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A review by magicalshelves
Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas
2.0
Thank you to Netgalley and Macmillan for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.
I really enjoyed Aiden Thomas' first book, Cemetery Boys, and Lost in the Never Woods was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021. Unfortunately, I found it to be extremely underwhelming. A major problem with this story for me is that it is a retelling of Peter Pan and with so many Peter Pan retellings already existing out there in the world, reading this felt like beating the proverbial dead horse with a bat. I didn't find much about this book to be unique or add anything new to the world of Peter Pan. The characters were very flat with little depth; Wendy and Peter were one-dimensional and slightly bland. However, the way that grief and loss were portrayed was well done. I felt Wendy and her family’s pain and their struggles with overcoming their grief were realistic. The pacing of this book was so slow and I felt bored for the majority of the time I spent reading it. Wendy and Peter had no plans or sense of direction when it came to saving the kids to the pointed where it became quite frustrating because while Wendy kept worrying about them running out of time, she and Peter still had time to go swimming and get ice cream. The romance was very forced and felt weird because even though Peter was 19 in the book ( with Wendy being 18), Peter acted more like he was twelve. The reveal at the end about the true nature of Peter Pan and what Neverland was felt slapped on as a last-ditch effort to make this book more shocking and emotional. I think younger teens may enjoy it, or anyone who is really passionate about reading all of the Peter Pan retellings, but other than that, I would not recommend it to anyone.
I really enjoyed Aiden Thomas' first book, Cemetery Boys, and Lost in the Never Woods was one of my most anticipated releases for 2021. Unfortunately, I found it to be extremely underwhelming. A major problem with this story for me is that it is a retelling of Peter Pan and with so many Peter Pan retellings already existing out there in the world, reading this felt like beating the proverbial dead horse with a bat. I didn't find much about this book to be unique or add anything new to the world of Peter Pan. The characters were very flat with little depth; Wendy and Peter were one-dimensional and slightly bland. However, the way that grief and loss were portrayed was well done. I felt Wendy and her family’s pain and their struggles with overcoming their grief were realistic. The pacing of this book was so slow and I felt bored for the majority of the time I spent reading it. Wendy and Peter had no plans or sense of direction when it came to saving the kids to the pointed where it became quite frustrating because while Wendy kept worrying about them running out of time, she and Peter still had time to go swimming and get ice cream. The romance was very forced and felt weird because even though Peter was 19 in the book ( with Wendy being 18), Peter acted more like he was twelve. The reveal at the end about the true nature of Peter Pan and what Neverland was felt slapped on as a last-ditch effort to make this book more shocking and emotional. I think younger teens may enjoy it, or anyone who is really passionate about reading all of the Peter Pan retellings, but other than that, I would not recommend it to anyone.