(Cover picture courtesy of Collider.com.)

In an evocative and fast-paced adventure on the high seas and on a faraway island, an orphan boy named Peter and his mysterious new friend, Molly, overcome bands of pirates and thieves in their quest to keep a fantastical secret safe and save the world from evil.  This impossible-to-put-down tale leads readers on an unforgettable journey—fraught with danger, yet filled with mystical and magical moments.

Peter Pan was never one of my favourite movies as a child, but I didn’t exactly hate it either, which is why I gave Peter and the Starcatchers a chance.  Hey, if they can retell traditional fairy tales, why not Peter Pan?  My only real worry was about the two collaborating authors.  Sometimes, when authors collaborate, no matter how close or how good they are, there are jarring style inconsistencies.  Thankfully this wasn’t the case.

Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson have created an amazing addition to the legend of Peter Pan.  Peter and the Starcatchers offers a much more in-depth background story for Peter Pan and his band of Lost Boys.  You don’t need to be a big fan of Disney to be able to connect the dots between the two.  There are lots of “Oh, that makes sense” moments and “Hey, that explains a lot!”  My favourite part is the explanation for pixie dust, which of course doesn’t really come from pixies.  But since I’m not feeling overly cruel today, I won’t spoil things for you.

Peter and Molly are great characters and I really love how their relationship slowly develops and it takes them a while to trust each other.  But, through a series of heart-pounding, nail-biting adventures, they do develop a solid friendship.  It’s not a perfect one (it definitely isn’t at first), but tweens and teens alike will be able to sympathize with Peter and Molly.

[As a side note, it was announced that Gary Ross is waiting on the script for Peter and the Starcatches film adaptation and may even begin production as early as 2013.  See the ‘Collider’ link above.]

I give this book 4.5/5 stars.

Amazon    Barnes and Noble