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

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced
  • Plot- or character-driven? Plot
  • Strong character development? Yes
  • Loveable characters? Yes
  • Diverse cast of characters? Yes
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

5.0

Wendy, John, and Michael Darling disappeared from the woods behind their Oregon home just before Christmas, and six months later, Wendy was the only one to return, her brother’s blood crusted under her nails. Wendy is unable to tell the police what happened; her memory of the last six months are gone, but she’s terrified of the woods. Five years pass, and still, no one knows what happened to John and Michael, but Wendy keeps drawing pictures of a twisted tree and a boy from her stories, Peter Pan. On her eighteenth birthday, her past finally start to catch up to her when she finds a boy on the side of the road—a boy who knows her name and looks EXACTLY like her pictures of Peter Pan. The boy claims to be that self-same Peter, and he begs her for help to find and reattach his shadow, who has gone rogue and been kidnapping local children. Realizing this could lead to her lost memories and even bring her brothers home, Wendy agrees to help, coming face to face with the horrible truth she tried to forget.

I really liked this interpretation of Peter Pan—though I don’t really understand why it takes place in OREGON, of all places. It deals very heavily with the effects of grief and loss on a family, as well as childhood trauma. The explanations of Peter’s purpose, fairy dust, the shadow, and Neverland itself are all excellent and I enjoyed how they played into the story.
My biggest complaint is: WHAT HAPPENED TO NANA??? I don’t know how I missed it. I kept listening for what happened to the dog, but I don’t think they ever said. Nana came out of the woods with blood on her muzzle, then disappeared from the story, and I NEED to know what happened to her 🥺

CW: child death, grief
Expand filter menu Content Warnings