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illusie's review against another edition
2.0
This story lacked the charm and feel good aspect of the original story. Instead the characters were sullen teenagers. The writing style made it hard to connect to the story. I didn't mind that the characters got new names, but thought it was weird to use a drug to make you fly. Fairy dust is far more charming!
bailo2's review against another edition
2.0
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Never Ever is a contemporary re-telling of Peter Pan. Unfortunately, I couldn't take this book seriously, and me not liking something Peter Pan-related is just unheard of. It goes against the very core of my being.
"How old are you guys?" Phinn asked the rest of the party. They answered in unison:
"Seventeen."
"And when will each of you turn eighteen?"
Again, they responded at the same time:
"Never."
The night before her brother is to go to juvie, Wylie meets the irresistible (insert eye roll) Phinn, who shows her how to fly and then whisks her and her brothers off to Minor Island, offering them a life free of grown-up responsibility and full of endless parties. However, as the residents of Minor Island begin to disappear one by one, Wylie slowly begins to unravel a darker side to this new world.
I couldn't take this book seriously, starting with the character's names. What kind of name is Wylie? Why not just call her Wendy or Winnie or something cute? I hate this name. I hate the way it rolls off my tongue. And who the heck spells Finn like Phinn? Is this real?! Someone please tell me this isn't real.
And I could not stand Wylie herself. Everyone keeps saying how smart she is, but she doesn't do anything to convince me of her intelligence. She goes off with a boy she doesn't know, she partakes of what he gives her (which she suspects are drugs), and gets drunk when she's the designated driver. I mean, I know smart people make bad decisions, but isn't she supposed to be the mature one? As far as I can tell, all evidence points to the contrary. Character inconsistencies such as these draw me out of the story because I can't reconcile or fit them together.
In fact, I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing or relatable.
Furthermore, I wasn't crazy about the depiction of Minor Island, aka Neverland. It wasn't whimsical or fun. And a lot of environmentalism was spewed at me in the meantime. Just to disclaim, I am all for conservation and respecting the earth. But it felt like too much of an agenda to me.
The book had potential in some of the issues that are tied in with the story. Divorce, family bonds, mistrust, feminism, underage drinking, even the conservationism. But the surface was barely scratched. What could've been further explored and added more raw emotion to the story was skimmed over. The topics are simply thrown in to move the story along as opposed to being true driving forces. As a result, it felt cliched.
"Never forget to live life to the fullest.
Do it for the troubled; do it for the lost.
The days may feel shorter; the nights may feel long.
But when we remember, our memories grow strong."
The book felt tired to me. I didn't feel that there was anything particularly new or invigorating about this retelling. Modern Peter Pan? Done. Romance between Peter and Wendy? Done. Done and done.
To be fair, there was one interesting plot twist that I didn't see coming towards the end. That was the saving grace of the novel for me. It, and it alone, was compelling enough that I will read the sequel.
All in all, I know many other die-hard Peter Pan fans are gobbling this book up. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them. We'll see what happens when the sequel is released.
Never Ever is a contemporary re-telling of Peter Pan. Unfortunately, I couldn't take this book seriously, and me not liking something Peter Pan-related is just unheard of. It goes against the very core of my being.
"How old are you guys?" Phinn asked the rest of the party. They answered in unison:
"Seventeen."
"And when will each of you turn eighteen?"
Again, they responded at the same time:
"Never."
The night before her brother is to go to juvie, Wylie meets the irresistible (insert eye roll) Phinn, who shows her how to fly and then whisks her and her brothers off to Minor Island, offering them a life free of grown-up responsibility and full of endless parties. However, as the residents of Minor Island begin to disappear one by one, Wylie slowly begins to unravel a darker side to this new world.
I couldn't take this book seriously, starting with the character's names. What kind of name is Wylie? Why not just call her Wendy or Winnie or something cute? I hate this name. I hate the way it rolls off my tongue. And who the heck spells Finn like Phinn? Is this real?! Someone please tell me this isn't real.
And I could not stand Wylie herself. Everyone keeps saying how smart she is, but she doesn't do anything to convince me of her intelligence. She goes off with a boy she doesn't know, she partakes of what he gives her (which she suspects are drugs), and gets drunk when she's the designated driver. I mean, I know smart people make bad decisions, but isn't she supposed to be the mature one? As far as I can tell, all evidence points to the contrary. Character inconsistencies such as these draw me out of the story because I can't reconcile or fit them together.
In fact, I didn't find any of the characters particularly endearing or relatable.
Furthermore, I wasn't crazy about the depiction of Minor Island, aka Neverland. It wasn't whimsical or fun. And a lot of environmentalism was spewed at me in the meantime. Just to disclaim, I am all for conservation and respecting the earth. But it felt like too much of an agenda to me.
The book had potential in some of the issues that are tied in with the story. Divorce, family bonds, mistrust, feminism, underage drinking, even the conservationism. But the surface was barely scratched. What could've been further explored and added more raw emotion to the story was skimmed over. The topics are simply thrown in to move the story along as opposed to being true driving forces. As a result, it felt cliched.
"Never forget to live life to the fullest.
Do it for the troubled; do it for the lost.
The days may feel shorter; the nights may feel long.
But when we remember, our memories grow strong."
The book felt tired to me. I didn't feel that there was anything particularly new or invigorating about this retelling. Modern Peter Pan? Done. Romance between Peter and Wendy? Done.
Spoiler
Evil Peter Pan? Heroic Captain Hook?To be fair, there was one interesting plot twist that I didn't see coming towards the end. That was the saving grace of the novel for me. It, and it alone, was compelling enough that I will read the sequel.
All in all, I know many other die-hard Peter Pan fans are gobbling this book up. Unfortunately, I'm just not one of them. We'll see what happens when the sequel is released.
magfiquista13's review against another edition
adventurous
lighthearted
mysterious
relaxing
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
dmax16's review
4.0
It’s very intriguing - I liked the premise a lot, not a book I’m throwing on my favorites of all time list but a modern retelling of Peter Pan? It was fun, clever, and well crafted. I appreciated the consistency of the lore it created.
brittaniethekid's review
DNF. The writing in this is quite juvenile. I can only imagine that the 4 - 5 star reviewers are as well. The voice would be believable if she were the age that Wendy was written originally, but not a 17 year old.
extralifelibrarian's review against another edition
4.0
The book took a while to get into. It gave me a few ideas to help me with some stories I'm writing, and I loved how they did some twists into it. She did a better retelling of Peter Pan than Once Upon a Time did. Also the twist with the father is interesting and some other things. I wasn't expecting this to be book one in the series but I'll be looking at finishing it if the library gets the sequel when it comes out.
samanthampg's review against another edition
2.0
This was not the retelling I had hoped for, I’m a huge sucker for a Peter/Wendy relationship and I’m disappointed in the outcome if I’m being honest.
I had a lot of issues with this story but mainly I thought that the writing was juvenile, and I would say that a younger age group might enjoy it but the book covers topics such as sex that children probably shouldn’t be reading.
As well I had a hard time with the quick pacing of this novel, everything happened so quickly and i didn’t have any time to really believe that Phinn and Wiley had genuinely fallen in love.
There were other issues such as sexism, which was addressed and then immediately forgotten, which I had a hard time stomaching.
BUT THE WORST IS THAT SHE RAGS ON HER FRIENDS FOR THEIR ACTIVISM AND HOME GIRL HATES RECYCLING ?!?!?
Also cliffhanger ending that was like SUPER abrupt. I can’t say this was one of my favourite reads, I don’t think it cracks my top 50 tbh. But it did make me wanna rewatch Peter Pan.
I had a lot of issues with this story but mainly I thought that the writing was juvenile, and I would say that a younger age group might enjoy it but the book covers topics such as sex that children probably shouldn’t be reading.
As well I had a hard time with the quick pacing of this novel, everything happened so quickly and i didn’t have any time to really believe that Phinn and Wiley had genuinely fallen in love.
There were other issues such as sexism, which was addressed and then immediately forgotten, which I had a hard time stomaching.
BUT THE WORST IS THAT SHE RAGS ON HER FRIENDS FOR THEIR ACTIVISM AND HOME GIRL HATES RECYCLING ?!?!?
Also cliffhanger ending that was like SUPER abrupt. I can’t say this was one of my favourite reads, I don’t think it cracks my top 50 tbh. But it did make me wanna rewatch Peter Pan.
rachwebsmith's review against another edition
adventurous
mysterious
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
amanda1620's review against another edition
2.0
Another Peter Pan's retelling, but in this one, Peter Pan is cheeky (not in a good way), charming and oh bad ...
It's really hard for me to connect with the characters in this book, especially the Daltons siblings. In the beginning of the book, Wendy said that they're close-knit siblings, but they keep arguing whether to stay or not, it's also very easy for them to change their mind.
It seems like there's insta-love everywhere and once they see something different, the feeling is suddenly gone and turned into something else. There are just so many things, I actually contemplated to stop reading this book, but I kept going to see the end.
It's really hard for me to connect with the characters in this book, especially the Daltons siblings. In the beginning of the book, Wendy said that they're close-knit siblings, but they keep arguing whether to stay or not, it's also very easy for them to change their mind.
It seems like there's insta-love everywhere and once they see something different, the feeling is suddenly gone and turned into something else. There are just so many things, I actually contemplated to stop reading this book, but I kept going to see the end.