I want to go ahead and begin this by saying, I am incredible biased. I love Aiden Thomas representation and story ideas, but after reading their earlier release of Cemetery Boys, I had a feeling that their writing style may not exactly be for me. However, a Peter Pan retelling from an amazing queer author? I love Peter Pan. I'm queer. I'm sold!

In Thomas' rendition of the classic Peter Pan characters, they attempt to recreate the wheel in terms of the classic Peter Pan mythos. This isn't the traditional J.M. Barrie Peter with his reckless abandon and childish youth, nor does this feel like the Disney Peter who is the arrogant and passionate adventurer. In this version, we follow an 18 year old Wendy who was told tales of Peter Pan all her life, but after children start disappearing around town and a boy falls from the sky claiming to be Peter Pan, Wendy realizes there may be more to the myth than she thought.

I commend Thomas' ambitious story ideas. There are moments in Lost in the Never Woods where I was gripped by the tone and the atmosphere, but I think I would like for their writing to be edgier. I had the same thoughts reading Cemetery Boys, that when we are talking about the lore of the world and the consequences of actions, I'm sold. It's when we begin to focus more on the teenage romance and drama that there is a disconnect for me. I appreciate the effort to have characters connect and have dynamics with each other, but for my own liking I would appreciate something a little less superficial. Wendy also sexualizes Peter a lot, which was a little weird to read about.

None of this to say that Lost in the Never Woods was a fail for me, and if Aiden Thomas continues to write interesting and inclusive works I will continue to read them, but I just wish their books were as tonally ambitious as the content.

Aiden Thomas's reimagining of Peter Pan is an amazing read. Picking up when Wendy Darling is eighteen, having lost her brothers John and Michael and the memory of how they came to be lost, the book continues the Peter Pan legend as now other children start disappearing from Darling's small town. One night, driving home from volunteering at the hospital where her mother is a nurse, something drops on Wendy's truck and she finds a young boy curled up in the road. She reports the accident and the boy is transported to the hospital.

When he awakens, he immediately starts screaming for Wendy. She finally accepts that this is Peter Pan, and her dreams of being in Neverland with her brothers and Peter are actually memories. But he's lost his shadow - again - only this time, the shadow is growing in strength as Peter's magic fades and he does the one thing Peter Pan is not supposed to do - he starts growing up.

Wendy and Peter work together to try to rescue the children his shadow keeps stealing, and Wendy lives in hope that defeating the shadow will return her brothers home as well. But there are secrets Peter is keeping from her, and those secrets are huge.

Thomas tells this story so beautifully. I think J.M Barrie would be impressed with Thomas's imaginative tale of his iconic characters. A must read.

I loved this book. I was not sure what I was expecting, but when I saw this was another book by Aiden Thomas, that was all I needed to know. I did not realize going in that this was a Peter Pan retelling. (This became evident on the first page of the book, but like I mentioned, all I knew before I started reading was the author.)

Overall, I absolutely loved the writing and the story in this book. I thought the characters and the relationships between them were deep, convoluted, and real. The different ways the Darlings each handle their grief was so beautifully portrayed, and lends itself to excellent conversations about how we each grieve in different ways, and whether or not these ways are perceived as "acceptable" by society. This would be a great book to include in classroom discussions about mental health representation in books, specifically dealing with grief and loss.

I do think the book could have been a bit shorter. As much as I loved the writing, the pacing of the first half of the book felt drawn out and I would have loved to see a more condensed first half which perhaps would have allowed for a more detailed ending. The end of the book was wonderful, but I would have loved to see a bit more detail here.

Thanks to Macmillan Children's for my arc on this title. Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas is a moody story centered around Wendy, her two lost brothers, and Peter Pan. The story takes place post the original Peter Pan book. Wendy's two brothers are lost, additional children in the neighborhood are disappearing, and Peter Pan has lost his shadow.

TW: See below for trigger warnings that might spoil things a bit.

My thoughts:

- This story was extremely well written and I felt immersed in the real world post Peter Pan.
- The story addresses some extremely heavy material in the guise of a fairy tale.
- I thought the story telling was top notch but wasn't quite prepared for the final resolution of the book.

I recommend this book to those who enjoy stories centered around Peter Pan or who enjoy retellings done in an imaginative fashion.

TW: This story addresses child abductions that might be triggering.

I received a digital ARC from Netgalley.

This was a solid 3.5 stars for me. It's an interesting take on Peter Pan, and I would have loved to have seen more of his character actually, and I do love a good retelling but it moved too slowly for me at the beginning. The final portion of the book I thought was great but it suffered early on.

Remakes of well loved stories are hit or miss, this one is a keeper! Children go missing and a young girl thinks she might be the reason why. Then Peter Pan lands in front of her, and she begins to question all she has known for the last 5 years. Quick read, not meant for young children.

An enjoyable twist on the Peter Pan tale, mixed with a bit of heart breaking realizations along the way for the Wendy.

Series Info/Source: This is a stand alone book, I got a copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley to review. Previous to reading this book I read Thomas’s “Cemetery Boys” and thought it was okay but not great.

Story (3/5): I wasn't a huge fan of this book and almost stopped reading it about 60% of the way through. Things just move really slow in this book and are very predictable. I am usually a huge fan of Peter Pan retellings, but this was just so slow and I had a lot of trouble relating to the characters here.

Most of this story isn’t really about magic but about Wendy learning to accept events in her past and move on. She is on the cusp of going to college and needs to start looking forward.

Characters (3/5): The story is told completely from Wendy’s perspective and I had trouble relating to her. She just kind of floats through her life, interacting very little with anyone until she is forced to. She is supposed to be entering college soon but felt more like she was in middle school or just starting high school; she just seems really immature at times. I didn’t even enjoy Peter all that much and I thought he would be my favorite. There is a supposed type of budding romance between the two that feels a bit off because Peter is used to being a young kid and generally acts a lot younger than his age.

Setting (3/5): I loved that there is a dark woods type of setting here The story takes place in a modern day small town setting. The mysterious woods are used as a backdrop for some of the more intense scenes (if you can call anything in here intense) but most of the book takes place at Wendy’s house or at the hospital she volunteers at.

Writing Style (3/5): Technically this is well written. I like the precise language Thomas uses but there are just such large portions where nothing much happens. I was hoping for something more mysterious and fast-paced. This is much more introspective and the reader spends a long time watching things unravel very slowly only to get to a “big” reveal that feels predictable and abrupt. I was left feeling like, ”I stuck with this book for so long for that??!!” To be fair I wasn’t a huge fan of “Cemetary Boys” either so Thomas’s story style just doesn’t seem to mesh well with my expectations. If you want to start reading Thomas, “Cemetery Boys” was definitely the better book.

My Summary (3/5): Overall this is a Peter Pan retelling I could have done without. The story just creeps along and the reveal was disappointing. I have read a bevy of Peter Pan retellings and this was among the weaker of them. This is the second Aiden Thomas book I have felt very mediocre about and don’t plan on continuing to read Thomas’s future books.

If you are looking for some good Peter Pan retellings I would recommend the following: “Peter and the Starcatchers” by Dave Berry and Ridley Pearson (pre story trilogy to Peter Pan, middle grade reading level), “The Child Thief” by Brom (very dark and adult retelling but amazing!), “Neverland” by Joe Brusha (very dark and adult graphic novel retelling, beautiful illustration), “Alias Hook” by Lisa Jensen (wonderful Peter Pan tale from Hook’s perspective, a bit of time travel, really loved it), and “The Wendy Project” by Osborne and Fish (YA graphic novel, loved the illustration, neat blend of fantasy and reality),

I have also read a few Peter Pan retellings that have been very mediocre: “Wendy Darling” by Colleen Oakes (kind of follows the Disney version of Peter Pan, pretty boring and not that well written) and “Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook” by Chistine Henry (moves very slow and an anti-climatic reveal), “The Promised Neverland” by Kaiu Shirai, Posuka Demizu (YA manga series that is a blend of fantasy and horror, decent and I enjoyed the first few volumes I read).

Hopefully you find the above list of Peter Pan retellings helpful. I also have “Wendy, Darling” by A.C Wise on my plate to review soon...so keep your eyes out for that in the next month or so.

I couldn't finish this one, sadly. I was so excited and I loved the concept, but for some reason I just couldn't get into it. I will try to read it again later down the road.

5 years after returning from Neverland, Wendy Darling is still trying to make sense of the six months she was lost in the woods...and figure out what happened to her brothers. When children start to go missing again and a mysterious boy, who very much resembles the Peter Pan of her childhood stories lands in Astoria, Wendy must confront her lacking memories to help find the kids before it’s too late.

A wonderful twist on the Peter Pan we know and love, Lost in the Never Woods offers a gripping tale of how powerful the mind can be when ruled by fear and grief. Aiden Thomas weaves a magical tale of a boy who helps lost children, including those lost to their own mind, find their way home

I finished this book over the course of a week and ended up with a rating of 3 stars. The good: excellent mystery that will captivate you from the beginning. The retelling of Peter and Wendy was comforting due to knowing these characters already and fun to see them both as teenagers interacting. The not so good: lots of inner commentary by protagonist, Wendy, made the book slow at times and felt more like telling than showing the reader what was happening. The last few chapters of the book took me back in and will definitely be recommending to my students if they enjoy retellings of classics. I received an ARC from NetGallery, thanks again for letting me read this so soon!

I was excited to see another book by Aiden Thomas after Cemetary Boys. A retelling of Peterpan always catches my eye.

This was a follow up that didn't disappoint. I'm so happy that I was given the opportunity to read this new title from Aiden Thomas, and I encourage others to do so as well.

My first thought: I need this story to be turned into a movie!

I enjoyed reading this story. It was the perfect escape from a stressful week for me. I loved Peter - His childlike behaviour and his parallel responsible side. I found it difficult to put this story down. Wendy was amazing. The strength she had to push thru her trauma and rescue the kids was great.

The story was easy to follow. Aiden has done well to ensure readers remain interested in the story till the very end. I would recommend this story without hesitation.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley and am leaving my review voluntarily.

This dark retelling of Peter Pan has a few issues. The pacing is a little off and the characters, especially Wendy's father, could have been given more depth. But I would recommend as one of the better Peter Pan retellings. It was obvious that the author has a solid understanding of the weirdness of Peter Pan and I appreciated all the little Easter eggs like the neighbor with the last name Davies.

Thank you to NetGalley, Aiden Thomas, and Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group for allowing me to read Lost in the Never Woods in exchange for an honest review. I received this book after publication date, but was so happy I got to read and review it.

As young children, we all hear fairy tales that live in our minds forever and impact our lives in different ways. For Wendy, her memories are hazy after the disappearance of her brothers, John and Michael. Other children have gone missing, and Wendy begins to remember the past, one that is scary and she doesn’t want to face. One night she almost runs over a boy, lying in the middle of the road, who says his name is Peter, and he needs her help. Wendy has to harness all her fears, alienate her best friend, and break her parents rules about being out after dark, to believe in Peter and hopefully find her brothers and the missing children. This book is a fun mystery, reminding us to never get so old that a little magic in the world is good for everyone.

I enjoy reading as Lost in the Never Woods, it takes the retelling of Peter Pan with a dark spin. However the magical world and excitement soon lost its measure during the second portion of the story. There are instances where some characters become underwhelming, I was hoping to see more especially toward Wendy Darling but that feeling never landed. Beside that, the writing is exceptional, and Aiden knows how to write eerie stories.

This book was a pleasant surprise. Like other readers, Lost in the Never Woods can be summarized as Peter Pan fanfiction but with a modern twist. It's a wonderful pick-me-up, incredibly heartwarming, and a wonder start to finish. I'm curious to see what else Thomas has in store for us in future works!

This book was a slow burn for me. And the epilogue gave me chills. Hence the 5 star rating. We all know the story of Peter Pan and we all have our opinions on a dude who spies on little kids and “brings” them to Neverland. This retelling has so little of Neverland in it and that’s what made it interesting to me. Wendy and her brothers had gone missing 5 years prior to the start of this book. Wendy returned, but her brothers never did. When a car accident happens on Wendy’s way home, Peter Pan is thrust into reality and her life. But there’s trouble. Peter’s lost his shadow (again)...and not only that...but he’s starting to grow up! This book is part fantasy, part crime fiction. I’m here for it all!!

A Peter Pan story (it’s way more than a re-telling) that follows Wendy Darling in a modern setting where children are going missing. Wendy’s mom has always imparted Peter Pan stories to her growing up, but Wendy never expected the stories to be real when she runs smack into a lost Peter Pan one day. Peter and Wendy team up to try and get Peter’s shadow back and find the missing children.

There wasn’t anything TECHNICALLY wrong with this, however, I just didn’t find myself drawn into the story or characters. It very much read like a prolonged fan-fiction piece, not to say there is anything wrong with that, it just wasn’t for me. If you are into that type of thing, you may find this in line with your reading taste.