For May, On the Same Page (Alyssa, Amy, and myself) read PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson as our book of choice. May was a busy month for all of us so we thought it might be nice to read a good middle grade — something fun but not overly heavy — and PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS ended up being our choice! I actually listened to it on audio thanks to the copy I downloaded from AudioFile’s yearly week of free audiobook downloads a year or two back. I was especially happy to listen to PETER on audio with Jim Dale doing the narration! It took me a bit to shake the feeling of Harry Potter since I had just finished a series re-read on audio and Jim Dale voices those as well, but I quickly got into the swing of things once the story started up!
For my On the Same Page post this month, I wanted to share some Peter Pan retellings! I’ve actually read quite a few even though Peter Pan isn’t really one of my favorite tales (or Disney movies haha). Somehow I end up reading a lot — maybe it’s just a popular adaptation? Whichever way you slice it, I wanted so share some good ones, some unique ones, and a personal favorite of mine!
READ
PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson | This was our selected book for this month and it was really a lot of fun! I don’t read a LOT of middle grade, but this was really cute and a great sort of prequel to Peter Pan and how it all began. I did feel like the beginning was a bit slow to pick up but I absolutely fell in love with the ending! (That’s where most of the parallels to the original story were.)
Peter Pan similarities: Main character Peter, orphan Lost Boys (though they’re not called this quite yet), pirates, island natives, magic dust, and more that I won’t divulge because discovering those at the end made the conclusion really special for me!
TIGER LILY by Jodi Lynn Anderson | This was one of the first Peter Pan retellings I ever read and I absolutely ADORED it. I really need to re-read someday because it was just so wonderful and beautifully written. The book focuses more on Tiger Lily than Peter Pan (as you may have guessed from the title) and everything feels a bit more real somehow while still including that Peter Pan magic.
Peter Pan similarities: Main character Peter, Tiger Lily + community, Lost Boys, Tinkerbell + jealous Tinkerbell, Neverland, intrusion of Wendy
SECOND STAR by Alyssa B. Sheinmel | SECOND STAR is actually a contemporary retelling of Peter Pan which I was very interested in before picking it up. The story was interesting but I do admit that I had a bit of a hard time with this one. I felt like things were a bit TOO parallel considering it was a contemporary adaptation and I had hoped for a bit more original story. I’m not sure if I’d recommend the book since I struggled with it some but it was definitely an interesting way to adapt the fairy tale to a modern contemporary romance.
Peter Pan similarities: Main character Wendy, Peter character, John and Michael, “Lost Boys”, Tinkerbell (Bell), “Jas” (James Hook), “fairy dust”
ON MY TBR
HOOK’S REVENGE by Heidi Schulz | I still haven’t read HOOK’S REVENGE but I’ve heard so many good things about it! It’s another middle grade adaptation but this one is geared more towards Captain Hook instead of Peter Pan — and actually Hook’s daughter. It sounds just adorable and I really hope to read it sometime soon!
ALIAS HOOK by Lisa Jensen | ALIAS HOOK is an adult retelling once again focusing on Hook. I haven’t read it yet but it looks like it’s a story of redeeming Captain Hook’s besmirched good name. So Hook is good and Peter Pan is evil? Very interesting! I’ve been itching to read this one but it also looks like it’s had some mixed reviews so I’m not 100% sure about it quite yet.
HOOK & JILL by Andrea Jones | I believe HOOK & JILL is an adult romance! I’m not quite sure how that would go but I’m also kind of interested. For some reason I’m just drawn to the Peter Pan retellings and I always want to have a little more sympathy for Captain Hook. I’m not quite sure who Jill is…? But it makes me curious to find out!!
Which of these Peter Pan retellings & adaptations have you read? What did you think? Are there any other adaptations worth noting that I missed?
Thanks again for checking out this month’s feature for On the Same Page! We had a blast reading PETER AND THE STARCATCHERS and sharing our thoughts with you! And don’t forget to check out Amy & Alyssa’s posts today too!
6 thoughts on “On the Same Page: Peter and the Starcatchers | Peter Pan Retellings”
I LOVED Tiger Lily- you have great taste in Peter Pan-esque books and retellings. 🙂
Hook and Jill, and Alias Hook, are also both on my TBR pile. I admit, back when I was writing fiction, I penned a short story about Wendy falling in love with Hook (Peter representing childhood, Hook representing adulthood, Wendy making that transition between the two while in Neverland). It’s a fun story J.M. Barrie gave us, with (for me) many parallels about growing up, what’s good or evil, etc. And, of course, the original story is better than the Disney movie!
(it does bother me that folks keep referring to it as a fairytale. It isn’t. J.M. Barrie wrote it in 1902. Just like Alice in Wonderland isn’t a fairytale- it was written in 1965. Fairytales predate the 1600s, and are folktales imparting morality lessons, representing the hardship of the majority peasant class, and involving archetype characters.)
(also, I just saw a trailer for an upcoming Peter Pan origin story, in which Blackbeard is the villain and James Hook is Peter’s friend…the possibilities intrigue me, but I suspect it will be a middle-grade sort of movie)
I actually really loved Second Star, BUT I don’t think I realized until halfway through or so that it was a retelling of Peter Pan … lol. Fail to me, I guess, but I did read that a lot of people who did know didn’t like the book as much. Maybe I had an advantage?
I really liked Tiger Lily, and enjoyed the Broadway adaptation of Peter and the Starcatchers. And Hook’s Revenge is so dang wonderful!
Peter and the Starcatchers (the entire series) is SO good! I have always been head over heels for Peter Pan stories and that prequel is one of my favorites. I haven’t actually read Tiger Lily yet (shocking, I know!) but it’s on my TBR. I also got to see the Peter and the Starcatcher play when it was in NYC and it was really interesting! I think I may go to Finding Neverland for my birthday next month!
I loved Peter and the Starcatchers although I remember little about it, I read it so long ago! I have the sequel and would love to give the series another try sometime. I also have Tiger Lily but I’m saving that because I’ve heard it’s wonderful but very emotional and intense!!
Hook’s Revenge was SUPER cute! Really liked it. I have Alias Hook and haven’t read it yet either! I’m not sure if I would call Peter Pan one of my absolute favorite stories (though I do like it and the Disney movie, and the 2004 movie), but I really gravitate towards retellings!