Genre: Fantasy and Horror
I
purchased this audiobook and chose to do an honest and unbiased
review. Christina Henry and Recorded Books, Inc. neither requested nor are
associated with this review.
Goodreads Description:
There is one version of
my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how
it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost
boy to his greatest enemy.Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter's idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite.
Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever.
Here's What I Thought:
First things first. Peter lies. And so does Disney. It is widely known that Disney.... Well, Disney-fies everything. The original story of Peter Pan was much darker than the animated film that first caused me to fall in love with the tale so many years ago, and this retelling is no different. This is the story of Jamie, the first Lost Boy who would grow up to be none other than the infamous Captain Hook.
The book starts with Jamie starting to have some misgivings about Peter after many, many seasons of living on the island. He tells how he has been there the longest. There have been many other boys, of course, but Jamie had buried most of them. And on rare occasion, they would start to grow up and run off to live with the pirates. The loss of all the other boys was starting to wear on Jamie. Jamie took care of them all. All Peter cared about was raids, adventure, and battle. Then, one day Jamie realize that he had grown. Just a little bit. But on an island where you never grew up, what did this mean?
Peter has a dark side. He is selfish. He is cruel. He thrives off violence and bloodshed. He manipulates the boys into loving him. He also has many secrets about him, about the island, and about how he stays young forever. Him and Jamie. Always Jamie. Jamie could never leave him, because he was the first and Peter liked him best. But Jamie didn't love him anymore.
Christina Henry did a beautiful job painting this dark story. She does not do a lot of world building, but to be fair, we all know Neverland. Second star to the right and straight on til morning. She did, however, create a young Captain Hook--Jaime--that you not only loved, but identified with and cried with and so many other emotions. My heart broke for him as he learned the truth about Peter, the boy he loved so, and Peter's island--as it was Peter's island. As Jamie started growing, he started growing up. He asked many questions that we all asked ourselves at one point in our lives and continue to ask ourselves well into adulthood. This isn't a fairytale. This is a coming of age story with a dark twist.
Besides world building, Henry also did not develop many of the other characters other than Jamie, and Peter through Jamie's eyes. Although I wish the other characters had a more substantial role, I do think that it is fitting. This is Jamie's story.
I listened to this book on Audible and, although I loved the story, Samuel Roukin was not my ideal narrator. He was a little flat and did not have a lot of vocal range. Despite this, his narration was still pretty easy to listen to. He just wasn't my ideal pick. For narration, I give this book 3 stars.
The story itself, however, deserves much more than the narration. I dreamed of going to Neverland as a child and Christina Henry took me there as an adult. Captain Hook is no longer the villain. He was redeemed, and I can only hope that he gets his revenge. With a little faith, trust, and pixie dust, I give this book four and a half stars. It will take you on an emotional journey and I, for one, can't wait to go back.
Quote:
“Was this, too, part of growing up? Was it facing the bad things you’d done as well as the good, and knowing all your mistakes had consequences? Peter made mistakes all the time— he was thoughtless; he hurt people. But it never troubled him, not for a moment. He forgot all about it in an instant. That was being a boy.”
-Jamie
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