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3.85 AVERAGE
3.85 AVERAGE
adventurous
lighthearted
medium-paced
adventurous
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I loved the film as a child so wanted to read the original. Despite being less than 250 pages, it is surprisingly dense and slightly different to what I remember from the Disney film:
1. It is much darker obviously, with explicit detail from the pirates about violence, outdated language in regards to the ‘redskins’ and the children are essentially missing in Neverland for days rather than just over one night.
2. There is more emphasis in the book that while Peter thinks everything is real, the Lost Boys KNOW it is make-believe (this makes sense when at the end, they return to London and grow up with the Darlings which doesn’t happen in the film). They talk explicitly about pretend food and seeing their mothers again which they reserve for when Peter isn’t around.
3. There is more focus on gender roles than I was expecting. While I knew Peter as the ‘boy who never grows up’, I didn’t realise Wendy was portrayed as so responsible and motherly. She enforces bedtimes and manners for the boys, comforts Peter when he’s having a nightmare and is called Mother by almost all characters, including pirates at times. She seems to be okay with taking on that role until Peter says it, suggesting romantic feelings for him rather than familial. There’s even a mention that both Tinkerbell and Tiger Lilly feel the same way as Wendy and want Peter to have real feelings for them too but he doesn’t.
Last but not least, 4. I found the narrator throughout the book to be really needed. Someone is telling you, the reader, the story of Peter Pan, the way that Mrs Darling told Wendy, who told Jane, who told her daughter... The narrator constantly shifts between correcting you on what is ‘real’ vs what is make believe. It doesn’t dumb down the story because it assumes children are reading or reduce the magic because adults are reading it to them. I can imagine reading this with my children one day and loving it.
1. It is much darker obviously, with explicit detail from the pirates about violence, outdated language in regards to the ‘redskins’ and the children are essentially missing in Neverland for days rather than just over one night.
2. There is more emphasis in the book that while Peter thinks everything is real, the Lost Boys KNOW it is make-believe (this makes sense when at the end, they return to London and grow up with the Darlings which doesn’t happen in the film). They talk explicitly about pretend food and seeing their mothers again which they reserve for when Peter isn’t around.
3. There is more focus on gender roles than I was expecting. While I knew Peter as the ‘boy who never grows up’, I didn’t realise Wendy was portrayed as so responsible and motherly. She enforces bedtimes and manners for the boys, comforts Peter when he’s having a nightmare and is called Mother by almost all characters, including pirates at times. She seems to be okay with taking on that role until Peter says it, suggesting romantic feelings for him rather than familial. There’s even a mention that both Tinkerbell and Tiger Lilly feel the same way as Wendy and want Peter to have real feelings for them too but he doesn’t.
Last but not least, 4. I found the narrator throughout the book to be really needed. Someone is telling you, the reader, the story of Peter Pan, the way that Mrs Darling told Wendy, who told Jane, who told her daughter... The narrator constantly shifts between correcting you on what is ‘real’ vs what is make believe. It doesn’t dumb down the story because it assumes children are reading or reduce the magic because adults are reading it to them. I can imagine reading this with my children one day and loving it.
emotional
inspiring
lighthearted
fast-paced
adventurous
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
No
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
you know how girls are sometimes told that they are supposed to grow and mature faster than boys so that's why the standards are higher for them. that's the vibe I got from this... basically men are selfish and immature and women are always jealous of each other and are supposed to keep families together 😭 that's what we learned I guess
on the bright side I could still appreciate the writing style and symbolism
Peter Pan was one of my favorite stories from childhood so reading it now is a bit disappointing but I would recommend checking out Peter Darling by Austin Chant, it's a queer retelling that I enjoyed before
on the bright side I could still appreciate the writing style and symbolism
Peter Pan was one of my favorite stories from childhood so reading it now is a bit disappointing but I would recommend checking out Peter Darling by Austin Chant, it's a queer retelling that I enjoyed before
adventurous
lighthearted
sad
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:
Yes
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Loveable characters:
Yes
A gorgeous story that Aidan read aloud to me and bump
It was definitely not what I expected in terms of the writing style and the character of Peter, but I liked it overall.
Magical, easy to read, yet with a melancholical undertone. Barrie makes the reader travel through the story with such a perfect rhythm, and if we pay attention we may find more than just a children´s story among the pages.
Me parece muy interesante adentrarme en historias infantiles clásicas hoy en día donde hay tanta histeria general y necesidad de censurar temas para las audiencias mas jovenes. Peter Pan no seria publicado hoy en día si algún autor lo estuviera intentando vender. Y a pesar de tener muchos obvios pasajes que no envejecieron bien, si nos ayuda a entender la buena voluntad de su autor en su dia y eso me parece un gran acierto.
En si, el personaje de Peter Pan no me agrada, ni en las peliculas ni aqui en el libro pero me parece que Wendy esta trazada con una pluma mucho mas interesante por su forma de reaccionar a todo lo que le pasa en Nunca Jamas y fue lo que mas me gusto de la historia.
El final es muy lindo, algo sobre terminar donde todo comenzo para volver a empezar me agrado mucho y eso que no son mis tipos de finales preferidos.
Me parece muy interesante adentrarme en historias infantiles clásicas hoy en día donde hay tanta histeria general y necesidad de censurar temas para las audiencias mas jovenes. Peter Pan no seria publicado hoy en día si algún autor lo estuviera intentando vender. Y a pesar de tener muchos obvios pasajes que no envejecieron bien, si nos ayuda a entender la buena voluntad de su autor en su dia y eso me parece un gran acierto.
En si, el personaje de Peter Pan no me agrada, ni en las peliculas ni aqui en el libro pero me parece que Wendy esta trazada con una pluma mucho mas interesante por su forma de reaccionar a todo lo que le pasa en Nunca Jamas y fue lo que mas me gusto de la historia.
El final es muy lindo, algo sobre terminar donde todo comenzo para volver a empezar me agrado mucho y eso que no son mis tipos de finales preferidos.