Review by Booklist Review
This fresh take on Peter & Wendy revolves around best-friend stepsisters Wendy and Lily, respectively white and Muscogee Creek, whose relationship strains as their parents contemplate divorce. The adventure begins in familiar fashion, with Peter and Belle the Fairy visiting the sisters' Tulsa home to reclaim his shadow and take Wendy (and four-year-old Mikey) to Neverland. But as the journey unfolds, Pan's dark side is revealed. A century's worth of Fairy dust has turned him into a self-absorbed tyrant who lures children to Neverland to partake in violent wargames, leading Lily to give chase to rescue her siblings. Smith has brilliantly reshaped the Pan story with a modern, inclusive sensibility. The usual elements are there--Merfolk, Fairies, pirates, lost boys--but all reimagined for the better, especially the Native characters. The island itself feels like that of TV's Lost, full of danger and mystery, with a will of its own. And while Smith wields J. M. Barrie's storyteller voice, writing from a head-hopping omniscient point of view that addresses readers directly, this is less a retelling and more a rebuttal, critiquing the problematic aspects of the classic--often quite overtly--and the consequences of such harmful influences are explored over the course of much action, adventure, and magical island exploration. An exciting journey in its own right and a necessary "recommend-along" for patrons seeking Barrie's original.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Centering a mixed Creek and British family in this Peter Pan reboot, Muscogee (Creek) author Smith's (Hearts Unbroken) smart novel follows two stepsisters on an adventure to Neverland. Twelve-year-old stepsisters Lily and Wendy have lived in Oklahoma since Lily's mother, a Creek citizen, married Wendy's British widower father. But Wendy's father has taken a job in New York, the girls' friendship is in disrepair over Lily's unwillingness to tackle her fear of flying and make the trip, and it seems that the family will break apart. Enter Peter Pan, looking for his shadow and enticing Wendy and her four-year-old brother Michael to fly to Neverland. Lily follows shortly after, soon learning that Peter has changed from a boy who didn't want to grow up into a brutal monster--one who kidnaps children, slays animals and humans alike, and mistreats his fairy companion, Belle. Lily and Wendy plan their escape, try to reconcile, and wonder if Peter might be redeemable after all. A sharp, contemporary retelling of a classic that puts the focus on the Indigenous kids this round. Ages 8--12. Agent: Ginger Knowlton, Curtis Brown. (June)
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Review by School Library Journal Review
Gr 4--7--Lily Roberts, a member of the Muscogee Creek Nation, and white Wendy Darling are stepsisters who share many things (including a younger brother, Michael), but they find themselves at odds over the their parents' impending separation. As Wendy reads to Michael the night before she leaves, they are interrupted by a braggart boy, Peter, and his fairy friend, Belle. Peter wants a storyteller, and Wendy, always in love with fantasy, agrees to go (with Michael) by fairy dust to Neverland. Lily, always scientific, rejects this boy at first, especially after he calls her a derogatory name for Native Americans, but she listens to his errant shadow and follows it to Neverland to save her sister and brother from Peter. Thus begins a wondrous story skillfully hung on the framework of Peter Pan, but Smith makes it all her delightful own. A member of the Muscogee Creek Nation herself, she subverts the flaws of the original story into strengths, while firmly rooting her fantasy in realistic character development. Peter is a tyrant and a menace to Neverland; Wendy and Lily are strong heroines, each with her own challenges to overcome. Smith also weaves meaning into the large supporting cast of Native kids, Lost Boys, Merfolk, Fairies, and Pirates, perfectly pitching her tone for the middle reader set. VERDICT Full of fantastic storytelling, thrills, and humor, this book is a recommended purchase for all upper elementary and early middle school collections.--Kate Fleming, Hosford M.S., Portland, OR
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Review by Horn Book Review
In her reimagining of a classic, Smith gives readers a decidedly modern look at the magic, adventure, and mystery of Barrie's Peter Pan, without its derogatory depictions of Indigenous people. The story opens in Tulsa, Oklahoma, where stepsisters Wendy Darling and Lily Roberts are weathering the fallout of their parents' marital crisis and conflicting professional ambitions. Ms. Roberts-Darling is Muscogee Creek and is committed to the economic development of her tribe. She'd offered to officially adopt Wendy, but Wendy balked at the idea in deference to her late mother and is heading to New York for the summer with her English financier father. The rifts between the once-inseparable stepsisters and between their parents are not the only ones. Peter Pan (who shows up at the Roberts-Darling residence on a mission to find a storyteller to bring to Neverland) has been deserted by his shadow, who is sick and tired of the boy's bullying ways. With a generous dose of fairy dust, Wendy and her little brother Michael are whisked off to Neverland, and Lily follows to try to rescue them. In that would-be paradise, there are environmental and humanitarian disasters looming all around, and even the satisfaction of finding a longed-for storyteller is short-lived once Wendy announces that she's about to turn thirteen and so, by Peter's own decree, must be fed to a giant crocodile. This smart and engaging middle-grade novel intertwines bits of Barrie's language, some strong and resourceful Indigenous kids, and themes of the importance of family and the powerful bonds of sisterhood into an original and wholly satisfying bit of magic. Luann Toth September/October 2021 p.106(c) Copyright 2021. The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
(c) Copyright The Horn Book, Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Review by Kirkus Book Review
This girl-centered reclamation of Peter Pan introduces readers to a beloved--and transformed--Neverland. In this retelling, the Roberts-Darlings are a blended family living in present-day Tulsa, Oklahoma. Twelve-year-old stepsisters Lily and Wendy share a half brother, 4-year-old Michael; recent high school graduate John is Lily's brother and Wendy's stepbrother; the Roberts side of the family is Muscogee Creek; and the Darlings are White immigrants from England. Shortly before Wendy and Mr. Darling are to relocate--amid growing marital tension--to New York for his new job, the three youngest children are visited by Peter Pan and Belle the fairy. Wendy and Michael are deceived into flying away with them to Neverland; skeptical Lily follows in hopes of saving her siblings. Wendy and Michael are taken in by the Lost, who are White boys kidnapped by Peter. Lily, meanwhile, is rescued by a group of Native youth--derided by Peter as Injuns--who are diverse in tribal citizenship, race, and other identities (one, for example, is two-spirit). Neverland, populated with Merfolk, fairies, and pirates, is richly described. Short chapters, plenty of action, and the wry voice of the omniscient narrator help make this title, with its themes of gender equity, Native pride, and environmentalism, accessible. The poignant dislocation of the Lost and the fierce familial love of the stepsisters illustrate the importance of remembering where you come from and to whom you belong. A refreshing adventure that breathes new life into a classic text. (author's note) (Fantasy. 8-12) Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
