Shelly's Book Blog

Peter Pan in Scarlet, by Geraldine McCaughrean, is "the first-ever authorized sequel to J. M. Barrie's Peter Pan." The set-up is this: something has gone wrong and Neverland is in trouble. Wendy, John, and the Lost Boys, who are now grown up and living in London, begin to have terrible dreams. They decide to return to Peter Pan's home to see if they can help. Of course, they must become children again so they can fly, so they borrow some of their own children's clothes and magically shrink to fit them. While in Neverland they go on a great quest to Neverpeak to find Hook's treasure chest, and they experience many dangerous adventures along the way.
I found this book rather odd and disjointed, and I had to force myself to keep reading. The last third or so of the story flowed nicely, but getting to that point was slow. Perhaps it was all the trouble in Neverland that bothered me. In this book, fairies are nothing short of malevolent, the lagoon has been poisoned, the forest burns down, and Peter becomes ill and almost dies. This is not the happy, carefree place that I remembered, and it's not that much fun to visit. I wouldn't recommend this book to anyone but the most die-hard Peter Pan fans.