Second Star by Alyssa B. Sheinmel is a modern, unique take on the classic Peter Pan story, but with a gritty, real-world twist. It follows Wendy, a girl searching for her missing brothers, who are presumed dead after a surfing accident. Along the way, she meets Peter, a charming surfer, and Jas, a mysterious drug dealer, who pull her into their world of danger and temptation. The novel’s dreamy, almost surreal atmosphere really hooked me, but the ending left me with more questions than answers. It's a compelling, emotional read, perfect for fans of contemporary retellings!

Second Star
By Alyssa B. Sheinmel

Second Star is a contemporary retelling or retake of Peter Pan.
Wendy Darling is on a search for her missing brother which leads her to a cove and some runagate surfers. Pete is the brave leader of the bunch. As Wendy gets closer to finding her brother she also gets closer to Pete.
I could not connect with most of the characters, they seemed disjointed and all over the place.

Thank you to NetGalley and Farrar, Straus and Giroux (BYR) for the review copy in exchange for an honest review.

Second Star had a lovely beginning which set up the moody sunshiny vibe of California surf culture very well. This was followed by a rather dodgy middle bit, however, during which I was seething with all kinds of WENDY DARLING WOULD NOT DO THIS feelings. But but but. The last part won me over again, with a turn that wasn't entirely unexpected, but interesting all the same.

Second Star by Alyssa B Sheinmel

257 Pages
Publisher: Macmillan Children’s Publishing Group, Farrar Straus and Giroux (BYR)
Release Date: May 13, 2014

Fiction, Teens, Young Adult, Sci Fi, Fantasy, Fairy Tales, Peter Pan

Wendy Darling is at a loss after her brothers, John and Michael, are declared dead after a surfing accident. She does not believe they are dead and goes on an adventure looking for them. She finds a group of surfers living in abandoned houses along the California coast. Peter leads a group of boys along with a girl named Belle. They tell her the brothers were forced to leave the group because they became addicted to a drug called dust. Wendy follows their trail and finds Jack, the drug dealer.

The story is a twist of the Peter Pan story. The pace of the story drags at time and then becomes frantic. The characters are somewhat developed, and it is written in the third person point of view. The ending of the book felt rushed but wrapped up the story.

I liked this book! I have had a copy of this book for more years than I really want to admit and I am glad I finally got around to giving it a try. I was rather intrigued by the fact that this book is a Peter Pan retelling despite the fact that my knowledge on this topic is limited to what I remember from the Disney movie so I can’t really say how closely tied to the original content this book is. Since the focus is mainly on surfing, I would guess the connection is loose. I found it to be a rather entertaining story.

Wendy’s brothers John and Michael disappeared and are presumed to be dead. Everyone believes that they are gone but Wendy thinks that they are still out there and is determined to find them. John and Michael were surfers and Wendy soon finds herself hanging out with a group of surfers led by a man named Pete in her quest to find them. The surfer group lives in an abandoned house on the water. A drug dealer named Jaz (think Hook) lives on the other side of the cove.

I liked the characters in this book quite a bit and I hate to admit that my favorite was Jaz. Jaz might be a drug dealer, which I didn’t like, but he never did anything to Wendy besides try to help her. I never completely trusted Pete since he always seemed to be hiding things from Wendy. I liked Wendy and was impressed by her determination to find her brothers. I was rather drawn into the story by the writing and found it hard to put down.

The ending is wide open and I must say that I wanted a bit more closure than we get in the story but that didn’t ruin the experience for me. This was an interesting retelling that was sometimes darker in nature. I wouldn’t hesitate to read more of this author’s work in the future.

I received a digital review copy of this book from Farrar, Straus and Giroux.

I won't be able to leave a review for this book; I requested it in a past lifetime of my NetGalley use (almost ten years ago) and it no longer fits with my reading interests. If I ever do end up reading it I'll come back and update this!

I did not have a chance to read this book, but it is effecting my feedback rating. I am giving books 5 stars that I haven't read to improve my feedback rating. I am not recommending the book for my classroom or students since I have not read the book. There needs to be a better system of leaving feedback for books not read.

So I was sadly unable to finish this book. It was just too bizarre for me. I love the Peter Pan aspect but this was just way out there. Maybe one day I will try again but for now I am giving up!

The atmospheric writing is about the only redeeming quality about this book. I hated the romance, if that is what you could call it. Everybody wants someone who wants somebody else, I didn't sign up for this. The California surfer summer is perfectly captured with the writing, I just wish more could be said for the rest of the story. The ending wasn't what I expected which was nice but it didn't save my disappointed feelings.

I love the old classic stories that we have all heard or read when we were growing up. Second Star is a modernized retelling of one of my very favorites, Peter Pan. I enjoyed the way that this author set this wonderful tale in modern times and had the characters face modern problems, all while keeping the basic foundation of the original.

This story does not have the scary alligator or Captain Hook that we see as the evil components of the older tale, but Second Star does have it's own set of evil influences. This retelling has enough similarities to the original story that I was nostalgically reminded of the classic, with all of the old familiar and loved characters.

A heart-wrenching and hopeful YA story. The writing is superb and the characters are rich with depth. This is an author that I'll definitely be reading more of.

Wendy and her parents are told by the police that her two brothers are dead as the police could find only their damaged surfboards. Wendy refuses to believe this. She decides to go looking for her brothers. Will she find them? She discovers a hidden cove where there are several surfers that are runaways. She meets Peter, a leader of the surfers in the cove. Wendy then meets a drug dealer named Jas. What will happen to Wendy now?

This novel is about love, lies, loss and learning to trust. The story is more than about romance and grief for her brother but about finding out who you truly are. For those who are into surfing you will enjoy the surfing descriptions. The ending of this book was a surprise to me.