“As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all this happened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up“As you look at Wendy, you may see her hair becoming white, and her figure little again, for all this happened long ago. Jane is now a common grown-up, with a daughter called Margaret; and every spring cleaning time, except when he forgets, Peter comes for Margaret and takes her to the Neverland, where she tells him stories about himself, to which he listens eagerly. When Margaret grows up she will have a daughter, who is to be Peter's mother in turn; and thus it will go on, so long as children are gay and innocent and heartless.”
Thus ends J.M. Barrie’s novel Peter Pan. It’s an ending that rings of adventure, of the hope that Neverland’s story will be passed down for generations.
But what if the children do not remain, as Barrie puts it, gay and innocent and heartless? What if the generational blessing is really a curse? What if it only takes one Darling girl to destroy the image of that perfect boy, the one who claims flight can be achieved by thinking happy thoughts?
To be entirely honest, I read this book a month ago, and I don’t remember much about the plot. Which is mostly intentional; I tried to mentally erase the defamation The Lost Girls committed against my favorite fairytale. I’m not opposed to an antagonistic Peter (case in point: OUAT), but Peter Pan doesn’t make much of an appearance in this story. Rather, the focus is on the Darling women, and how each of them cope with the mark he left on their lives.
Other than that, I don’t recall the specifics, besides (minor spoilers ahead!) a creepy Captain Hook, some guy who fiddled with sound effects, and an instance where one girl failed to think happy thoughts and flew for a few seconds before crashing to the ground and breaking half her bones. Or something. By that point in the story I was willing to accept anything, no matter how ludicrous, yet that part still managed to startle me into laughing aloud.
Was this book what I expected? No. Was it an interesting read? Mostly. Did I buy the book only because Louis Partridge is on the cover? …Not saying. Bottom line is, Peter Pan might be a hero, or he might be a villain. But the cause of generational trauma and subsequent depression? That’s a take I’d rather not unpack. The original Peter Pan explores what it means to be a child, to never grow up, but The Lost Girls laughs at that message, beats it up, then tramples it into the dirt.
For a Peter Pan retelling, there's far too much depression and far too little Peter Pan....more
for a debut novel, this story was surprisingly well-thought-out. the dystopian, steampunk twist to the story of Peter Pan makes for a fun- albeit predfor a debut novel, this story was surprisingly well-thought-out. the dystopian, steampunk twist to the story of Peter Pan makes for a fun- albeit predictable- read. i think this is better suited for a middle grade audience, but altogether i enjoyed the world of Everland and its characters.
---------- pre-read i'm sorry, A STEAMPUNK PETER PAN RETELLING? i just... wow...more
A dark Neverland and a roguish Captain Hook? Yes please. But an underdeveloped, homicidal Peter Pan? Heck no.
Mind you, I'm not opposed to an evil PeterA dark Neverland and a roguish Captain Hook? Yes please. But an underdeveloped, homicidal Peter Pan? Heck no.
Mind you, I'm not opposed to an evil Peter Pan. Quite the contrary. But his character fell flat in this story, with the final act spoiling any purpose he previously had. Either make Pan the villain, or don't bother having him be an antagonist at all. I feel like I've been robbed. [image] Hook, on the other hand? Whew. His role as Gwen's on-and-off companion propelled the plot forward, and I appreciated the consistency in his character. Plus, how can I resist a roguish pirate as a love interest?
maddie grace
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