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.

This book was beautiful written and addressed a lot of very real problems that people deal with.

This book was a bit too dark for my tastes but I cannot deny that Aiden Thomas is a gifted writer. He brought this story to life and made me feel the character's anxiety and grief.

TW for really awful things happening to kids. (Don't want to give too much detail and spoil the story)

This had such an interesting and intriguing premise that, for the most part, delivered, but relied very heavily on the audience's familiarity with the Disney version of Peter Pan. I always enjoy retellings and one based on Peter Pan felt fresh as most retellings focus on princess fairytales.

I would say this was a very faithful adaptation/retelling since it kept a lot of the same characters and themes from the original tale that many are familiar with. It felt very familiar and nostalgia-inducing, however, I wonder if this would have benefitted more from a looser adaptation with more creativity and reinvention. For example, Peter Pan didn't feel all that new or refreshing and the depth I think he was meant to convey wasn't there. Netherland itself is never actually seen but it's referenced a bunch and while it's alluded to be just like the Disney movie, the lack of actually seeing it made all the references really dependent on having that frame of reference in mind. It makes me wonder how successful this would have been if you didn't grow up with Peter Pan or watch/ remember the movie.

I loved the way grief and trauma are portrayed and the silent but salient way it's portrayed through Wendy's family. From her hesitant and stilted interactions with her father to her mother's lover but draining warmth and overwhelming grief, it was a great portrait of a family frayed and weathered from the loss of two family members. Wendy's confusion and emotions felt authentic and the added layer of memory loss really helped drive home her feelings of guilt and isolation in her own grief. It also added a great sense of mystery that helped keep the plot going.

Where this started to lose its way is in the lack of urgency regarding the missing children and escalating darkness that encroaches. It didn't feel pressing or realistic which held the plot back. I also don't think there were enough of the flashbacks into Wendy's past with Peter or her brothers, so the disappearance of her brothers often felt forgotten or like a side plot than the grounding emotional anchor it should have been. I also felt there was more that could have been explored with Peter's feelings and desires and ultimately, his shadow. The ending felt rushed and didn't feel like it quite resolved those issues long-term.

Overall I think this could have benefitted from taking on a looser or fresher interpretation of Peter Pan and exploring Peter Pan himself, instead of solely focusing on Wendy. The pacing suffered a bit throughout and especially in the middle, which made a lot of the inner dialogue and questions feel unnecessary. I would still recommend this, though this is not one of my favorites from the author.

This was more fanfic for me than anything. The story wasn't horrible but the writing fell short. Im excited to watch this author hone their work because there is a huge potential here. Keep it coming with some more fairytale retellings!

In this YA sci-fi/fantasy we follow our mc 𝗪𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘆 𝗗𝗮𝗿𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗴. She encounters a boy she only knew from stories, 𝗣𝗲𝘁𝗲𝗿 𝗣𝗮𝗻.

I went into this without much knowledge beforehand. I knew that it was a peter pan retelling by the same author of 𝘊𝘦𝘮𝘦𝘵𝘢𝘳𝘺 𝘉𝘰𝘺𝘴, a book I haven't read but have only heard amazing things about. Although I still plan to read that book I had a few problems with this one.

The main issue for me was definitely the pacing. It was extremely slow and made me want to DNF it. Though it does eventually pick up even then it wasn't very enjoyable. Around eighty percent of the novel feels as if nothing had happened.

The characters weren't anything special and I couldn't find myself connecting to them much. They were very surface level which was disappointing since they could've been a lot more developed.

The romance was fine but the characters chemistry was horrible. It also just felt a bit odd having Peter with Wendy. He aged from around thirteen to nineteen in the span of a few days and it felt as if he was still mentally a child. That might just be me but it was a little offputting.

𝘛𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘬 𝘺𝘰𝘶 𝘵𝘰 𝘕𝘦𝘵𝘨𝘢𝘭𝘭𝘦𝘺 & 𝘔𝘢𝘤𝘮𝘪𝘭𝘭𝘢𝘯 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘦𝘈𝘙𝘊 𝘪𝘯 𝘦𝘹𝘤𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘨𝘦 𝘧𝘰𝘳 𝘢𝘯 𝘩𝘰𝘯𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘳𝘦𝘷𝘪𝘦𝘸.

While the premise seems promising, and the story has ripe potential, the ends never wove together for me in a way that was satisifying.

I was very excited to read this as I loved Aiden Thomas' Cemetery Boys. A book retelling the classic story of Wendy Darling and Peter Pan sounded fantastic. I certainly enjoyed the first and last portions of the book, but the middle was a bit slow for me. I would still recommend this to anyone who enjoys Peter Pan!

This was a heartbreakingly beautiful retelling of Peter Pan and Wendy. Wendy went missing with her brothers 5 years ago and only she came back after being lost for 6 months. What happened to her in that time frame? She has no idea. She's tried to remember but can never get past the blackness that invades her mind when she tries. When Peter crash lands back in her town looking for her everything she's pushed down so deeply comes back to the surface but can she and Peter save the other missing children and Peter's life before the shadow takes hold forever?

I absolutely loved this book! It was heartrendering, tender, traumatic, faithful to the fairytale, and brought fresh storytelling back to Neverland.

Lost in the Never Woods was a hauntingly nostalgic retelling of Peter Pan where Wendy Darling must get to the bottom of a mysterious force in the woods taking children--including her two brothers. When an accident puts a boy claiming to be Peter Pan in her path, Wendy isn't sure what to believe, but it soon becomes clear that they need to work together to rescue the children disappearing in the wood. I'm a sucker for a good Peter Pan retelling, and this one was no exception. I thought that this take on the classic tale was one that was new and inventive, and had a lot of substance to it. I really liked Wendy as a main character, and the ordeal she went through when she disappeared and woke in the woods to her brothers gone really handles trauma in a compelling real and compassionate way. It really shows the way such traumas impact children and families. I loved how atmospheric this book was and how the setting of the Pacific Northwest plays into that. There were a lot of little references to PP and the original story, but Lost in the Neverwoods stands well on its own. Lost in the Neverwoods is a story permeated with innocence and loss, and how one goes about moving forward and accepting both of those things

Wendy just wants her brothers back and she is determined to try and find them before it tears her family apart. But will she need the help of a person she thought was make believe and will the truth destroy her in the process. Lost in the Never Woods is an exploration of how the mind protects the sanity of a person and how powerful grief can be.The investigation of disappearing children spurs the momentum of the plot forward, there is no real anxiety or sense of urgency in the momentum. At times the plot felt fractured and not connected as if too many variants were added. All the pieces to make this a great story where present such as Peter Pan, his shadow, the distortion of Neverland, and the disappearance of the kids these themes never really fully connected but depended on Wendy. Whose character was superficial and depended on the existing relationship of the childhood fairy tale. The climax and realisation of what really happened to the brothers was a bit of a let down and left a sense of wanting more.

Do you like fairy tales? Do you like when they get a little dark and twisty? How about crying? Well if all those three things are for you then so is this book.

This novel tore my heart up but I would still read it 100x over

3.5 stars!

I really enjoyed the creepy mystery twist that Aiden Thomas took on the tale of Peter Pan. I loved the fact that it was set in the modern day world, following Wendy that has a dark past with the disappearance of her brothers.

This book did keep me on my toes throughout, making it very hard to put down since I just wanted to know what was going on with Peter's shadow and figuring out what happened to Wendy growing up. I was shocked at the end of the book and really liked it.

Despite the fact that I really liked the ending, the middle felt like it was dragging for me. The first third was so interesting and helped me really get into the creepy/dark mindset for the book, yet when it came to the middle portion, I just felt as though the story was lost a bit. However it did pick up intensely at the ending.

I think overall it is a great retelling of Peter Pan and still instills the fact that I will continue to pick up any book Aiden Thomas writes, no matter the description or genre.

"It's been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town."
Aiden Thomas's take on this classic tale answers many of the questions raised by the original Peter Pan. Why does Peter collect the Lost Boys? Where is Neverland? Why does Peter never grow older? It also adds an additional dimension to the story that rounds out the character motivations of Peter and Wendy. A fun and moving book that I enjoyed much more than the original.

I was very excited to read this one and had pre-ordered it the second I learned of its existence. I was intrigued from the get-go: The book begins with Wendy Darling, now eighteen, who is an aspiring nurse and thus volunteering at the local hospital. Wendy had gone missing a handful of years ago and while she returned unharmed, her brothers Michael and John were never found.

I don't want to recount the book, which I have found myself doing every time I have started to write this review. Just know this: The plot has to do with reuniting Peter Pan with his shadow and with trying to find out who is abducting young boys (all of whom have some tie to Wendy). While I was drawn to these elements, the book's pace is almost glacial. Thomas keeps the readers invested by dropping hint here and a teaser there.

The book's concept is very clever and dark, but there is something that misses the mark. Reading it early one morning I ruminated on the appeal Peter Pan may have to members of the trans and nb community: In the traditional Peter Pan tale, he never has to go through puberty and thus his body does not betray him. Thomas has created a Pan whose body betrays him; who is drawn to a specific aspect of his new reality, but not even his feelings for Wendy are enough for him to want to let go of his carefree youth.

5 years after Wendy is found after going missing with her brothers for 6 months she is suddenly face to face with a familiar face that she just can't believe is real. She has been trying to return her her normal life, she is on the swim team, has a best friend, volunteers and is making her plans for college next year.

Wendy can't remember anything that happened during her missing time but she lately she has been drawing his face....Peter's face and a tree, obsessively, without consciously doing so. When children start going missing, and suddenly she finds him injured on the side of the road in the woods, Wendy must find out what is going on.

Peter insists she is the only one that can help to save the missing children but to do that she is going to have to face her greatest fears.

The story itself was fine for me but it just seemed the book could have been pared down quite a bit as it just drug on and the pacing felt rather slow. I didn't really care much about most of the characters and they felt like background noise for the most part. The last 20% of the book (or so) contained the vast majority of the action and while I felt like that was quite a ride the 80% leading up to it just fell flat.

As for the romance aspect of this book Wendy is 19, Peter is never supposed to grow old and in his mind he is still a young boy but his body continue aging. The lusting after him and his body just felt wrong in the context of the book and I feel like that aspect was one of those that could have been left on the cutting room floor.

Perhaps more pure Peter Pan fans may find more to this book than I did but unfortunately it gets a meh from me. I'm glad I read it but was glad to be done with it.

I did love Cemetery Boys so I will continue to watch and follow and read from Aiden Thomas in the future though.

I enjoyed seeing a revitalized version of the Peter Pan story. The language was really visceral and put you in Wendy's body. I read this at the same time as Under the Whispering Door by TJ Klune, and there were some interesting parallels.

Unfortunately, I could not bring myself to finish this one. I like giving everything a chance, but Peter Pan retellings just really aren’t my thing.

There was a time that I read every Peter Pan book I could get my hands on. I love them all. I must have neglected to read the plot summary for this book, Lost in the Never Woods, because I didn't realize I had found another Peter Pan retelling until I was through the first chapter. But man, did I love this book.

This is a much darker take on one of my favorite childhood books. Wendy's brothers, John and Michael, disappeared with Wendy five years ago. Wendy returned six months later. Her brothers did not. Now kids have started disappearing again. And Wendy's family is reliving that loss and heartbreak. And Wendy wants to do something about it.

What I think this book does so well is the tangible loss the Darling family feels after John and Michael go missing. The whole family has lost its sense of purpose. Mr. and Mrs. Darling and Wendy do not know who they are as seperate people or as a unit due to this loss. And because the boys went missing but were never found, they have no closure either. Their grief is central to the plot, and is so beautifully written. It feels real to the reader. I had to stop and close my kindle down for a little while at points because it felt so heavy and so real. The mystery within the story is dark and terrifying too. Small children go missing. That is heavy stuff.

Wendy as a young woman trying to decide who she wants to be in college, what she wants for her future self, is a pleasure to read about. Aiden Thomas understands teenagers. I remember feeling that uncertainty. Wendy cannot imagine growing up because that means leaving her brothers behind. And meeting Peter as a teenager was a pleasure too. It really did feel like I was getting to know my old friends all over again.

I loved the setting of this book. I loved the characters and the writing. It was a pleasure, but it was difficult too. I know what it's like to grieve a missing person. And I think Aiden Thomas nailed it.

There were also several Easter eggs that referenced one of the 1990s cinematic classics, Hook, which I promptly rewatched as soon as I finished this book.