Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for giving me a free advanced copy of this book to read and review.

This book takes a unique and refreshing look at a classic. I really appreciate how the author reframed the story to be more respectful representation of Indigenous people. It also deals with the sexism of the original really well. I'd definitely recommend this book to kids that love reading about magic.

One of the best books I read all year - absolutely perfect. Phenomenal socio/historic critique of the original text and perfectly paced, dark fantasy-adventure.

I love Cynthia Leitich Smith's work. I think the way she takes classic children's literature and turns them on their heads to give the Native perspective is so clever and sorely needed in kidlit. I think the way she interrogates the traditional. narrative is so great for kids to think about and learn to do themselves.

I love modern retellings of classic stories, but SISTERS OF THE NEVERSEA does much more than simply retell the classic Peter Pan story. Cynthia Leitich Smith has created a story that faces down the problematic portrayals of the original, and created an inclusive masterpiece that recognizes Peter's problems and works to rehabilitate and redeem them. In this story, English Wendy and Native American Lily are stepsisters whose family is in danger of breaking up. Unbeknownst to them, a magical flying boy is watching, and he is about to pull them into a world of fairies, merfolk, pirates, and wild creatures. Is it a daring adventure - or is Peter Pan not quite what he seems? I am so impressed with the way the author turned this story on its head - she kept all the adventure and magic, while rooting out the sexism and racism. There is nothing heavy-handed here - in fact, Wendy and Lily serve as models for responding to bigotry. Empowering AND fun to read equals a powerful combination in a middle-grade book! Recommended for grades 3 and up!

I thoroughly enjoyed this retelling of Peter Pan. Cynthia Leitich Smith has retold the classic story with an indigenous point of view and a fresh look at Peter Pan and how selfish he really is! Wendy, Lily and Michael are part of a blended family, part of which is Muscogee Creek. Peter whisks Wendy and Michael off to Neverland and Lily must follow to rescue them. Smith weaves themes of tolerance and understanding along with family and friendship all throughout. You will be rooting for these kids all the way. Thank you to Heartdrum and #NetGalley for providing a DRC.

I was blown away by this book and its concept. I am so glad it exists in the world. I plan to use it in the Fall semester with my middle school teachers.

I am a total sucker for retellings, and Sisters of the Neversea completely lived up to my expectations! I do want to mention that I have never read Peter Pan, but I have heard that a lot of the ideas in it are hurtful and wrong. Sisters of the Neversea completely reworks Peter Pan, and it shows Pan’s brutalness and cruelty in an eye opening way.
Lily and Wendy are step sisters whose parents are considering separating. They’re unsure about what will happen to their family and their friendship, and in the midst of this uncertainty, the boy who never grows up whisks them away to Neverland. But the magic land is much darker than it seems, and Lily and Wendy might not make it out of there alive.
As an Asian American girl, I know how impactful it is to see yourself in literature. That’s why even though I’m a little too old for middle grade, I can’t help but be excited when I see such diverse books. Children need to see themselves as heroes in entertainment, and I’m so happy more and more people are highlighting different characters. Sisters of the Neversea fulfills these expectations perfectly! It didn’t just showcase diverseness in ethnicity, but it also showed how family is not just blood. When Peter says all stepmothers are evil, Wendy is quick to disagree. Lily and Wendy were sisters, and they were not about to have anyone tell them otherwise. While there are so many amazing themes in here, this was a great book in itself.
It had an older style with an all knowing third person narrator. There aren’t a ton of books left like this, so it was definitely a fun change. And it made it easier to follow the story without being confused. There were a lot of fun twists and turns that made this book even more interesting. And I liked how you could tell there was a history to this island. Wendy and Lily weren’t the first children to go there, and the end to those children were far darker than they could imagine.
Sisters of the Neversea showed how evil Pan could be, and how messed up he was while still showing redemption. A few things to mention though is this is a little bit darker and more violent. It might be wise for parents to talk through some of the book with their children, and there is also a half spirit in the book. But this was a gorgeous book that is needed in this day and age. It shows how people that are different from us are still human, and they deserve respect and love. I would definitely recommend it to anyone who wants some diversity in their book diet!

I voluntarily reviewed a complimentary copy of this book which I received from the publisher through Netgalley. All views expressed are only my honest opinion, a positive review was not required.

I posted my review on Goodreads, Bookbub, and Barnes and Nobles on 06/06/2021. I will post on Amazon and my blog closer to release date

There have been many variations of the Peter Pan theme and this one is very different in the sense that it speaks more to a blended family and the indigenous tribe on Neverland. Stepsisters and best friends Lily and Wendy are dealing with their parents having problems and planning to split up the family for summer. When Peter appears again at the Darling household it means trouble and they head back to the magical island. It takes all the basics from the beloved classic and makes it seem more modern but with all the merfolk, pirates, fairies and adventure.

I appreciated the way this book dealt directly with the harmful issues with Barrie's original Peter Pan, and I loved the way Lily and many other characters discussed their Native heritage and their respective Native nations, traditions, etc. It seems well-aimed at a young middle-grade audience, though I will say the old-fashioned narrator (surely an homage to the original story) was hard to get into, at least for me. Perhaps younger children will have an easier time there, since I'm in no way the target audience. My main issue with this novel was the treatment of Peter Pan himself--he does absolutely horrendous things (minor spoiler), but there's a redemption arc that I'm not sure is earned, and I'm really not sure teaches a great lesson to young readers. Also, trigger warning for discussions of murder (off-page), kidnapping, and extreme animal death and mutilation (the level of which was a shocker....).

I really enjoyed the expanded view of Neverland that we get in this book, and the sisters were great voices to tell it to us. I also liked that we got to see more of Belle and her world. The very removed third person narrative voice took me a little bit to get into, but once I adjusted to it the book was a fun read. It's good as a standalone story, but might be most fun if the reader is familiar with other versions of Neveland as well.

Perhaps if I was able to push myself further into the story, it would have finally gotten good. I thought that the idea of the story was great and was really looking forward to it, but it just didn't hold my attention. I pushed myself to read the first several chapters because sometimes books start slow, but get better as they go. However, after reading about 10% of the book, I was still having to force myself to read it and I just don't have time to go any further. I loved the idea of stepsisters and a blended multicultural family. Some of the changes I didn't understand. Why was John not Wendy's brother and why was he older than Wendy? Why keep him in the story at all if you were going to change who he was? So that wasn't a big deal, I could have overlooked that, but the story was so slow up to this point. I feel like there was too much expository writing. I feel like there was too much for a middle grade book, but the characters were too immature for it to be a young adult book. The final thing that I didn't like was Lily. Perhaps she gets better as the story goes on, but up to this point in the story I really disliked her character. So for all of those reasons, I do not recommend this book.

Peter Pan is one of those books that just seems to spawn endless remixes. And why not? Pirates, mermaids, fairies . . . and the enchanting possibility of never having to grow up . . . in many ways, it feels like a timeless masterpiece. And yet, there's a lot in it that's cringeworthy, too. Misogyny. Sexism. And perhaps most egregious, hurtful and stereotypical portrayals of Native Americans. Smith's book takes the best of Peter Pan and delights readers with its wonder and magic, while gently (but firmly!) shining a light on Neverland's (and Peter Pan's) significant flaws. Highly recommended.

Planning to use this during the summer for a course at Simmons University in their Master of Children's Literature degree program when we look at Peter Pan and adaptations. Thank you!