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A review by sameaton23
Second Star by Alyssa Sheinmel
3.0
*I received this book for free in exchange for an honest review, and nothing more.
Hello everyone! Here is that ARC that I’ve be promising! This one is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan story. Whether you’ve read the actual book or watched the Disney version, you’ll pick up hints of the original story in this contemporary retelling.
In this story, Wendy is the main character. When her brothers go missing while chasing waves, Wendy vows to find them. She cannot accept that they just disappeared. However, her search leads to her to Kensington beach where she meets Pete, the leader of the renegade surfers who live in the houses in the cliffside. She also becomes drawn to Pete’s nemesis, Jas, who happens to be a “dust” drugdealer. Wendy embarks on her journey to find her brothers, but then the truth becomes fuzzy for Wendy.
I loved the beginning and middle of this book, but I didn’t like the ending. I think things were just brushed off too easily. I was really into the story until right after the climax. Things just winded down way to fast, and the ending felt too anticlimactic for my taste.
I was also unsure about the relationships in this book. The words “I love you” seemed to be thrown a little too hastily, and I felt like Wendy didn’t really know Jas or Pete. She also seemed to flip flop back and forth between the two way too much for me. She seemed to be utterly in love with one, and then would just get mad at him and continue on her individual path, and then run back within a minute or two. It seemed as though Wendy didn’t know what she wanted, and I just wanted her to make a choice.
What I did love about this book, though, was the surfing aspect. I thought it was a pretty unique aspect of the book, and unique to YA in general. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story about surfing in all my years of reading YA books. This book made me want to surf. It made me miss the beach, which if you know me, the beach is a big part of my life, although my other home is on a beach that has very little waves, at least none good enough for surfing. This book also made me feel more knowledgeable about surfing, even thought I wouldn’t take this as a reference book for surfing, but more of a starting point to get into it. Don’t worry, I won’t be taking up surfing anytime soon. I live in a landlock state with the highest altitude. My options are limited to snowboarding.
Overall, this is a great beach read. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Peter Pan world, but I’m glad that this book didn’t take the Peter Pan story and just exchange a few words, and update it to the current century. The Peter Pan elements are there, but Sheinmel’s own retelling takes the stage.
2.75/5
Hello everyone! Here is that ARC that I’ve be promising! This one is a retelling of the classic Peter Pan story. Whether you’ve read the actual book or watched the Disney version, you’ll pick up hints of the original story in this contemporary retelling.
In this story, Wendy is the main character. When her brothers go missing while chasing waves, Wendy vows to find them. She cannot accept that they just disappeared. However, her search leads to her to Kensington beach where she meets Pete, the leader of the renegade surfers who live in the houses in the cliffside. She also becomes drawn to Pete’s nemesis, Jas, who happens to be a “dust” drugdealer. Wendy embarks on her journey to find her brothers, but then the truth becomes fuzzy for Wendy.
I loved the beginning and middle of this book, but I didn’t like the ending. I think things were just brushed off too easily. I was really into the story until right after the climax. Things just winded down way to fast, and the ending felt too anticlimactic for my taste.
I was also unsure about the relationships in this book. The words “I love you” seemed to be thrown a little too hastily, and I felt like Wendy didn’t really know Jas or Pete. She also seemed to flip flop back and forth between the two way too much for me. She seemed to be utterly in love with one, and then would just get mad at him and continue on her individual path, and then run back within a minute or two. It seemed as though Wendy didn’t know what she wanted, and I just wanted her to make a choice.
What I did love about this book, though, was the surfing aspect. I thought it was a pretty unique aspect of the book, and unique to YA in general. I don’t think I’ve ever come across a story about surfing in all my years of reading YA books. This book made me want to surf. It made me miss the beach, which if you know me, the beach is a big part of my life, although my other home is on a beach that has very little waves, at least none good enough for surfing. This book also made me feel more knowledgeable about surfing, even thought I wouldn’t take this as a reference book for surfing, but more of a starting point to get into it. Don’t worry, I won’t be taking up surfing anytime soon. I live in a landlock state with the highest altitude. My options are limited to snowboarding.
Overall, this is a great beach read. I’ve never been a huge fan of the Peter Pan world, but I’m glad that this book didn’t take the Peter Pan story and just exchange a few words, and update it to the current century. The Peter Pan elements are there, but Sheinmel’s own retelling takes the stage.
2.75/5