Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

I listened to the audiobook of this title.

So, I should have DNF'd this book. But I didn’t because I liked Cemetery Boys and Aiden Thomas but this book was a SLOG. The pace was terrible and it didn’t have the spark of romance the way CB did.

This is a retelling of Peter Pan, set in modern day and VERY, VERY dark. Here, Wendy has just turned 18 and kids in town start to go missing, just like she and her two brothers did five years ago. However, five years ago, Wendy was the only one who came back - and without her memories. Her family has moved through life in a haze after that and with the new kids disappearing, old wounds fester. Wendy nearly crashes into Peter Pan when he’s lying unconscious in the middle of the road. Peter’s shadow is the one taking the kids and he’s getting stronger, siphoning Peter’s magic from him.

Let’s start with the pro: I LOVE THE VOICE ACTOR, AVI ROQUE, ON THIS AUDIOBOOK! THEY ARE EVERYTHING.

Here’s what I didn’t like:

The number of times Peter and Wendy go into the forest without any sort of plot buildup was infuriating. In fact, they face off with the shadow and NOTHING HAPPENS. It feels like it happens in the beginning of Act 3 and when the climax comes, nothing of note happened between the first face-off with the shadow and the final climax to justify it being the climax.

Secondly, the number of times Wendy said, “Peter!” was too many. It was her go-to in every scene they shared.

MAJOR TRIGGER WARNING AND SPOILER: there is a VERY graphic and vivid scene where Wendy finally remembers what happened to John and Michael and she watched them get shot by a hunter; a family friend.

This book was very slow and the emotional payoff just didn’t land for me. I loved the very final open-ended moment, but it wasn’t enough of a reward for the rest. -Ford