Peter Pan

This book was not what I expected. If you think it's going to be like the Disney version, you're in for a big surprise. This story is very different. Some of it I liked, and most of it I didn't.

In a nutshell, I would say that I prefer Disney's Peter Pan over the novel. The story had a strong start. It felt very magical, but it lost that magic towards the end and I lost interest. The last chapter is especially sad since it's based in the future and some characters are dead, and worse, Peter forgets them.

Pro:
- Tiger Lily is a badass! She carries a hatchet with her and even Captain Hook fears her

Cons:
- Some parts are confusing and hard to follow. For example, “Mrs. Darling's Kiss” is a phrase I don't understand and is never explained in the book.
- Peter Pan: book!Pan is VERY different from Disney!Pan. He's way more childish and ruthless. He nearly kills all the pirates and then forgets them. He's extremely forgetful. At the end of the book, he even forget who Tinker Bell was after she died. He didn't even remember who Captain Hook was. He also has this thing about believing “make belief play.” For example, if you pretend to give him an apple to eat, he will actually believe that he ate an apple. All of the other children knew that they were playing pretend, but not Peter. It made the other children feel uncomfortable, but everyone was too scared to tell Peter that it was fake.
- Ending: I preferred the Disney movie ending to the book ending. Hook's plan to kill Peter is way too complicated in the book. I just felt it was needlessly complicated and it dragged too long.

At the end of the story, JM Barry (the author) makes it a point to repeat multiple times that the only children who can fly are those who are “gay and innocent and heartless“, meaning that they were “happy, innocent, and heartless”. I interpret this as meaning that Peter Pan is a character who is very carefree, young, and heartless in the sense that he lacks the social and emotional maturity to the point where he is hurtful to others and very self-centered. That basically sums up Peter Pan's character in this book.

In the Disney movie, he is immature, but he's not heartless. He's also far more charismatic in the Disney movie than in the novel. In the book, the lost boys simultaneously fear and respect him, and then they decide to leave him and stay with Wendy's parents. Whereas in the movie, they stayed with Peter out of loyalty and respect.