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dozylocal's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars
I really struggled to rate this eBook. I suspect it might have got a higher rating if I'd not been reading it in dribs and drabs between doing other things.
That said, I am enjoying it. I am particularly appreciating that the YA "love story" is unfolding at a more realistic pace than most books I have read in a similar genre. At times, I do find Gwen's observations a lot more adult than her age would suggest, but I guess that's also quite common with YA novels. This edition felt longer than the typical "YA eBook series" installment which was nice. Often I find these series feel more like one book chopped up into a collection of chapters rather than a series of stand-alone books.
I already own book three so will definitely continue. I'm sure I will want to finish the series, so I am a little nervous to see what the rest of the books will cost me :)
[Edit: Turns out there are only three books in the series so I already own them all :) ]
I really struggled to rate this eBook. I suspect it might have got a higher rating if I'd not been reading it in dribs and drabs between doing other things.
That said, I am enjoying it. I am particularly appreciating that the YA "love story" is unfolding at a more realistic pace than most books I have read in a similar genre. At times, I do find Gwen's observations a lot more adult than her age would suggest, but I guess that's also quite common with YA novels. This edition felt longer than the typical "YA eBook series" installment which was nice. Often I find these series feel more like one book chopped up into a collection of chapters rather than a series of stand-alone books.
I already own book three so will definitely continue. I'm sure I will want to finish the series, so I am a little nervous to see what the rest of the books will cost me :)
[Edit: Turns out there are only three books in the series so I already own them all :) ]
khcarson's review against another edition
3.0
I was given an e-copy of the Piper's Price by the author in exchange for an honest review.
The Piper's Price is the second book in the Neverland Wars series. It picks up a few months after the end of the first book, where Gwen and her sister, Rosemary, fled reality and the black coats of the Anomalous Activity Department, who intend to strip down Neverland's magic and use it for their own purposes. In order for Peter to recruit an army of children to protect Neverland, Gwen must return to reality to hunt down tokens to summon the infamous Pied Piper. But when the Piper does show up, the cost of his cooperation might be more than Gwen can handle.
Aw, yeah, guys. This book is the prime example of a sequel ending up better than the first book. The plot was a smash hit and integrated many elements from the first book very nicely, from Gwen's mysterious childhood memory to the mermaid's scale. I was delighted to see how all these elements came together, and makes me excited to see how future things will come into play, such as the mermaids finally getting their "sky glass"/mirror. The relationships in this installment were much deeper and more heartfelt. I particularly enjoyed the friendship between Gwen and Lasiandra, as it is always nice to see authors explore female friendships in YA, even if one of the girls is a mermaid.
The plot in this book was much more engaging than the previous installment, in my opinion, as there was more clarity to Gwen's mission and circumstances. Despite that, I feel like the tension could have been improved by outlining the stakes a bit more. We have a vague idea that Neverland will be bombed and stripped of magic, but it would be nice to see the concrete consequences if Gwen were to fail. (e.g., if they're not able to recruit the Piper by X date, the black coats will invade.) In addition, I feel the tension suffered because the bad guys didn't come across as big and bad. They had access to powerful magic-fueled technology (like ability to track flight and suppress all magic in an area) yet hardly utilized it to its full effectiveness. They come across as bumbling and incompetent more than usual, which dulled the kids' victories over them. The pirate appearance ended up feeling more threatening than this entire magic suppression agency, because he came after Peter and Gwen with everything he had.
The characters development was well-done for Gwen. I really liked seeing her struggles with doubts, and her flipping between two worlds-- adult and childhood. She perfectly straddles that inner conflict that many teenagers face where they don't feel as though they belong in either world. I especially liked that the book delved further into the relationships between characters, particularly between Gwen and Jay vs Gwen and Peter. The latter relationship is not romantic but has fleeting hints that there might be. However, Peter's stunted character makes it difficult to determine where it will go. He is presented as a "larger than life" figure, but he often comes across as one dimensional because we only see one facet of his personality-- pretty much the stereotype of Peter Pan. I understand the effect that was going for, but as other "fictional" characters come across with more personality, I'd feel like he could have a greater effect if we saw other sides to him as well.
There was a bit of conflicting world building which I felt could have been improved through some more explanation. It was difficult for me as a reader to understand how the world worked as things often flip-flopped in their usage, Like, the raven tree eggs at the beginning of the book were being used as a food, then later were being used as a weapon. There was a host of "fictional" characters that had immigrated to reality, but it's never specified who's who. There were some minor hints, and maybe I'm just dense, but as this is a book for kids, spelling it out in this case is probably best. As Gwen would recognize these figures from movies and storybooks (as the princesses mention Disney at one point) I can’t see why she wouldn’t be making comparisons in her mind between the reality versions and what the fiction depicted them as.
Delving a little deeper would also help with the whole "reality vs fiction" representation of Native Americans. It touches a little deeper on it in this book by showing Tiger Lily living in reality as a Native American as opposed to a redskin, which I think is important. I'm not Native American, so I can't speak to the representation, but I will say I'm glad the redskins and Native Americans are shown to be two separate entities.
Aside from all the criticisms, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was such a fun mission-based story that gave Gwen a lot of autonomy and strength. She wasn't just another kid in Neverland; she was one of the only lost children smart and strong enough to take on this mission for Peter. The romance as well between her and Jay was so light and beautiful, especially in the way the two accepted the realities of their situation. Gwen often reminds herself that this is a crush, not a True Love situation, which lets the romance grow naturally. By the time they get to the L word, it feels organic to their situation despite their time apart. Because most of the story takes place in reality, it has a definite urban fantasy feel to it that really made the whole thing charming. I would recommend this book for readers on the younger end of the YA scale, perhaps those transitioning from MG to YA.
3.5/5 stars. A kick ass sequel that beautifully tied elements together and led by an awesome heroine juggling her life between two worlds.
The Piper's Price is the second book in the Neverland Wars series. It picks up a few months after the end of the first book, where Gwen and her sister, Rosemary, fled reality and the black coats of the Anomalous Activity Department, who intend to strip down Neverland's magic and use it for their own purposes. In order for Peter to recruit an army of children to protect Neverland, Gwen must return to reality to hunt down tokens to summon the infamous Pied Piper. But when the Piper does show up, the cost of his cooperation might be more than Gwen can handle.
Aw, yeah, guys. This book is the prime example of a sequel ending up better than the first book. The plot was a smash hit and integrated many elements from the first book very nicely, from Gwen's mysterious childhood memory to the mermaid's scale. I was delighted to see how all these elements came together, and makes me excited to see how future things will come into play, such as the mermaids finally getting their "sky glass"/mirror. The relationships in this installment were much deeper and more heartfelt. I particularly enjoyed the friendship between Gwen and Lasiandra, as it is always nice to see authors explore female friendships in YA, even if one of the girls is a mermaid.
The plot in this book was much more engaging than the previous installment, in my opinion, as there was more clarity to Gwen's mission and circumstances. Despite that, I feel like the tension could have been improved by outlining the stakes a bit more. We have a vague idea that Neverland will be bombed and stripped of magic, but it would be nice to see the concrete consequences if Gwen were to fail. (e.g., if they're not able to recruit the Piper by X date, the black coats will invade.) In addition, I feel the tension suffered because the bad guys didn't come across as big and bad. They had access to powerful magic-fueled technology (like ability to track flight and suppress all magic in an area) yet hardly utilized it to its full effectiveness. They come across as bumbling and incompetent more than usual, which dulled the kids' victories over them. The pirate appearance ended up feeling more threatening than this entire magic suppression agency, because he came after Peter and Gwen with everything he had.
The characters development was well-done for Gwen. I really liked seeing her struggles with doubts, and her flipping between two worlds-- adult and childhood. She perfectly straddles that inner conflict that many teenagers face where they don't feel as though they belong in either world. I especially liked that the book delved further into the relationships between characters, particularly between Gwen and Jay vs Gwen and Peter. The latter relationship is not romantic but has fleeting hints that there might be. However, Peter's stunted character makes it difficult to determine where it will go. He is presented as a "larger than life" figure, but he often comes across as one dimensional because we only see one facet of his personality-- pretty much the stereotype of Peter Pan. I understand the effect that was going for, but as other "fictional" characters come across with more personality, I'd feel like he could have a greater effect if we saw other sides to him as well.
There was a bit of conflicting world building which I felt could have been improved through some more explanation. It was difficult for me as a reader to understand how the world worked as things often flip-flopped in their usage, Like, the raven tree eggs at the beginning of the book were being used as a food, then later were being used as a weapon. There was a host of "fictional" characters that had immigrated to reality, but it's never specified who's who. There were some minor hints, and maybe I'm just dense, but as this is a book for kids, spelling it out in this case is probably best. As Gwen would recognize these figures from movies and storybooks (as the princesses mention Disney at one point) I can’t see why she wouldn’t be making comparisons in her mind between the reality versions and what the fiction depicted them as.
Delving a little deeper would also help with the whole "reality vs fiction" representation of Native Americans. It touches a little deeper on it in this book by showing Tiger Lily living in reality as a Native American as opposed to a redskin, which I think is important. I'm not Native American, so I can't speak to the representation, but I will say I'm glad the redskins and Native Americans are shown to be two separate entities.
Aside from all the criticisms, I really enjoyed reading this book. It was such a fun mission-based story that gave Gwen a lot of autonomy and strength. She wasn't just another kid in Neverland; she was one of the only lost children smart and strong enough to take on this mission for Peter. The romance as well between her and Jay was so light and beautiful, especially in the way the two accepted the realities of their situation. Gwen often reminds herself that this is a crush, not a True Love situation, which lets the romance grow naturally. By the time they get to the L word, it feels organic to their situation despite their time apart. Because most of the story takes place in reality, it has a definite urban fantasy feel to it that really made the whole thing charming. I would recommend this book for readers on the younger end of the YA scale, perhaps those transitioning from MG to YA.
3.5/5 stars. A kick ass sequel that beautifully tied elements together and led by an awesome heroine juggling her life between two worlds.
elvenavari's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars. I gave this a half star more than the first book because of the Piper's character, who I really enjoyed BUT it took him so long to show up! There wasn't as much Neverland in this book and a lot more Gwen, both of which are things I disliked in the first book. The only thing that was pretty okay was the relationship between Gwen and Jay, I liked how slowly their relationship progressed, it felt so much more real than a lot of other YA relationships.
I'm bummed that I don't like these books more as the covers are awesome.
I'm bummed that I don't like these books more as the covers are awesome.
lizzyverde's review against another edition
4.0
3-7-17
4.5 stars
just as fun and cute and exciting as the last i love peter and gwen so much aHHHHHHH i just really love peter lord help me
1-27-17
AHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BOYYYYYYYYYYYY OH HELLLLLLLL YEAHHHHHHH
IM SO HYPE MORE PETER AND GWEN FUCK YEAH
i need to reread this before i read the sequel lol
4.5 stars
just as fun and cute and exciting as the last i love peter and gwen so much aHHHHHHH i just really love peter lord help me
1-27-17
AHHHHHHH YESSSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS BOYYYYYYYYYYYY OH HELLLLLLLL YEAHHHHHHH
IM SO HYPE MORE PETER AND GWEN FUCK YEAH
i need to reread this before i read the sequel lol
kirstieellen's review against another edition
3.0
Initial Thoughts Upon Finishing
Gah I just love this retelling of Peter Pan! I think I preferred the first book but the second has me so excited for the conclusion I can't even. There's less Neverland in this one which is probably why I felt it dragged just a little at some points but it's a great book for further exploring Gwen's character. I love how different this retelling is by swinging it into YA - AND THE COVERS ARE GORGEOUS.
The Piper’s Price
This the second book in this series and it’s a retelling of Peter Pan!! So if you haven’t read the first book then leave!!
Spoilers ahead for book one!
The Piper’s Price picks up from the events of the first book and we’re still following Gwen as she’s at an awkward age to be in Neverland but determined to stick with her sister — and with Peter, who she obviously is more than a little fond of — and fight against the adults that are ruining Neverland with their abuse of magic.
So the plot of the sequel is Gwen trying to get in contact with the Piper to get him on their side of the war to try and save Neverland before the magic runs out. But he’s a tricky fellow and demands several things of Gwen before he’ll co-operate. Most of the book follows Gwen as she tries to meet this criteria.
We get to meet a few new characters in this book, such as the Piper and also Tiger Lily. But most of the book takes place outside of Neverland and is much slower paced, or maybe the better way to describe it is that it just less exciting than the first one. I can’t deny I was ever so slightly disappointed overall but I still enjoyed it, and I’m hoping the third book will round things up wonderfully!
Indecisive Feelings
So let’s discuss these indecisive feelings a bit further. I’m all for retellings of classics, I love seeing someone do something new with the story. My favourite thing about what Greathouse has done with this series is making Peter older and introducing a love interest (we think). I love that Gwen is at an odd age and so we’re seeing Neverland from a curious perspective — and I love the story of the magic and the war against reality.
But everything is moving much too slow for me. I’m not sure what to think about love interests anymore because our lover boy from book one — the guy from school, Jay — is back in this book. And Peter is fairly elusive, so are we shipping Gwan (can that be the ship?) or not?
Spoilers:I’ve always been an on-the-fence person when it comes to the classic character of Peter, himself. He’s childish in all the bad ways, selfish and pesky. The more I re-watch Disney’s take on it, the less I like him. I thought that Greathouse was steering away from his odd character complexities but this sequel has me doubting.
Peter is just not there and I want him to be. I mean, I get that the book is playing on Gwen’s insecurities hence her flight issues and hence her lapse into wanting to be in reality again — she’s clearly not fitting well into the whimsical ways of Neverland. It's like his position as "leader" of the lost children has made him too important to do any of the dirty work any more. I think he might be there more in the next book, but who knows? So much of this sequel is based in reality which means it’s all about Gwen and her life — her relationship issues and her frustrating inability to fly properly. And I think this was my main let down of the book: it wasn’t magical enough for what I was expecting.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Piper but his story was alright — I particularly loved the final “battle” scene with all the children in reality being given fairy dust. I guess the bottom line is that this was too slow, but I still enjoyed it.
Summary
An interesting sequel to the first book, indeed!! I’m crossing everything that the third book takes us out with a bang — and I can’t wait to see our fantastic mis-match of character battling it out against reality together. I hope that Gwen pulls herself together more so that she can have it straight in her head whose side she’s actually on and I hope to god Peter is upfront and centre in book three. I guess we’ll see.
Happy reading!
Gah I just love this retelling of Peter Pan! I think I preferred the first book but the second has me so excited for the conclusion I can't even. There's less Neverland in this one which is probably why I felt it dragged just a little at some points but it's a great book for further exploring Gwen's character. I love how different this retelling is by swinging it into YA - AND THE COVERS ARE GORGEOUS.
The Piper’s Price
This the second book in this series and it’s a retelling of Peter Pan!! So if you haven’t read the first book then leave!!
Spoilers ahead for book one!
The Piper’s Price picks up from the events of the first book and we’re still following Gwen as she’s at an awkward age to be in Neverland but determined to stick with her sister — and with Peter, who she obviously is more than a little fond of — and fight against the adults that are ruining Neverland with their abuse of magic.
So the plot of the sequel is Gwen trying to get in contact with the Piper to get him on their side of the war to try and save Neverland before the magic runs out. But he’s a tricky fellow and demands several things of Gwen before he’ll co-operate. Most of the book follows Gwen as she tries to meet this criteria.
We get to meet a few new characters in this book, such as the Piper and also Tiger Lily. But most of the book takes place outside of Neverland and is much slower paced, or maybe the better way to describe it is that it just less exciting than the first one. I can’t deny I was ever so slightly disappointed overall but I still enjoyed it, and I’m hoping the third book will round things up wonderfully!
Indecisive Feelings
So let’s discuss these indecisive feelings a bit further. I’m all for retellings of classics, I love seeing someone do something new with the story. My favourite thing about what Greathouse has done with this series is making Peter older and introducing a love interest (we think). I love that Gwen is at an odd age and so we’re seeing Neverland from a curious perspective — and I love the story of the magic and the war against reality.
But everything is moving much too slow for me. I’m not sure what to think about love interests anymore because our lover boy from book one — the guy from school, Jay — is back in this book. And Peter is fairly elusive, so are we shipping Gwan (can that be the ship?) or not?
Spoilers:
Peter is just not there and I want him to be. I mean, I get that the book is playing on Gwen’s insecurities hence her flight issues and hence her lapse into wanting to be in reality again — she’s clearly not fitting well into the whimsical ways of Neverland. It's like his position as "leader" of the lost children has made him too important to do any of the dirty work any more. I think he might be there more in the next book, but who knows? So much of this sequel is based in reality which means it’s all about Gwen and her life — her relationship issues and her frustrating inability to fly properly. And I think this was my main let down of the book: it wasn’t magical enough for what I was expecting.
I wasn’t sure what to expect of the Piper but his story was alright — I particularly loved the final “battle” scene with all the children in reality being given fairy dust. I guess the bottom line is that this was too slow, but I still enjoyed it.
Summary
An interesting sequel to the first book, indeed!! I’m crossing everything that the third book takes us out with a bang — and I can’t wait to see our fantastic mis-match of character battling it out against reality together. I hope that Gwen pulls herself together more so that she can have it straight in her head whose side she’s actually on and I hope to god Peter is upfront and centre in book three. I guess we’ll see.
Happy reading!
dozylocal's review
3.0
3.5 stars
I really struggled to rate this eBook. I suspect it might have got a higher rating if I'd not been reading it in dribs and drabs between doing other things.
That said, I am enjoying it. I am particularly appreciating that the YA "love story" is unfolding at a more realistic pace than most books I have read in a similar genre. At times, I do find Gwen's observations a lot more adult than her age would suggest, but I guess that's also quite common with YA novels. This edition felt longer than the typical "YA eBook series" installment which was nice. Often I find these series feel more like one book chopped up into a collection of chapters rather than a series of stand-alone books.
I already own book three so will definitely continue. I'm sure I will want to finish the series, so I am a little nervous to see what the rest of the books will cost me :)
[Edit: Turns out there are only three books in the series so I already own them all :) ]
I really struggled to rate this eBook. I suspect it might have got a higher rating if I'd not been reading it in dribs and drabs between doing other things.
That said, I am enjoying it. I am particularly appreciating that the YA "love story" is unfolding at a more realistic pace than most books I have read in a similar genre. At times, I do find Gwen's observations a lot more adult than her age would suggest, but I guess that's also quite common with YA novels. This edition felt longer than the typical "YA eBook series" installment which was nice. Often I find these series feel more like one book chopped up into a collection of chapters rather than a series of stand-alone books.
I already own book three so will definitely continue. I'm sure I will want to finish the series, so I am a little nervous to see what the rest of the books will cost me :)
[Edit: Turns out there are only three books in the series so I already own them all :) ]
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