Christopher Daniel Mechling

I received this book for free as a Goodreads giveaway.

I am ambivalent about this book for several reasons. I read and enjoy a lot of Historical Fiction books, in fact, I almost always do further research on the subjects of said books in order to determine what is factual and what is fiction. My main issue with this book is that it seems more fiction based on a few facts. Most of the people in this book actually lived. Peter the Wild Boy was found in the forests near Hamelin. This book tells show more the tale of his time at the Royal Court of England and of being a beloved member of that court and the Royalty at that time. The actual facts of his time at that court are a bit more grim.

Another major issue I have with this book is the author claiming Peter the Wild Boy is the basis of the story of Peter Pan. I have found no evidence of this (if anyone does find any, I would love to be proven wrong on this point). After reading the book and doing research though, I feel the author based his version of Peter the Wild Boy off of the story Peter Pan, rather than the other way around. Maybe that was his intention.

I think I get the point the author is trying to convey to the reader of keeping that childhood innocence and joy, and his attempt at portraying a real person who 'never grew up'. Maybe the reason I didn't enjoy the book better was because I am too much of a grown up, too immersed in facts, but saying the book is "The Untold True Story" really is asking to be compared to the facts. show less

In trying to move this book to "Currently Reading", I accidentally hit the stars for the review. Therefore it is currently at 5 stars until I finish reading it to give it the proper review.