by Austin Chant
rating: ☆☆☆☆
published: 15th February 2017
spoilers? yes
Goodreads
"You read the letter." The queen spread her wings, showering him in dust. "Go north, Pan."
Galley provided by publisher
I have to say, going into this book, I was somewhat wary. The most prominent portrayals of Hook and Pan tend to have Hook as a man probably in his mid-thirties (I'm guessing), and Pan as a boy of about 12 or even younger. Which obviously presents problems with this whole idea of having them get together.
In this, Peter is aged up by 10 years, having left Neverland to return to his family. The book starts with his arrival back in Neverland. The plot put in place to age up Peter was perhaps a little confusing - in the original book John and Michael also go to Neverland, but in this they don't appear to - and it took me a while to get my head around it because it was never explicitly stated. Either way, there still is an age gap, but they're both adults, and so that made it easier for me to deal with (because, about 99% of the time, age gaps make me uncomfortable - authors who can, for me, do it right are few and far between. Austin Chant is one of those authors). Also it's an enemies-to-lovers trope, which is one of the most amazing tropes there is.
In addition to this, the book is much darker than the original (or what I remember of it, although that could easily be influenced by my memories of the animated Disney film). People die in this Neverland. But that made it all that much more interesting a story. I especially liked the twist where it turns out that Hook and Pan (and Ernest) are the only real people in Neverland. The pirates and the Lost Boys are both figments of their imaginations. And how Neverland itself responds to Peter. It's so much better than keeping it as the original story had it. And slightly more sinister too (which is always a good element to add).
So, without spoiling anything, this book is amazing. As in, I'm-gonna-be-reccing-this-to-the-end-of-time amazing.
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