4.5 Stars

CWs: Explorations of familial loss, grief, and trauma; some descriptions of anxiety/anxiety attacks, compulsion, and alcoholism (in parents); allusions to night terrors and insomnia; instances of kidnapping; some descriptions of injury and violence

☆ Check out my spoiler-free reading vlog for LITNW!

As someone who absolutely loved Cemetery Boys , the bar was pretty high for Lost in the Never Woods, but Aiden Thomas did not disappoint.

LITNW is a story that goes hard in the paint when it comes to exploring trauma, reactions to trauma, and mental health. Wendy is an extremely traumatized, extremely anxious person, who is still grappling with the disappearance of her brothers and how that's completely shifted her family's entire dynamic. While she's surrounded by people who intellectually know what she went through all those years ago, very few people actually understand how she feels and how the situation haunts her. That desperation and uncertainty she feels really underpins the writing style in the story. It's a narrative that moves quickly, almost frantically, and leaves the reader feeling breathless with each new discovery and the terrifying implications of those discoveries.

I think that's what makes the dynamic between Wendy and Peter so fascinating and so emotional. Peter represents magic, wonder, and in many ways safety, and Wendy is slow to trust him because everything he represents is just another unknown. Wendy is terrified and alone when the story begins, and she's used to making herself small to make everyone's life easier. But Peter is gradually breaking through her walls, offering her a potential connection to her brothers and her past, and sort of reintroducing her to wonder and joy. At the same time, he's validating her fears and feelings, which she has always thought to be "irrational." Peter also represents a chance for redemption, because Wendy has spent all this time harboring guilt over the fact that she couldn't keep her brothers safe, especially since she sees it as her job to protect the people she loves.

She and Peter are very similar in that way. They see it as their responsibility to take care of others, even if it means taking on their pain, and they are both convinced that all the bad things happening in town are because of their own failings, because they weren't able to "be better" in some way. I think that really speaks to the lasting impact of trauma and nursing guilt instead of addressing it. I think the story also has a lot to say about how the act of growing up is almost traumatic in itself, because in many ways, growing up means learning how to be hurt, and Wendy and Peter are being forced to confront that pain in a very literal, magical sense.

To me, Peter and Wendy represent a reconciliation between pain and joy, and this evil shadow magic growing in the woods represents how pain is a living, breathing entity that grows stronger and strengthens its hold over us the more we feed into it. When we learn to extract joy from painful moments, hope from hardship, and love from loss, we become more powerful for it. That concept is what really struck me the hardest in this story, and I really appreciate how the story converts survivor's guilt into power.

It is such a different story from Thomas' debut, but in some ways it is very much cut from the same cloth. There's joy, there's humor, there's an impossibly tragic yet hopeful romance, but there's also a really honest look at the hard choices survivors have to make and the destructive power of grief. While there were some supporting characters I wanted to see more from, I was still completely immersed in this creepy, atmospheric story and I was completely blown away. Aiden was already an auto-buy author and this tremendous story just solidified that fact even further!

As children go missing in the woods, Wendy is given a dark reminder of what happened to her and her brothers. With holes in her memory, she is haunted by the gaps and people watching her every move with each loss. Trying to escape the reminders that her brothers are still missing she finds an unconscious boy outside the Neverwoods and Peter Pan worms his way back into her life. In order to save the kids and find her brothers, she will have to work with Peter Pan, the boy she thought only existed in her stories. Can Peter Pan and Wendy find the missing children and save the town from a sinister force? Action-packed and engaging, the author does a great job of mixing dark and light themes. The characters are well-developed and unique while still remaining true to the classic tale. Readers who enjoy dark fantasy, adventure, and retellings of classic tales will enjoy reading this book. 4.5 stars, Grades 7 to 10

First off, I want to say thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for an advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

I think I'm becoming a big fan of dark retellings. I'll be honest, I'm not super familiar with Peter Pan, but I'm glad to say that did not hinder my understanding of this story. I loved how dark and creepy this book was, I wasn't sure how dark it could get with it being YA, but it worked so well.

I really enjoyed Peter and Wendy. I giggled at some of their banter and was captivated when they were in the scenes together. There were also moments where I just wanted to hug them both. Wendy has been through a lot and her emotions and trauma was described well. As a reader I felt connected to her and really understood her thoughts. Peter was also going through so much and trying to help everyone around him. They were partners in crime and helped each other when they needed it.

The mystery of the story held my attention and kept me guessing. I had quite a few theories going on in my head that kept changing the longer I read. I was surprised by some of the revelations near the end which I loved. My heart was racing as everything was going down and being revealed and I couldn't put the book down. I definitely recommend this book to other readers, especially if you enjoyed Cemetery Boys.

*Slight Spoilers*
I will say I was a little bothered at first with the romance because when she first saw Peter he looked fourteen and Wendy was eighteen. It made me feel somewhat better as he was later described as older due to the aging. I kept picturing him as older, but the reminders that he wasn't supposed to be older kept me going back to how young he is supposed to be compared to her.

I also loved that it wasn't a "happily ever after" ending. I know some readers may be upset by this, but I think it's hard to have a super happy endings in dark retellings. I think the ending provided closure and that is more than I could have asked for. I think this was a perfect ending to this story.

It's a rare book that makes me ACTUALLY laugh and cry the way this book has.

Somehow I over looked the names "Wendy" and "Peter" when reading the description, so a Peter Pan retelling was not what I was expecting. Fairytale retelling aren't usually my thing, but this book was so wonderful that I just couldn't put it down.

I felt like I was living this story with Wendy, feeling her confused happiness and her devastating heartache with her. I'm telling the truth when I say that I sobbed when I found out the truth about her brothers.

Even though Wendy didn't get a traditional happy ending, she got something better. Peace and closure.

*This eARC was provided by the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

Oh wow... this was stunning. I did not want to put it down, and read it in 3 sittings over 1 weekend. First off, it was a lot darker than I was expecting. Please review trigger warnings before starting this, as there is a lot of heavy content in this story. However, it is handled sensitively.

The majority of this story takes place in Astoria, Oregon, but there are small flashbacks of Wendy's time in Neverland. Although the reader does not get to dawdle in Neverland, this story is still incredibly magical. This was one of my most anticipated books of 2021 and it really lived up to my expectations, even if it was heavier/darker than I expected. I will definitely be picking up something lighter after finishing this! After reading both Cemetery Boys and Lost In the Never Woods, I'm confident that Aiden Thomas is one of my new favorite authors and I will be buying everything he releases in the future.

I would recommend this to fans of The Wayward Children novella series by Seanan McGuire.

Most of my thoughts will be under the spoiler warning below.

TW: Lost In The Never Woods deals with some very heavy topics like disappearance of children, sick children in the hospital, death of children, grief, and anxiety disorder.


SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
SPOILERS
I'm curious to see what other readers and reviewers will think of this book. I personally loved it, but I think some readers will be unhappy with the bittersweet ending. It left me feeling heavy, but I think it should. It's not an easy ending, but it was magical and realistic at the same time. I'm so proud of Wendy and her growth throughout this book, as well as her decision to push herself towards achieving her goals. I loved how Aiden implied that Peter is still watching over Wendy, even after her returns to Neverland, leaving her behind. It HURT ME when Peter left our world to watch over the lost children in Neverland. Part of me was hoping Wendy would go with him, even though it's not possible and she would be giving up her own future if she did it.
The majority of the time you're reading this book, you're not quite sure what kind of retelling of Peter Pan this will be. At the end, it's revealed that Peter is a magical being who guides lost (dead) children, especially those who died violent deaths. He helps them come to terms with their deaths and allows them to pass over into the afterlife.

This was an incredible take on the traditional tales of Peter Pan.

Five years ago, Wendy’s younger brothers disappeared and they have never been found... and Wendy remembers nothing of that night in the woods. Now, when children are going missing again police are on her doorstep to find answers. Aside from the police presence, Wendy almost runs over a boy in the woods in her 18th birthday... a boy who claims to know her... a boy who claims to be Peter Pan, the boy whom her mother told her stories about and whom she, in turn, told her brothers stories about. But there is no way he could possibly be real.

This was exquisite! This was a masterfully told rendition of the traditional take on Peter Pan. This is darker and more twisted and with much, much more at stake. There is an entity that is taking the young children in their quiet town... and the reason is a total twist on the original story.

I absolutely loved this book! The idea behind the magic of Peter Pan and what it takes for him to lose his magic... what he must give up - is tragic and beautiful. I have come to the conclusion that there is NOTHING that Aiden Thomas writes that I will not completely devour!

I loved this more grown up version of Wendy and Peter. It took me a bit to get into the story but once I got in I was sucked in. I could really picture this as a movie. The shadow was perfect and not overly scary.
I give this book 4 stars. A seriously enjoyed story.

A Peter Pan retelling you say?
I'm intrigued!

Wendy Darling and her brothers disappeared, 6 months later only Wendy came home but with no memories and got on with her life. But what happens when where she's been comes looking for her 5 years later and needs her help?

I'm not going to say much more about the plot because you need to experience this. So good.

I will say that I'm loving this authors writing style and he has written the story and Wendy and Peter perfectly. They were completely adorable together. Also this book contained some sensitive issues, all respectively written.

Not going to lie, the ending had me in bits.

Best part of the book: the cover. Second best: the author's dedication to "every heavy heart that had to grow up to fast." Thomas' YA fascinating take on the legendary Peter Pan fairy tale consists of a strong albeit PTSD- ridden 18 yo Wendy Darling, and her search for the truth about her past.

Thank you Macmillan Children's, Swoon Reads and NetGalley for the delighful e-ARC!

Thank you to NetGalley and Swoon Reads for this free ebook in exchange for an honest review.

Wow. I have read a lot of retellings and twisted fairytales and it is a rare treat to come across a story as original and as vibrant as Lost in the Neverwoods.

Wendy Darling is an 18 year old hospital volunteer who went missing five years earlier with her two brothers. Wendy was found alone in the woods, but her brothers still remain missing and Wendy has no recollection of what happened. Regaled with stories about Peter Pan by her mother, Wendy starts to realize that they might not just be stories when children start to go missing and Wendy hits a boy claiming to be the infamous Peter with her car. Together, the two of them seek out Peter’s shadow and the truth behind what happened to the Darling children.

This book was unputdownable and I recommend for any fans of retellings or Peter Pan in general. Excellent read and Aiden Thomas has quickly become a new favorite author.

Let me preface this with saying this is not my typical read. I know there’s a swath of fairytales reimagined and twisted versions of Disney stories, but I’ve never been able to get into them. However, when I saw that Aiden Thomas was coming out with a new book, you bet I requested that ASAP! Cemetery Boys was one of my first reads of 2020 and made me a devoted fan of Aiden Thomas’s writing. Lost in the Never Woods is a dark retelling of Peter Pan set in modern day Oregon. In this spooky and mystical retelling, Wendy finds herself working along the Peter Pan she’s been telling stories about for years in order to solve a mystery of missing children. Wendy has her own stake in this mystery, having lost her brothers a few years prior. Aiden Thomas weaves this story of friendship, romance, and the struggles of a family dealing with loss, with such talent that can’t be denied. This will definitely be an immediate buy for me when it’s released!

Lost In The Never Woods is a fresh take on what could have been an empty re-telling of a very beloved classic take. Aiden Thomas plays on the audience’s previous knowledge of Peter Pan to skip a lot of the conventional ways to introduce characters and instead focuses on this specific story of Wendy and Peter. I think they’ve done such an incredible job of layering Peter Pan and Hook tid-bits and nods throughout, without making it mundane or tiresome. I can see this novel become an instant favorite with younger and older fans of Peter Pan. It touches on mental health and the ways families can hurt after shared tragedies, in such a tender way. It’s impossible to not love Wendy and Peter, but Jordan also deserves a big shout out! Good friendships deserve Big Love and it was so meaningful to see how Jordan takes care of Wendy. I’m so excited for others to read this smoky tale of a grown up Wendy, navigating a time where she feels both lost and ready for the next step of life.

Really well written, creepier than I had thought. I had to stop part way and put it on pause for several weeks and then continue again in the daylight. Having grown up in the countryside, I know first-hand how creepy the woods can get.

This book is very different from Aiden Thomas' first book Cemetery Boys. In it he takes on a new and different approach to you typical Peter Pan story. It was thoughtful and interesting.

Five years ago, Wendy and her little brothers vanished. She returned after six months, traumatized and amnesiac. Her family never recovered. Now, more children are disappearing into thin air, and one has just as mysteriously appeared: Peter Pan, the character from the stories Wendy used to tell her brothers. Though she has her doubts about this impossible boy, she can't deny that they need each other: he has the answers she craves, and he needs her help to recapture his shadow before its evil grows too great. The retelling is about equal parts slow-blooming relationship, tense fight against the power of darkness, and unpacking of her trauma.

Aiden Thomas will surely be a household name in classroom libraries. Students craving non binary representation will love this novel. Beautifully written with magical elements, this reimagined fairytale will be a hit.

A part of me thinks that I could summarize everything I’ve felt about this book in a few short sentences…. That part of me is very naive, because I can’t…. Not entirely.

I guess if I had to summarize my feelings about Lost In The Never Woods, I would say this is the best retelling of Peter Pan I’ve ever read. One of my top favourite reads of the year, and even an all-time favourite of mine!

Aiden Thomas has managed to bring a new light to J.M. Barrie’s original story and they have created a complex world where characters like Wendy Darling and Peter Pan feel alive. This book tackles hard themes like grief or lost, but it does it in a superb way.

In Lost In The Never Woods, there’s room for all types of emotions. It’s really well-written, a story that catches you from the first page and it never leaves you… Or at least... I have the feeling that it will never leave me.

Lost in the Never Woods is Aiden Thomas' sophomore novel, but shares dark and spooky vibes which were apparent in his debut, Cemetery Boys. Other than that parallel, Lost in the Never Woods is incredibly different than its predecessor and deserves to be viewed as its own independent piece. Lost in the Never Woods is at its heart, a story about mourning and grief. Wendy Darling, despite nearly an adult, is traumatized by an incident she can't fully remember which resulted in becoming separated from her two younger brothers. As she volunteers at the hospital her mother works in, she tells the children there stories of the boyish and adventurous Peter Pan. Her memories begin to resurface in strange ways, which leads her to wonder if there's more to Peter than a figment of her imagination.

The strength of this novel is certainly its characterization of its secondary main character, Peter Pan. Peter is a growing boy who should not be tumbling towards adulthood, which is clear by his charismatic and boisterous actions and behaviors. Despite most Peter Pan retellings focusing on Peter being a static character, Thomas makes their story rooted in character development. As Wendy is trying to find answers to bury her own grief and find the other children who have gone missing in her small Oregon town, Peter has a secret which he needs to share in order to keep the missing children safe. What results is a clever twist in an age-old story which is satisfying despite its slow build up.

Lost in the Never Woods has a main female lead, but does not have much diversity outside of the narrative. Many of Wendy's conversations with her best friend Jordan are full of strife or "boy talk," which leaves their relationship feeling two dimensional throughout the story. Wendy's parents are an interesting study on grieving parents--with a mother consumed in work and a father who is overprotective--but they play a minor role in the story. The story is overwhelmed by Wendy and Peter's issues, meaning they are by far the characters readers learn about and emphasize with the most. Unlike Thomas' earlier work, there is also no clear LGBTQIA+ or BIPOC representation in the novel. Peter is described as a boy with "auburn hair and blue eyes," while Wendy's race is left ambiguous. While this is not necessarily a deficit to Thomas' story-telling capabilities, readers of Cemetery Boys may be surprised by the lack of representation throughout this novel.

Lost in the Never Woods was originally written as a thesis for Thomas' MFA in Creative Writing. When reading the novel, readers may be reminded of its more academic origins by the frequent use of motifs (such as the acorn introduced early in the story) and its over-arching theme (grief and mourning). In many ways, this story also feels less polished despite more editing time compared to Thomas' other works. The humor, while present, doesn't linger. Most of the relationships in the story are surface level, excluding the relationship Wendy shares with Peter. Despite this, the story is strong, easy to follow, and leaves the reader thinking about its ending long after the pages run out.

Thank you to NetGalley and Macmillian Children's Publishing Group for an advanced copy of Lost in the Never Woods in exchange for an honest review. This book has a beautiful cover and will make a great addition to any bookshelf--young and old alike! Make sure to preorder the book or pick it up from your local bookstore on March 23rd, 2021!

LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS is a great mystery adaptation of the Peter Pan canon. Close enough to the Disney classic that you don't feel alienated, but original enough that you are constantly thinking about it when you are not reading it, I would heartily recommend this novel to any fan of Peter Pan and/or Aiden Thomas.

I knew I was going to love this book even before I read the first page because the previous book I read by Aiden Thomas was one of the best books I read in 2020 and I knew he wouldn't disappoint me. I absolutely love retellings of classic fairy tales and folklore so when I saw that this book was a retelling or more a continuation of Peter Pan, I got very excited. Set in Astoria, Oregon, we follow Wendy who disappeared into the dark woods and was kidnapped with her two younger boys years ago but somehow she reappeared months later but unfortunately her brothers never did. Now years later, Wendy is just trying to live a normal life but children are going missing again. Memories of her brothers and the events from years ago start coming back and they all seem centered around Peter Pan. But he is not real. Or is he? If you read Cemetery Boys by Aiden Thomas, you will love this book. The story is very different but Thomas brings us characters that you can easily root for, a mysterious environment, and amazing writing in this new book.