Title: Never Never
Author: Brianna Shrum
Release Date: September 22, 2015
Publisher: Spencer Hill Press
Synopsis: James Hook is a child who only wants to grow up.
When he meets Peter Pan, a boy who loves to pretend and is
intent on never becoming a man, James decides he could try being a child—at
least briefly. James joins Peter Pan on a holiday to Neverland, a place of
adventure created by children’s dreams, but Neverland is not for the faint of
heart. Soon James finds himself longing for home, determined that he is
destined to be a man. But Peter refuses to take him back, leaving James trapped
in a world just beyond the one he loves. A world where children are to never
grow up.
But grow up he does.
And thus begins the epic adventure of a Lost Boy and a
Pirate.
This story isn’t about Peter Pan; it’s about the boy whose
life he stole. It’s about a man in a world that hates men. It’s about the
feared Captain James Hook and his passionate quest to kill the Pan, an
impossible feat in a magical land where everyone loves Peter Pan.
Except one.
Except one.
IndieBound: http://www.indiebound.org/book/9781633920392
Brooke's Review:
I want to thank Spencer Hill Press for providing me with a copy of this book to read and give an honest review. Receiving this book for free has in no way altered or influenced my opinion.
I love retellings. And I have never read a retelling of Peter Pan. And I can recall seeing this show on broadway with my mother when Sandy Duncan played Peter Pan. I remember her flying out over the audience and it being one of the greatest things I had ever seen in my young life. So given the chance to read this story from Hook's perspective totally intrigued me.
The first part of the book introduces us to the young James Hook. As a young boy, James in hopeful and optimistic of what his life holds. He's not the bitter, mean and vengeful Hook we are used to seeing in the original story. All he wants to do is grow up and be a man. I really enjoyed seeing Hook as a young boy. But when he meets Peter Pan, who offers him a short getaway to a magical place, he can't resist. And as he spends time with Pan and the lost boys, he begins to change. You can see it in how he processes what is going on around him, in how he begins to think that he just wants to go home but will never get there. It makes him bitter and resentful.
The second and third parts of the book shows Hook as a young man, one who has grown up against the rules of the Pan. And because he's done so, he is exiled from the only home he now knows. And Pan continuously haunts him and taunts him. Slowly Hook starts to realize that the only way he will truly be happy is if Pan is not around at all. Thoughts of revenge ravage his mind. Pan becomes his obsession, to the point that he can barely ever think of anything else. Even when the love of his life, Tiger Lily, tries to make him see there is more than Pan and he should forget about him, he just cannot.
The transformation of Hook in this book is amazing. You truly see the story from such a totally different perspective. Where we know Pan to be this young boy who doesn't want to grow up and just wants to have fun, in this book he's so much more vengeful and spiteful than you could ever imagine. One understands why Hook has an obsession with trying to kill Pan, to rid the world of what Hook feels is a plague in his life.
And you actually care about Hook in this book because you see the battle he has raged throughout his life with Pan.
The writing is really great, as well. It flows easily and I didn't want to put the book down. I love when a book sucks me in like that!
I will say that the ending kind of left me wanting something more, something to wrap things up. I'm not sure if the author wants us to see what we will see with how she ends it, or if she thinks there might be somewhere else to go. I don't see there being more to the story, but I will say the open like ending left me a bit on edge.
Overall, I truly enjoyed this book and for anyone who likes retellings, or even those who don't, this book is a spectacular read. If you are a fan of Pan, you'll enjoy the story as told from Hook's POV. And if you're not a fan of Pan, you will see why Hook wasn't either! A definite must add to the TBR for any fairytale lover.
Brianna Shrum lives in Colorado with her
high-school-sweetheart-turned-husband, two boys, and two big, floppy hound
dogs. She thinks chai tea is proof of magic in the world, and loves all things
kissy, magical, and strange. She'd totally love to connect with you. You can find
her saying ridiculous things on Twitter @briannashrum
Author Social Media Links:
Website: http://briannashrum.com/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/briannashrum
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I love retellings, especially Peter Pan! Thanks for the giveaway!
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