A review by amity321
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

3.0

This contemporary retelling of Peter Pan focuses on college-bound Wendy, who is still putting the pieces of her life back together after she and her brothers went missing five years prior. She returned from the woods, but her brothers did not, and though she has been questioned thoroughly by her parents, friends, and the police, she cannot remember anything. More kids have gone missing recently, and Wendy is thinking about her brothers more than ever when Peter Pan - previously, someone she thought only existed in the stories told by her family - enters her life. He remembers Wendy and their trip to Neverland, but she doesn't remember him or how she once sewed his shadow back on; this is unfortunate because Peter's shadow is missing again, and it may have something to do with those missing kids.

This book didn't click for me. I'm not sure if it's because Cemetery Boys was such a breath of fresh air, and this feels like a standard retelling, or if it's because I don't particularly care for Peter Pan, but I struggled to get through the first 60% of it. Peter is a compelling character, and he and Wendy have some charming scenes together, but I didn't feel connected to the story. I will certainly read more Aiden Thomas in the future as they are clearly talented, and I think this book will have its audience in younger teen readers, but unfortunately, it didn't work for me. 3 bits of pixie dust out of 5.

I also have a question that I can't find answers to, and I'm guessing it's just something I missed, but:

if Neverland is a place where dead children go before Peter helps them move on, then why did Peter tell Wendy that he had brought her mom there when her mom was a child? Was he lying? Is Wendy's mom dead...somehow? Did Peter initially fall in love with her like he did with Wendy, and brought her to Neverland despite knowing it was against the rules? If so, did it mess things up like bringing Wendy there did?

That said, this is an uncorrected proof from Netgalley, so if I didn't miss something, it's possible this could be answered in the final version.