Ahoy, me mateys! 🏴☠️ Here’s my little painting I made after I finished reading Serena Valentino’s Never, Never (book 9 in her “Disney Villains” series). Yep, it’s the same height as the book itself! 😊🙌 And here’s why I painted this:
What moved me most was how Valentino explores Hook’s deepest desire — the longing for Neverland that began the moment baby James tumbled out of his pram and into magic. Even without spoiling the major reveals, it’s safe to say this book captures the heartbreaking journey of a boy who tasted wonder too early…and spent the rest of his life chasing it. To go along with my reading experience, I painted a little “What If” piece: young James imagined as Jamie the Lost Boy, dressed in a crocodile-themed costume (got the inspiration from @gilenart when the artist drew a little digital drawing of Lost Boy James 💚 🐊). It’s a playful idea on the surface — a child who actually BELONGED in Neverland — but carries an ironic edge, too. In canon, the crocodile becomes the symbol of Hook’s doom. But what if this symbolizes a part of his innocence instead? A costume. A game. A piece of the boy he once was before obsession and heartbreak transformed him.
Putting my painting next to the book’s cover felt symbolic: the Lost Boy he might have been…beside the Pirate Captain he tragically became.
Never, Never is a tale of longing, loss, and the fragile line between wonder and obsession — and this painting is my small tribute to that emotional journey. I give this book a 10 out of 10 because it’s the most powerfully sad story I’ve ever read in Valentino’s hit Disney book series! ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️
