Publisher: Spark Press Page Count: 311 Fiction Genre: Sci-Fi, Fantasy, Retelling, Adventure, YA Dates Read: October 15-19, 2015 Summary A magical retelling of Peter Pan, from Wendy's perspective. Wendy Darling is in love with Booth, the local booksellers son, but her family will not allow the relationship because Booth is below the Darlings caste. Wendy is heart broken and must choose between the love for her family and the love for Booth. Then, Peter Pan shows up and promises to whisk Wendy and her brothers away to a magical place, where there are no cares or worries (hakuna matata). Once they get there will they still want to return back home? Review -SPOILER WARNING- I received an free copy of this book for an honest review. Honestly .... I'm not sure how I feel about this. The first quarter of this boring was a bland tale that we've all heard before. At about 30% in it starts to pick up when Peter finally makes an appearance. The book has this nice incline of adventure and "plot" (I'm using this phrase loosely). Then we hit the peak where shit is actually hitting the fan. At the end I sat there holding the book asking myself what I just read. I can't tell if I'm angry, disappointed, or just numb to what I have read. There is a decent cliff-hanger at the end that makes me want to read the next book, but I think that is mostly driven by how some of the characters turned out. I'm waiting for revenge! The only different from the Disney tale is that Wendy is older and in love with a boy named Booth. Really? Booth? Okay ... The thing about this relationship is that we are meant to believe that Wendy and Booth are head over heels in love with each other. Their story conveyed as much emotion as a soggy sponge. And that dialog. It was horrendous. Let's not ignore the predictable behavior of the fact that Wendy, a rich white girl, was in love with a poor bookshop owners soon. OH THE SCANDAL!!!! Naturally in thew way these tales go, her parents would not and did not approve, so she had to keep their love hidden. Then, Peter Pan shows up, and whisks all the Darling children away to Neverland. It's obvious that he's infatuated with Wendy, and that she has a little something for him too. It's actually starts out a bit endearing; in a playful flirty, I like you, but I'm not going to tell you I like you, kind of way. Then things get abusive & rapey. Tink is abusive to Wendy. Peter beats the hell out of Tink. Peter tries to rape Wendy. By this point Wendy had forgotten and remembered her parents and Booth back in London. Peter gets possessive, insisting that Wendy will love him and that they will rule Neverland as Queen and King. He threatens to kill her by dropping her from the sky until she nearly hits the water - just to teach her a lesson. Then he threatens to kill her brothers if she does not love him or asks to leave again. What the actual fuck?!?! Wendy decides that she and Micheal must leave, and she hatches a plan to get them off the island. Of course, things do not go according to plan when Peter finds out and starts to rage, nearly killing Wendy and Micheal. But alas, she and Michael are saved by Captain Hook - This is where it all ends. Most of the action takes place in the last 50-ish pages. That was the pinnacle of the story, where not a lot happened. Wendy - I loved her, but also found her to be completely annoying. She was loving and protective of her brothers, even when John was being an ass. However, she was so weak, mentally, emotionally, psychologically, and physically. I think Oakes has an aversion to strong women. That is disappointing. Michael - He was the most lovable character in this book. he was charming and naive as only a 5 year old can be. He refused to get sucked into the trap of Neverland and Peter Pan, and was the most honest and heartfelt character in this book. John - What a bag of dicks! I secretly kept hoping he would die. he was rude, obnoxious, and douchey. This character had zero redeeming qualities in him. Booth - What do we really know about this guy besides he loves Wendy, works in his father's bookstore, and bullies Wendy for not sticking up to her parents about their relationship. He said it several times "She's not brave". Peter - At first he was likable and charming, and it was easy to see why Wendy fell so quickly for him. but something snapped, and he became my most hated character in the book. Though I did not find the book in and of it self dark, there was definitely a darkness about Peter. Tink - At first I hated her and how bratty she was, but it soon became obvious how deep her hurting was, and that she could not necessarily control herself. She seemed to shift between two personalities. The reasonable and logical Tink, and then the erratic and angry version of herself. I had so much sympathy for her and the way she was treated by Peter. I wish Oakes would have spent some more time on her. There were two other background characters that I wish Oakes would have focused more on; Abbott and Ox. They seemed like they had a lot going on, and she started to develop them fairly well, I just wish that she would have given us more about them. While this is not one of my favorite retellings, and there were plenty of things that irritated me know, most likely I will read the next book and probably finish out the series. I can't say I'm doing that out of enjoyment as much as curiosity. For me, this book was closer to a 2 1/2 than a 3 star rating. Ratings (based on a 10 point scale) Quality of Writing - 8 Pace - 5 Plot Development - 5 Characters - 6 Enjoyability - 5 Insightfulness - 4 Ease of Reading - 6 Photos/Illustrations - N/A Overall Rating - 2.5 out of 5 stars
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