Continued Reading Recs for Peter Pan
{{Please note all recs are for adult audiences unless indicated.}}
...if you want Hook to “get some” try:
Alias Hook by Lisa Jensen: Meet Captain James Benjamin Hook, a witty, educated Restoration-era privateer cursed to play villain to a pack of malicious little boys in a pointless war that never ends. But everything changes when Stella Parrish, a forbidden grown woman, dreams her way to the Neverland in defiance of Pan's rules. From the glamour of the Fairy Revels, to the secret ceremonies of the First Tribes, to the mysterious underwater temple beneath the Mermaid Lagoon, the magical forces of the Neverland open up for Stella as they never have for Hook. And in the pirate captain himself, she begins to see someone far more complex than the storybook villain. [this is a Captain Hook redemption book]
...if you want Peter Pan told from Tiger Lily’s eyes try:
Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson: Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair... Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell. [this also has a really good take on a two spirit person!]
...if the original Peter Pan just isn’t dark enough try:
The Child Thief by Brom: Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land. [this is a horror book, please be warned!]
...if you want a canon sequel that is kid safe (at least as much as the first one) try:
Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean: The first-ever authorized sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan! In August 2004 the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital, who hold the copyright in Peter Pan, launched a worldwide search for a writer to create a sequel to J. M. Barrie's timeless masterpiece. [this is very whimsical and is suitable for kiddos]
...if you think Peter & Jas are besties to enemies material try:
Lost Boy: The True Story of Captain Hook by Christina Henry: There is one version of my story that everyone knows. And then there is the truth. This is how it happened. How I went from being Peter Pan’s first—and favorite—lost boy to his greatest enemy. Peter brought me to his island because there were no rules and no grownups to make us mind. He brought boys from the Other Place to join in the fun, but Peter's idea of fun is sharper than a pirate’s sword. Because it’s never been all fun and games on the island. Our neighbors are pirates and monsters. Our toys are knife and stick and rock—the kinds of playthings that bite. Peter promised we would all be young and happy forever. [this is another kinda horror book so be warned!]
...if you want a more real world version of Peter Pan and also love WW2 try:
Peter Panzerfaust by Kurtis J. Wiebe: A coming of age tale told through the eyes of a group of French orphans during World War 2 who are saved by a brave and daring American boy named Peter. As they travel together, they get tangled up in the French Resistance in Paris, fighting a growing German presence under the leadership of a fanatical SS officer hell bent on wiping them out! Using the Peter Pan story as a touchstone, Peter Panzerfaust reinvents familiar character and plot elements in a unique and creative way. [this series is a delight and very emotional take on WW2 and Peter Pan]
...if aged-up, sex obessed Peter & Wendy is your thang (no judgements) try:
NVRLND by Stephanie Salyers, Dylan Mulick, Leia Leiz, etc: NVRLND is sex, drug, and punk fuelled. Set in present day Hollywood, wallflower turned wild child Wendy Darling turns to the rave scene of the underground club NVRLND and falls for Peter, the lead singer of the band The Lost Boys. Meanwhile, Peter is mixed up with a tattoo artist who preys on the young by ‘hooking’ them on a designer drug known as Pixie Dust. [this deals with a lot of drugs, sex, and adult themes so please be warned!]
...if thinking of Neverland as a cover for trauma (#mood) is for you try:
The Wendy Project by Melissa Jane Osborne, Veronica Fish: 16-year-old Wendy Davies crashes her car into a lake on a late summer night in New England with her two younger brothers in the backseat. When she wakes in the hospital, she is told that her youngest brother, Michael, is dead. Wendy — a once rational teenager – shocks her family by insisting that Michael is alive and in the custody of a mysterious flying boy. Placed in a new school, Wendy negotiates fantasy and reality as students and adults around her resemble characters from Neverland. Given a sketchbook by her therapist, Wendy starts to draw. But is The Wendy Project merely her safe space, or a portal between worlds? [this deals with a lot of trauma themes, so please be warned!]
