JULY 2016 - AudioFile
This steampunk homage to PETER PAN pits German marauders against young survivors of war and a deadly virus that decimated the adult population. On the run in Everland (postwar London), Gwen may be "the immune"—the key to the world’s survival. Fiona Hardingham and Steve West narrate chapters, alternating between the points of view of Gwen and Hook, the German captain. West, as Hook, slowly reveals a depth of feeling below Hook’s icy and villainous exterior, waiting for the narrative to reveal clues first. Hardingham's excellent character voices and variety of accents help the listener differentiate the large cast of youthful characters including Gwen and her siblings; Gwen’s love interest, Pete; the Lost Boys; and Pete’s young sidekick, Bella. Hardingham handles the few sentimental scenes with aplomb. L.T. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Publishers Weekly
★ 03/07/2016
Zeppelins dot the sky and Marauders roam the bombed-out streets of Everland, formerly London, in this darkly imaginative take on Peter Pan. Fifteen-year-old Gwen Darling and her siblings Joanna and Mikey are struggling to survive since their parents failed to come home after the war started. A virus set free when Capt. Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer (aka Hook) conquered London has moved beyond its borders. Hook aims to find a cure using children who are immune, but Pete, his Lost Boys, and Lost Girl Bella have no plans to get themselves captured. When Joanna goes missing, Pete offers to help find her. What follows is a fast-paced adventure set in and under a ruined city where steam-powered weaponry collides with the ingenuity of the Lost Children. In an exemplary debut, Spinale uses Gwen and Hook’s voices to offer glimpses into the psyche of a man desperate to please his cruel mother and a girl intent on saving the only family she has left. This is a magical, wondrous treat, with a conclusion that’s nothing less than epic. Ages 12–up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (May)
From the Publisher
Praise for Everland
"In an exemplary debut, Spinale uses Gwen and Hook's voices to offer glimpses into the psyche of a man desperate to please his cruel mother and a girl intent on saving the only family she has left. This is a magical, wondrous treat, with a conclusion that's nothing less than epic." --Publishers Weekly (starred review)
"A fun and unique addition to the twisted fairy-tale genre, loaded with adventure, romance, and double crossing." --VOYA
"Peter Pan goes steampunk in this debut, which twists the familiar tale into a survival story complete with well-drawn characters, a blistering plot, and plenty of adventure. . . . Fans of Scott Westerfeld and A. G. Howard will clamor for more from this author." --Booklist
School Library Journal
06/01/2016
Gr 6 Up—The story of Peter Pan (Pete), Wendy (Gwen), and the Lost Boys is reimagined as a steampunk fantasy. Hook (aka Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer), the son of Katherina, the power-hungry "Bloodred Queen" of Germany, is captain of an army of Marauders. Equipped with eight-legged steam crawlers and zeppelins (including the Jolly Roger), they capture London (now called Everland) and reduce it to rubble. Hook's Buckingham Palace headquarters is the only building left in reasonably good condition. Even worse, the German bombs have destroyed Europe's largest biological weapons lab, releasing the deadly Horologia Virus, killing nearly everyone over the age of 18. Gwen and her two siblings, moving from one destroyed home to another in London's outskirts, are discovered by Pete and Bella (a petite girl wearing mechanical wings) and taken to live underground among the Lost Boys. Chapters alternately narrated by Gwen and Hook describe the action from both sides. Hook hears that one of the girls is immune to the virus and makes a plan to capture her; Pete, Gwen, and the Lost Boys must save them. Intertwined with the plot is Hook's desire to earn his evil mother's love. The story becomes somewhat melodramatic as the ending looms. Peter, Gwen, and the Boys try to escape from the Marauders; there's a bit of a love story as well. A girl named Lily, Smee (here called Smeeth), and crocodiles all make appearances. VERDICT Tweens and teens who delighted in the original Barrie or Disney versions when younger might find this more sophisticated, pseudohistorical twist an interesting read.—Susan Scheps, formerly at Shaker Public Library, OH
JULY 2016 - AudioFile
This steampunk homage to PETER PAN pits German marauders against young survivors of war and a deadly virus that decimated the adult population. On the run in Everland (postwar London), Gwen may be "the immune"—the key to the world’s survival. Fiona Hardingham and Steve West narrate chapters, alternating between the points of view of Gwen and Hook, the German captain. West, as Hook, slowly reveals a depth of feeling below Hook’s icy and villainous exterior, waiting for the narrative to reveal clues first. Hardingham's excellent character voices and variety of accents help the listener differentiate the large cast of youthful characters including Gwen and her siblings; Gwen’s love interest, Pete; the Lost Boys; and Pete’s young sidekick, Bella. Hardingham handles the few sentimental scenes with aplomb. L.T. © AudioFile 2016, Portland, Maine
Kirkus Reviews
2016-02-02
With London crippled by bombings and a deadly disease outbreak, Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey, are bent on just surviving until they find a way out. Besides the demolished state of their home, they face serious obstacles, the loss of their parents and the city's other adults being just one. They must also evade Capt. Hans Otto Oswald Kretschmer—Hook for short. Hook and his army of Marauders go about snatching up the bombings' survivors for experimentation for a cure for the Horologia virus. Those taken by Hook never return. One day they snatch Joanna, and in Gwen's quest to rescue her sister, she joins forces with a fearless boy named Pete and his equally bold friend, Bella. The question then becomes: will this team, together with the Lost Boys, be enough to outsmart and outrun Hook and his German army and rescue Joanna without putting any other lives at risk? This reimagining of Peter Pan tries too hard to hold on to key elements of its inspiration to succeed on its own, and the hand of the author is sadly evident. Repetitive conversations unnecessarily lengthen the story, and the romantic subplot seems clumsily tacked on. The characters are fickle and impulsive in ways that feel designed to ensure that readers never forget that they are children. With predictable plot twists, this story is unoriginal in ways that have nothing to do with the fact that it retells a classic. (Urban fantasy. 14-18)
