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5.95k reviews for:

Peter Pan and Wendy

J.M. Barrie

3.85 AVERAGE

adventurous challenging fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: No
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous lighthearted relaxing medium-paced

DNF. The writing style was just not enjoyable to me and after reading about 35% just threw in the towel.

Pretty much what I expected. A product of its time, an unusual narrator and perspective. Didactic regarding how children should be and, I guess who possesses imagination even and generally how people ought to grow up and what not. The express idea that Peter is a fairy makes a lot of sense to me. And a changeling was delivered to his real mom, altering him, I guess. Interesting use of that folktale I think, though when it’s conjoined with the idea of everything being an exercise in children having access to this liminal space, it becomes a lot more fantastical at the expense of holding onto themes that would probably be more interesting not being codified.

oh poor peter pan...

So much better than the disney versions. I mainly read it because of Night Witches.

Reading these books as an adult made me surprisingly uncomfortable. I grew up watching the movies and, like most kids, was enchanted by the idea of flying off to Neverland, living without rules, and never growing up. But revisiting both original works (Peter Pan and Peter Pan in Kensington Gardens) stripped all the nostalgia away. These didn’t feel like stories for children at all.
 
I couldn’t quite pinpoint what made me so uneasy, but it lingered throughout both books. The whole dynamic between Peter and Wendy felt especially off – unsettling even. The idea of her being positioned as a mother figure to Peter, while also clearly placed in a romantic role, didn’t sit right with me. That blurred line felt inappropriate. It also reinforced rigid and outdated gender roles: Wendy is expected to cook, clean, sew, and “mother” the boys, while the boys fight, explore, and play. As an adult living in this day and age, I can’t help but feel that this kind of messaging shouldn’t be passed off as harmless fantasy.
 
Tinker Bell, however, despite her own troubling character traits, made me laugh a few times. A total vibe…
 
While Barrie’s imagination is undeniable – his ability to create an entire universe full of fairies, pirates, and lost children is impressive – these books didn’t resonate with me. They didn’t feel magical. They felt… off. And maybe that’s just me reading them through a modern lens, shaped by a heightened awareness of things like gender roles, consent, and power dynamics, but I really couldn’t set it aside…
 
In the end, these books didn’t bring back warm childhood memories like I thought they would. And I’ve since discovered I’m not alone in feeling this way – many readers revisiting Peter Pan as adults have pointed out the same issues.
 
I understand there will be many brushing off these books today as “it’s just a kid’s book” or “it’s fiction”, but I really think they are dangerous. Choosing to re-read outdated classics as adults is one thing, but handing them to children simply because they’re nostalgic is something else entirely. Their minds are clean slates, and stories matter. Stories teach. And this one, for all its imagination, isn’t something I would want shaping a child’s worldview.

adventurous medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: A mix
Strong character development: No
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated
adventurous fast-paced
adventurous funny lighthearted medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Plot
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Complicated
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: Complicated