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A review by rui_leite
Peter Pan In Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean
4.0
It's beautifully written and a more than worthy sequel to the original Peter Pan story.
Geraldine McCaughrean actually manages to start off maintain the tone of J. M. Barrie, and then, slowly, takes hold of it and turns it into her own, which seemed to me a rather clever move. Also, the subject matter is very thoughtfully used, while "Peter Pan and Wendy" was all about childhood and how it feels like, "Peter Pan in Scarlet" is very much about revisiting childhood after you grow up, it's all about "grown ups" looking back at infancy, trying to keep it, and what it all entails. That explains why the tone of Neverland seems so different from the original, why Pan comes across as a slightly different character, and it is also a key to understanding Ravolo's true meaning (a brilliant villain and a wonderful metaphor as well).
Also... kudos for not shying away from the darker questions raised by the time period in which the story is set, at the time World War I had just happened and it had its effects on the children and on Neverland itself. In fact one of the most gutsy moves of Geraldine with the original material (that I will not spoil by revealing here) comes from that, I'll just say it is a take as gutsy as it will be heartbreaking once realisation dawns.
I don't often like "official sequels" by non original authors (see what happened with "And Another Thing"...er...yeah...that's why)but this one does deserve a spot, rather fairly, alongside "Peter Pan and Wendy" just for being so well thought out, respectful of the source material, and, more importantly, having the courage to go beyond it.
Geraldine McCaughrean actually manages to start off maintain the tone of J. M. Barrie, and then, slowly, takes hold of it and turns it into her own, which seemed to me a rather clever move. Also, the subject matter is very thoughtfully used, while "Peter Pan and Wendy" was all about childhood and how it feels like, "Peter Pan in Scarlet" is very much about revisiting childhood after you grow up, it's all about "grown ups" looking back at infancy, trying to keep it, and what it all entails. That explains why the tone of Neverland seems so different from the original, why Pan comes across as a slightly different character, and it is also a key to understanding Ravolo's true meaning (a brilliant villain and a wonderful metaphor as well).
Also... kudos for not shying away from the darker questions raised by the time period in which the story is set, at the time World War I had just happened and it had its effects on the children and on Neverland itself. In fact one of the most gutsy moves of Geraldine with the original material (that I will not spoil by revealing here) comes from that, I'll just say it is a take as gutsy as it will be heartbreaking once realisation dawns.
I don't often like "official sequels" by non original authors (see what happened with "And Another Thing"...er...yeah...that's why)but this one does deserve a spot, rather fairly, alongside "Peter Pan and Wendy" just for being so well thought out, respectful of the source material, and, more importantly, having the courage to go beyond it.