’s perspective. And, it is still enjoyable even as an adult.
I never knew the ending, and I thought it was very satisfying.
4 stars.
adventurous
funny
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
After I read the Peter and the Starcatcher series (review to come), I knew I had to go back and read the original story. I really only know the Peter Pan story from the Disney cartoon, and various other movie renditions I have seen. I love the Disney film, and most of the other movies too to be honest. The story is fairly true to the Disney movie, with much of the violence removed. I did like the story, however, I didn’t really love the writing style. The language was no in keeping with modern times, because the book is so old, so I didn’t really enjoy it. I did not like the narrative interjections at all, and it felt too much like reading a play, which I guess I’m not into, even though I really do enjoy watching plays. I guess this is why I don’t really read classic novels.
I didn’t expect much going into this book, but I was delightfully surprised. This books really captures the lightheartedness of being a child and is surprisingly sad. I would definitely reread this.
I actually really loved this. Which was surprising. It may be my favorite children's classic. There was so much magic and adventure and I was kind of blown away by everything that happened. For a classic, it really wasn't overly confusing or precocious, which I hate in classics, because it just feels like the author is trying to one-up you, and it's also very confusing, but I can't judge too much because that was back then and this is now. But I thought J.M. Barrie wrote it in a simple way, with some embellishes that were very clear. It wasn't anything too special, but it had a charm to it, sort of like country boy turned city boy. That probably made no sense, but it did to me. That actually made the story much more enjoyable, because I was kind of expecting that sort of mind-boggling, pretentious writing style, but I didn't get that at all, which really surprised me.
The plot was interesting, but weird. I thought it was amazing, and although it took me awhile to read it, I was only reading bit by bit so... However, the story line did feel unrealistic, not because of the magic, or other world part, but because Peter Pan and the Lost Boys just did so many things that moved the plot along that didn't seem possible to be done by such young boys. They were killing people and they were proud of it. I don't know what morals people had back in the 1900's, but I'm pretty sure young boys don't kill like 5 people in an hour and be totally happy and not scarred from it. Just thinking about it makes me shiver, and the book didn't even describe it in a gruesome way. Other than that, I was pretty absorbed in this book, and it was really interesting, and I've run out of adjectives.
The world was strange. As I read more and more children's classics, I've grown more convinced that half of them are drunk or high while writing, because I don't know how they came up with such weird, weird things. Boys who never grow up, pirates, and Indians (Native Americans). Please tell me how all these things correlate and how J.M. Barrie all put them together because I don't know. But it was different, and although not new to many, new to me, so I thought it was a good book to read as a break from what I normally read.
The one thing I really could not stand (I'm sitting right now haha) were the gender and ethnic roles. Wendy was just too much of a girl/woman, and she was just the 'perfect lady' and all the guys were manly and macho. Of course, this was written over a century ago, so I have to pardon it (mostly) but it still irked me. And the Native Americans. Now, I mostly don't mind Native Americans being called Indians, because it's pretty much just a second name for them. They might mind, but I can't do anything about it. But they were described as people who weren't as developed and critical as the white people, and that is not true at all. Native Americans actually had some ingenious ways of solving problems, and although they had different lives than we did, that doesn't mean that they are somehow lesser. Once again, different time periods, but it's all kind of the same to me.
It was still a really fun and enjoyable read, and I really liked the characters, the plot, the world, the writing. It worked really well for me. I will definitely be rereading this in the future!
The plot was interesting, but weird. I thought it was amazing, and although it took me awhile to read it, I was only reading bit by bit so... However, the story line did feel unrealistic, not because of the magic, or other world part, but because Peter Pan and the Lost Boys just did so many things that moved the plot along that didn't seem possible to be done by such young boys. They were killing people and they were proud of it. I don't know what morals people had back in the 1900's, but I'm pretty sure young boys don't kill like 5 people in an hour and be totally happy and not scarred from it. Just thinking about it makes me shiver, and the book didn't even describe it in a gruesome way. Other than that, I was pretty absorbed in this book, and it was really interesting, and I've run out of adjectives.
The world was strange. As I read more and more children's classics, I've grown more convinced that half of them are drunk or high while writing, because I don't know how they came up with such weird, weird things. Boys who never grow up, pirates, and Indians (Native Americans). Please tell me how all these things correlate and how J.M. Barrie all put them together because I don't know. But it was different, and although not new to many, new to me, so I thought it was a good book to read as a break from what I normally read.
The one thing I really could not stand (I'm sitting right now haha) were the gender and ethnic roles. Wendy was just too much of a girl/woman, and she was just the 'perfect lady' and all the guys were manly and macho. Of course, this was written over a century ago, so I have to pardon it (mostly) but it still irked me. And the Native Americans. Now, I mostly don't mind Native Americans being called Indians, because it's pretty much just a second name for them. They might mind, but I can't do anything about it. But they were described as people who weren't as developed and critical as the white people, and that is not true at all. Native Americans actually had some ingenious ways of solving problems, and although they had different lives than we did, that doesn't mean that they are somehow lesser. Once again, different time periods, but it's all kind of the same to me.
It was still a really fun and enjoyable read, and I really liked the characters, the plot, the world, the writing. It worked really well for me. I will definitely be rereading this in the future!