Never Never

by Brianna Shrum

[Silvara]

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I received this book for free from Spencer Hill Press in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.



This book flips between having a middle grade feel, and then suddenly becoming YA. There were a lot of making Peter into being an evil child. Which seems to be a thing in Peter Pan retellings. Peter seemed to have no problem with killing. Pirates, Lost Boys, he'd kill or attempt to kill them and never care about the blood spilling.

I also wasn't expecting the sex. Yes it's mostly off-screen. But it is something I haven't come across before when reading a story based in the Peter Pan mythos.

The first third or so of the book was a really quick read. I wanted to know what was going to happen next, and what twists would be thrown into the story. After that it bogged down a bit. There was quite a lot of time spent angsting over the romantic interest. The very end bits of the book mirrored what happened in the Disney adaptation and the original Peter Pan book, with a few minor tweaks.

Looking back, there wasn't a huge amount of plot. It mostly boils down to: Hook wants to go home. Hook wants to kill Peter Pan. Hook falls in love. Hook wants to kill Peter Pan. I really wanted to love this book. Peter Pan is one of my favorite characters, and getting to see him through others eyes is usually a fun thing. This book just fell shy of the mark for me.

I did like how Starkey and Smee were portrayed. And how they took on characteristics of Hooks parents. I also liked how the ship was described (except the fact that it had a completely new name.) and the explanations about how children's dreams become Neverland's reality. It was also nice to be able to see how Hook came to the island, and how he became a pirate captain.

I also loved the cover. That red streak at the top of the first "N" in Never? It's Peter's red feather from his hat. And the hooks that flank the author's name! The entire cover is pretty much perfect.

If you like darker retellings, you may like this book.

This review was originally posted on Fantasy of the Silver Dragon