I received a free an electronic advanced readers copy (e-ARC) from NetGalley and Titan Books. All opinions are my own.

Plot Synopsis

Find the second star from the right, and fly straight on ’til morning, all the way to Neverland, a children’s paradise with no rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests – all led by the charismatic boy who will never grow old. 
 
But Wendy Darling grew up. She has a husband and a young daughter called Jane, a life in London. But one night, after all these years, Peter Pan returns. Wendy finds him outside her daughter’s window, looking to claim a new mother for his Lost Boys. But instead of Wendy, he takes Jane. 
 
Now a grown woman, a mother, a patient and a survivor, Wendy must follow Peter back to Neverland to rescue her daughter and finally face the darkness at the heart of the island.

My Review

3 out of 5 stars

Spoiler Free Review – I very much wanted to love this book, but I just didn’t. The book jumps between multiple timelines and between the viewpoint of Wendy and her daughter Jane. As Peter Pan re-enters Wendy’s life and takes her daughter, Wendy is thrown into turmoil. The book shows what Wendy’s life was like after Neverland and it wasn’t pleasant. Wendy remembers Neverland and Peter Pan, but her brothers have forgotten. From their return from Neverland, Wendy is depicted as difficult woman. I did love the depiction of 1920s mental institutions and the treatment of women during that time. Women were meant to be married, have children, and be silent.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and remembering some of the original Peter Pan story. I think the author could have expanded and added more of the original backstory. The book also takes the Peter Pan story and shows how malicious the mischievous boy really is. Wendy’s daughter is our narrator for this portion of the story and her depiction of Neverland is nothing short of unhinged. At this point, I could have done with more explanation of why Peter is the way he is, I had more questions then answers when it came to the climax and conclusion. I would recommend this book if you’re looking at an interesting new take on Peter Pan, but it does have what felt like a few plot holes to me and poor character development.

Review with Some Spoilers

One of the things I did actually really like was the realistic depiction of what it was like for queer people during the early 1900s. There are multiple mentions of queer women being committed to the an asylum or gay men hiding who they are through marriages of convivence. It does seem that Wendy is meant to be depicted as an asexual character, which for the time would have been very difficult as a woman whose only prospects in life were to get married. Her marriage to Ned and the found family she has with Mary is a very sweet part of the story. I did enjoy reading about how Wendy, persevered and found away to be happy.

Jane’s portion of the story is almost like a horror story. You have Peter Pan who we’ve all known to be the boy who never grows up. Here he is a manic dictator who throws temper tantrums. The Lost Boys aren’t his merry band of friends, but little boys who fear their leader. Jane describes Peter Pan as almost hypnotizing the lost boys and herself into a frenzy, always believing that they are having a blast. The reality is that you can’t stop playing Peter’s games, or you face whatever horrendous consequence he comes up with. I think this part of the story could have been more fleshed out and included how he became so unhinged. Again, this is where I think the story is lacking character development. But if you like Peter Pan or re-tellings in general this might be worth checking out.