Lost in the Never Woods

ok yeah... a little disappointed (and i don't mean to compare, but since darling was another 2021 YA peter pan release, my expectations were sky high)

this book felt about 100 pages too long with parts of the story that felt like extraneous information that could have been connected to the main mystery but weren't. while i liked the twist, i had predicted it and wasn't too thrilled by it, especially since it left me wondering, “ok, what was the point of this, this and that?”. i guess i'm a gal who likes purpose to every itty bitty detail from every conversation in a book with such a big mystery, and while there were some elements of that, i feel like there were moments when i just kept thinking, “what's the point?” only to learn that there was absolutely no point.

all that being said, i still think this was a book with great writing, an okay plot and believable characters. i think aiden thomas writes teens well as they never feel like the “how do you do fellow kids?” meme and face struggles actual teens face. but in terms of a dark peter pan remix, this fell short of expectations

This was fine, not very ground breaking. It dragged a lot, had way too many scenic descriptions, the story was very slow. I wish Peter had shown up more during the beginning. He kept making cameos. Wendy really dragged the story out.

The ending was same as the movie Rise of The Guardians' (with Wendy instead of Jack Frost).

Trigger warnings: Gun violence.

P.S. Shoutout to the husky named Bucky that showed up halfway through and made my interest spike for exactly 3 pages. You're the MVP, Bucky!!!

It's so hard to describe the range of emotions this book has made me go through. Peter Pan is one of those stories that has been with me since I was little, and having it retold in new books just makes it even more special.

The journey Wendy goes through in this book is so heart wrenching, and at the same time healing, it was so beautiful to see.

Even though at certain points it felt like the characters weren't doing enough to further develop the plot, those moments also showed that not everything has to be serious in the face of problems and that losing a couple of hours to some ice cream might make a diference later ;)

I highly recommend this book to whoever feels it calling to them. But also, side note, might be wise to keep a tissue box near by :')

I loved reading Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, so I'm really happy that I ended up loving this one as well!
It was so dark and mysterious, the plot twists all really surprised me as well!
It was also an extremely emotional read for me, I love reading books that can bring out all of my emotions, and this one definitely did!
I think it was a amazing Peter Pan retelling, I would recommend picking it up, if you enjoy reading retellings!




Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an e-arc in exchange for my honest review

• Actual rating: 3 stars -
  
  The thing I enjoyed the most about this book was probably the writing style because the way the author describes things is really picturesque.
  
  I was listening to the audiobook with this one and tbh if it wasn't for that and how I loved the narrator changing voices to differentiate between each character so beautifully I would probably have DNFed it at some point.
  
  Over all, I think a lot of the time the story was just dialogue between Peter and Wendy and not much was actually happening throughout the book until maybe the last three chapters. And my next point might not be necessarily a bad thing, but I found certain distinct phrases which resulted from the author's writing style to appear quite often in the book. Especially with Peter, at some point I was a bit annoyed by his repetitive wordings.
  
  However, I enjoyed the plot - when something was actually happening and I wasn't a bit confused how things suddenly came to be how they are - as well as the relationship between Wendy and her parents.

This BOOOOOOOK! Aiden Thomas can literally do no wrong.

This story is a Peter Pan retelling, told by Wendy. 6 years ago, her and her brothers went missing. After 6 months, she returned alone without any memory of what happened. One day, she runs into a boy named Peter, who tells her they used to know each other and he needs her help.

This book was so fantastical and such a fresh take on an old story. It is definitely geared more towards the YA category than middle grade due to some dark themes, as well as Wendy being 18 in the story. The characters felt so real. Wendy's parents were such a stark contrast in their constant mourning to Peter's exuberant, boisterous personality. Getting to see Wendy's reactions to magic and the world around her felt so real in a way that made you ache and love and feel joyous with her.

I recommend this book to anyone that loves a good dark story retelling. It was so endearing. Also, I cried like a baby at the end as I was listening to the audiobook and driving.

TW: alcohol, anxiety, blood, car accident, child death, death, depression, gun violence, hospitalization, kidnapping, murder, child abuse, violence

I picked this up because I liked Thomas' first book but I think this just wasn't for me. I guess maybe because Peter Pan is inherently creepy? Some of the book didn't work for me but if you are looking for a darker retelling this is for you!

I had listened to “The Cemetery Boys” by the same author earlier this year and really enjoyed it. Though a Peter Pan retelling, it's set in the modern day real world and as you can imagine with the topic of missing children in the real world, there was a lot of processing of loss in this book (which although sad is something I enjoy for my own grief processing). My only issue as an adult reader is I believe this is teen/YA and like Thomas' other book, I felt the “teen-ness” in the dialogue of this one that slightly put me off from time to time. Overall I really liked it, I thought I was going to predict the ending but I was wrong and pleasantly surprised by it.

First book of 2022 that's not 5/5 for me. I'm giving Lost in the Never Woods a 4/5 as it was just a fun and easy read but I do have things to complain about. Let me introduce you to a duo of problems. One is Eugene, who will not hurt, and the other is Dwayne whose gaze alone breaks my bones.

Eugene is this constant expository narration. So many times the book keeps retelling events from the past which are not exactly necessary. So many descriptions to a point of being annoying. I was so tempted to skimp.

Now Dwayne is the wasted potential of the book. Peter Pan is a weirdo and the world (and the characters) rightfully think him to be suspicious. Of course our protagonist Wendy does come around to trust him quite quickly but I wished for Peter to not be the fun, nice, happy guy. I wanted this story to go just a few steps further and make Peter Pan into a complex character. There is a part that humanizes him a little but it's extremely predictable and, well, it's not exactly resolved. It's revealed very close to the book's end.

It's sad how long the book is and how much of it is wasted. :(

Still 4/5!