Everland by Wendy Spinale

Everland #1

I read Everland in one beautiful day sitting on the beach in the Bahamas. Last spring I decided I was going to catch up on my reading and for a five day vacation, I brought 10 books and I finished 7 of them (the total included graphic novels). I’d been meaning to read my ARC of Everland for quite some time and it seemed like the perfect opportunity to do so. Whenever I happen upon a book that has any reference to Peter Pan in the description, I will read it. I shamefully must admit that I have yet to actually finish the original Peter Pan, but I’ve read just about every adaptation and retelling I have ever found.

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Synopsis

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their night scavenging and their days avoiding the ruthless Marauders – the German army led by Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England’s borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he things can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return. Until the day they grab Joanna. As Swen sets out to save her, she meets a daredevil boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all be living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it will cost Swen. And are she, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart Captain Hook?

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Review

The publisher of Everland, Scholastic, was really excited for this book. They sent out manuscripts – unbound sheets of printer paper – to booksellers almost a year before the book’s release. In two years I’ve worked in a bookstore and for the 25 years before that the bookstore had been around, no one can recall being sent an unbound manuscript. Needless to say, as the resident lover of all things Peter Pan at the store, the manuscript found it’s way into my hands.

I enjoyed Everland. It has a clever premise with hints of steampunk and allusions to historical events. It is a quick and enjoyable read, the plot is well paced and well structured. I had found myself in a reading slump before I picked it up to read and Everland is a great book palate cleanser. It is serious enough to hold one’s attention and make you think, but light enough that it doesn’t cause any sort of book hangover that would inhibit one from diving directly into the next book on a lengthy TBR list.

The characters are intriguing, none are exact copies of their original Peter Pan inspirations, but they stay true enough to J. M. Barrie’s characters that certain personality traits and behaviors are predictable. However, Spinale makes the circumstances of those actions a surprise as her setting, while bearing a resemblance to the century-old Neverland, is unique to her story.

Rating: 7 out of 10 stars

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