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ashleycmms's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
reflective
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? No
3.75
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Alcohol, Blood, Confinement, Death, Grief, Gun violence, and Panic attacks/disorders
Moderate: Kidnapping, Medical content, and Violence
Minor: Death of parent and Car accident
bedtimesandbooks's review
dark
emotional
sad
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
4.0
I’m going to be 100% honest with you.
The ONLY reason I picked up this book is because it was written by Aiden Thomas.
I LOVED Cemetery Boys. It is by far, one of my favorite reads this year.
I’m not a Peter Pan fan. But, I trusted Aiden and picked up this book anyways.
And as I was reading it I thought it was fine. It didn’t engage me in quite the same way that Cemetery Boys did. I know that this is a YA, and as I was reading it I definitely felt like this was made for a younger reader, which I didn’t feel like with Cemetery Boys. There’s nothing wrong with that. I’m not the intended reader. A book can be good and not my cup of tea all at the same time.
But then... as I got closer to the end I stayed up WAY too late finishing this, and ended up bawling my eyes out. So yeah. Maybe it is for me? I don’t 100% know where I stand yet, but any book that makes me ugly cry AUTOMATICALLY gets stars.
I will say that if you are even remotely familiar with the Peter Pan story, then you will probably be able to easily identify some of the upcoming twists and storylines. Aiden has described this as “basically fanfic”, and I agree with that descriptions (albeit with the racist stereotypes removed which made this much better than the original story)
Also, this cover is 💯
Will I read Aiden’s next book? 100%. I can’t wait.
This one was hard to rate, but I’m going with 4 Stars
Content Warnings
Graphic: Gun violence, Child death, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Violence, Torture, Murder, Grief, Death, and Blood
Moderate: Alcoholism
booksthatburn's review against another edition
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS retells Peter Pan to create a story of trauma, repression, and helplessness. Five years after Wendy's temporary absence and her brothers' ongoing disappearance, kids start going missing.
As a Peter Pan retelling, this fits into a sweet spot between “the story you remember happened a long time ago” and “the story you’ve been told was wrong”. Wendy doesn’t remember what happened when, five years ago, she was missing for six months, then suddenly reappeared without her brothers. There’s a sense of frustration running throughout the story as it becomes more and more apparent that Wendy’s missing memories are important, but she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get them back. It meant that when the book finally gives some answers almost at the very end there’s an enormous catharsis. I wasn’t frustrated at the book, I was frustrated for the characters, and so watching them (particularly Wendy) get answers and closure was immensely satisfying. I spent the first 80% liking it but not sure what the twist was going to be... and then the twist/reveal happened and I loved it. It's a take on Neverland that I haven't seen before and it works extremely well.
I wish Wendy’s friend Jordan had more of a positive presence, it seemed like she mostly existed as part of the crowd of well-meaning but currently unhelpful figures in Wendy’s life (though the epilogue makes up for a lot of the earlier lack). On the other hand, the feeling of being surrounded by a crowd of people who mean well but literally can't help worked really well to support the themes of trauma, repression, and helplessness which are integral to the story.
I liked this and it showed a new side of Wendy, Peter, and Neverland, which is the best part of any retelling. I'm very glad I read it.
As a Peter Pan retelling, this fits into a sweet spot between “the story you remember happened a long time ago” and “the story you’ve been told was wrong”. Wendy doesn’t remember what happened when, five years ago, she was missing for six months, then suddenly reappeared without her brothers. There’s a sense of frustration running throughout the story as it becomes more and more apparent that Wendy’s missing memories are important, but she doesn’t know if she’ll ever get them back. It meant that when the book finally gives some answers almost at the very end there’s an enormous catharsis. I wasn’t frustrated at the book, I was frustrated for the characters, and so watching them (particularly Wendy) get answers and closure was immensely satisfying. I spent the first 80% liking it but not sure what the twist was going to be... and then the twist/reveal happened and I loved it. It's a take on Neverland that I haven't seen before and it works extremely well.
I wish Wendy’s friend Jordan had more of a positive presence, it seemed like she mostly existed as part of the crowd of well-meaning but currently unhelpful figures in Wendy’s life (though the epilogue makes up for a lot of the earlier lack). On the other hand, the feeling of being surrounded by a crowd of people who mean well but literally can't help worked really well to support the themes of trauma, repression, and helplessness which are integral to the story.
I liked this and it showed a new side of Wendy, Peter, and Neverland, which is the best part of any retelling. I'm very glad I read it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child death, Death, Gun violence, Murder, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
Minor: Ableism and Death of parent
gem114's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
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? It's complicated
4.0
I went into this book pretty uninformed. I LOVED Cemetery Boys, so I knew I wanted to read this, and I knew it was related to Peter Pan. That was about it.
Enter 18-year-old Wendy and an aging-before-our-eyes Peter Pan, and off we go on a rather dark adventure to wrangle Peter's malicious shadow and find John, Michael, and a collection of other missing children.
The reader learns that Wendy went missing with her brothers five years ago, and while she reappeared after being gone for six months, John and Michael never returned. Wendy has no memory of what happened while she was missing, but her memories slowly start returning when Peter appears.
I really liked this twist on the traditional Peter Pan tale, and although it was honestly darker than what I expected, I thought Thomas did a good job handling the effects of trauma and grief on all members of the Darling family. The characters were well-developed, the plot was interesting, and overall, I'd confidently recommend this book (with some content warnings).
Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review!
Enter 18-year-old Wendy and an aging-before-our-eyes Peter Pan, and off we go on a rather dark adventure to wrangle Peter's malicious shadow and find John, Michael, and a collection of other missing children.
The reader learns that Wendy went missing with her brothers five years ago, and while she reappeared after being gone for six months, John and Michael never returned. Wendy has no memory of what happened while she was missing, but her memories slowly start returning when Peter appears.
I really liked this twist on the traditional Peter Pan tale, and although it was honestly darker than what I expected, I thought Thomas did a good job handling the effects of trauma and grief on all members of the Darling family. The characters were well-developed, the plot was interesting, and overall, I'd confidently recommend this book (with some content warnings).
Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads/Macmillan Children's Publishing Group for the opportunity to read this book in return for an honest review!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping and Grief
Moderate: Gun violence, Violence, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism
wanderonwards's review against another edition
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Blood, Car accident, Child abuse, Child death, Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Gun violence, Kidnapping, Medical content, Medical trauma, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, and Violence
collyofthewobbles's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
4.5
Aiden Thomas has the most wonderful imagination. This retelling/twisted fairytale of Peter Pan, feels fresh but nostalgic at the same time.
With kids going missing, Peter Pan is shadow takes on a whole new meaning. I loved how the story slowly unfolded and revealed more.
With kids going missing, Peter Pan is shadow takes on a whole new meaning. I loved how the story slowly unfolded and revealed more.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Kidnapping, Violence, and Murder
stardustandrockets's review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
inspiring
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I did NOT see that ending coming. Talk about your dark take on Peter Pan. Hot damn. I'll hopefully have my thoughts collected and a more cohesive review up soon!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death
Moderate: Confinement, Death, Emotional abuse, Grief, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Torture, Violence, Panic attacks/disorders, and Blood
Minor: Alcoholism
micheala's review
dark
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
After reading and loving Cemetery Boys earlier this year, I was super excited to pick this up even though based on the summary I wasn't sure if it was going to fit my reading preferences. (The cover was so stunning that I pre-ordered it anyways)
In general: I'm not a YA reader, I don't tend to like contemporary novels and I disliked the Disney Peter Pan movie, hence why I was a little apprehensive going in. I do think that keeping in mind that this story is almost completely outside of what I normally enjoy reading is important while discussing my feelings about this book.
This is a very slow paced book in terms of plot. At the 40% in we are just starting to get to the point in the synopsis. Prior to that it's just setting the stage and introducing Wendy and a tiny bit of Peter. At the same time I wouldn't say that it's a slow read, just that not much was happening. to be fair, I'm a plot-driven reader and the only character-driven books I've read are the Wayfarer's novels.
Overall I did like Wendy as a character, even though she makes some choices about lying to/shutting out her best friend that made me roll my eyes. On the one hand I got why she did (the text explicitly tells you why she's doing it every time she does it), but also it made me question how strong their supposedly rock solid friendship really was.
This is really a story about trauma and the very slow process of healing from it - once you accept that shoving all your feelings down and ignoring your trauma is not going to allow you to heal.
I think if you enjoy contemporaries with a touch of magic (kinda magical realism vibes) and/or Peter Pan retellings, I think that you'll really end up enjoying this book. I loved what Thomas did with the ending, it hit just the right note for me.
The author mentioned on twitter that this was the first book they wrote and that Cemetery Boys was his option book but that their team was so excited by CB that they made it his debut. I think that knowing this was a first novel helps explain what to me felt like a few weird pacing scenes - there were a few scenes that felt almost like filler IMO, as well as the fact that the first 300 pages felt super slow paced and meandering while the last 70 pages felt super fast paced as that was were all the plot progression happened.
In general: I'm not a YA reader, I don't tend to like contemporary novels and I disliked the Disney Peter Pan movie, hence why I was a little apprehensive going in. I do think that keeping in mind that this story is almost completely outside of what I normally enjoy reading is important while discussing my feelings about this book.
This is a very slow paced book in terms of plot. At the 40% in we are just starting to get to the point in the synopsis. Prior to that it's just setting the stage and introducing Wendy and a tiny bit of Peter. At the same time I wouldn't say that it's a slow read, just that not much was happening. to be fair, I'm a plot-driven reader and the only character-driven books I've read are the Wayfarer's novels.
Overall I did like Wendy as a character, even though she makes some choices about lying to/shutting out her best friend that made me roll my eyes. On the one hand I got why she did (the text explicitly tells you why she's doing it every time she does it), but also it made me question how strong their supposedly rock solid friendship really was.
This is really a story about trauma and the very slow process of healing from it - once you accept that shoving all your feelings down and ignoring your trauma is not going to allow you to heal.
I think if you enjoy contemporaries with a touch of magic (kinda magical realism vibes) and/or Peter Pan retellings, I think that you'll really end up enjoying this book. I loved what Thomas did with the ending, it hit just the right note for me.
The author mentioned on twitter that this was the first book they wrote and that Cemetery Boys was his option book but that their team was so excited by CB that they made it his debut. I think that knowing this was a first novel helps explain what to me felt like a few weird pacing scenes - there were a few scenes that felt almost like filler IMO, as well as the fact that the first 300 pages felt super slow paced and meandering while the last 70 pages felt super fast paced as that was were all the plot progression happened.
Content Warnings
Moderate: Alcoholism, Child death, Grief, Kidnapping, Self harm, and Violence
torimc's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
Content Warnings
Graphic: Blood, Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Violence, and Gun violence
jams's review
adventurous
emotional
funny
hopeful
mysterious
sad
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? N/A
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
5.0
I’ve spent almost two months trying to find a remotely coherent way to articulate my feelings on this book seeing as most my reactions while reading amounted to “dude, mood” “wait what” “oh Damn” and “please can every character just get some therapy”. This book absolutely destroyed me emotionally. In the best way possible. Peter Pan has always been a favourite of mine and Cemetery Boys my favourite book of 2020 so when I found out about this adaption it shot to the very top of my most anticipated releases and did not disappoint. In fact it exceeded my expectations.
Wendy as a character is so loveable and her anxiety, fear and guilt are so real that I truly felt every emotional hit as they came. Pair that with Peter’s lightness, his unending love and need to care for others and you get this really sweet dynamic of two teens trying to do better and get each other through a really awful time. I truly think LITNW is some of the best written trauma I have seen in YA.
This is a book about trauma, grief and having to grow up too soon. Yet it balances these heavier themes with amazing moments of humour and fluff, and ultimately feels incredibly hopeful.
Anyway I think it's safe to say that Aiden Thomas is a favourite author of mine now and I absolutely cannot wait for his future releases.
Wendy as a character is so loveable and her anxiety, fear and guilt are so real that I truly felt every emotional hit as they came. Pair that with Peter’s lightness, his unending love and need to care for others and you get this really sweet dynamic of two teens trying to do better and get each other through a really awful time. I truly think LITNW is some of the best written trauma I have seen in YA.
This is a book about trauma, grief and having to grow up too soon. Yet it balances these heavier themes with amazing moments of humour and fluff, and ultimately feels incredibly hopeful.
Anyway I think it's safe to say that Aiden Thomas is a favourite author of mine now and I absolutely cannot wait for his future releases.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Death, Grief, Kidnapping, Medical content, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Stalking, and Violence
Moderate: Medical trauma
Minor: Addiction, Alcoholism, Car accident, and Gun violence
content warnings: loss of family members, grief, severe trauma/ptsd, anxiety/anxiety attacks, compulsion, night terrors and insomnia, kidnapping, some descriptions of injury and violence