BOOK REVIEW: A Land of Never After by R.L. Davennor
Pirates, curses and sword fights, oh my! A Peter Pan Retelling.
This was one of my recommended 12 in 12 months books. I enjoy a good retelling, but I will say that Peter Pan has never been one of my favorite children’s stories; however, I was willing to give it a chance.
Overall, it was good and I enjoyed it. I probably won’t continue with the series, but it was a decent step out from what I normally read. It’s not exactly a retelling, more of an inspired-by story, We have Wendy and Peter. There’s Hook and Tinker Bell “Tink,” but beyond that the story goes in a slightly different direction.
I can wrap this book up in five chunks:
The beginning
The Neverland Forest
The Jolly Roger
Blackbeard’s Tomb
The Conclusion
Clearly, part 1 was our introduction to characters and settings. Peter is a little thief and Wendy is a clueless orphan who just just aged out of the orphanage and only has a precious music box to her name. From the very beginning, Peter doesn’t seem like a very likable or relatable character. I don’t mind Wendy, that’s basically how I feel about her throughout the entire book. But once she goes into the deadly Neverland Forest, we learn the true conflict.
There is a curse impacting the forest and everyone in it is dying. They have to kill animals and others within the forest to steal their “life.” This slows the rot. Interesting concept, I admit. We learn more about Peter and Tink and the desperation to stay alive. Unfortunately, Hook believes the only way to break the curse is to kill Peter. Tink is pretty spot on to what you would expect, and I thought the forest was developed well as a setting. There are creatures and death everywhere, propelling the conflict and hunt for a means to break the curse.
When Wendy finds herself on the Jolly Roger, it is clear that everyone knows more than she does. There is the unexpected twist of who Wendy really is and what her connection to Hook and curse means for everyone’s future. Starting with Wendy being captured and her interactions with those onboard the ship all the way to the end was so much better than the start of the book. I feel that there was more action and the pacing was more well balanced. What it does mean is that the story probably would have been the same without Peter in it at all, Tink too for that matter.
This wasn’t a character driven story. The conflict drives all character actions and builds from one interaction to the next. Hook is the only character who truly seems to have depth to him, and there are moments where I think that it hurts how his character is to be received. At times he is the tough, merciless Captain Hook, and at others he is a desperate, heartbroken softy. I wish his personality spectrum wasn’t so vast. But, he is one of the few characters who provides clear insight into the curse and the past. I value his contribution to moving the story along.
Blackbeard’s tomb is the climax of the story. Wendy finally is able to understand what she has to do to break the curse, and all the characters are brought together to have that final showdown. Well, Wendy is the only one to figure out the true solution to the curse, the others still hold on to their personal truths and beliefs.
I really did enjoy this last part of the story. I thought it was creatively done and one of the few places where I really felt the authenticity of the classic Hook and Pan hatred. This all leads to the conclusion, which is well done and even though it sets up for the next book in the series, I feel that I get the closure I need to be happy without needing to continue on if I don’t want to.
This was my first retelling/reimaging of Peter Pan. I’ve read plenty of Beauty and the Beast and Alice in Wonderland retellings. I think if you are a fan of Peter Pan, you will find this one really enjoyable.
Where does this land on my bookshelf?
Solidly on the middle shelf. Again, it was fine, and I enjoyed it, especially the second half. I just couldn’t fully connect with the characters and, at times, I didn’t feel they were authentic. I enjoyed the conflict and the plot driven structure to find the resolution. If you are a Peter Pan fan or a fan of retellings, you really should put this one on your radar. I just don’t know if I was in the mood to read this one to really give it the credit it deserves.
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