Peter Pan in Scarlet

Returning to Neverland with the grown-up Lost Boys was like stepping into a dream I didn’t know I missed. Geraldine McCaughrean does a great job continuing J.M. Barrie’s original story while adding her own voice. The writing felt magical and poetic, and I liked how Peter struggled with the idea of growing up—it made him feel more real. The adventure is exciting, with twists, creepy characters, and strange new rules in Neverland.

At times, the pacing was a bit slow, especially in the beginning, but once the action picks up, it’s a fun and thoughtful journey. I appreciated the themes of friendship, memory, and identity—things you don’t expect in a fantasy, but they made the story deeper.

I would recommend this book to fans of show more the original Peter Pan and anyone who enjoys imaginative fantasy stories with a touch of bittersweet nostalgia. show less

One of the best books I've read over the last few months (or even years), I can't sing its praises high enough. Brimming with imagination and invention, from the beginning it is not at all surprising when, after having dreamt of Neverland, things like cutlasses and a quiver of arrows are left behind in the bed next morning, or that fairies hatch out of a baby's first laugh. I loved the fact how she portrayed the now grown-up Darling children and their adopted brothers, once the Lost Boys, as slightly ridiculous, by writing their appointment to fly to Neverland into their diaries (on a Sunday, so that children would not need to be collected from school), by having them chase after flying insects in the park in their search for fairies or show more by having them squeeze into their own children's clothing in order to become children again themselves. Once there, the reader is immediately transported into this magical land together with the characters, where they turn the Wendy House into the Trans-Sigobian Express and drink Bovril from a samovar. But all is not well in Neverland, and there is a definite dark undercurrent running through the book, just enough to add mystery and excitement to the narration. Humour is provided in the shape of Firefly, a mischievous and very hungry fairy, and the respectable Judge Tootles, who, having only daughters, had to put on a smocked party dress and ballet shoes and turn into a girl. There are so many wonderful images in this book, written in beautiful, evocative prose, that I could go and on. The author has got so much to say about the nature of childhood and of growing up, of friendship and love, yet it is done so subtly and skilfully that the book's profundity never interferes with characterization or plot development but is always perceived as a natural extension of it. I read this book to my 7-year-old son, and I've never seen him so eager for me to read just one more page, one more chapter; he still calls this book one of his absolute favourites. Together with David Wyatt's illustrations, this book is a joy to read and I, for once, have to concur with the Mail on Sunday in calling it "a little masterpiece". This book will enrich your life and you will treasure it forever. show less

I had super high hopes of this book, as I've been a fan of Geraldine's since I was 8 & was excited that she won the competition to write the sequel to Peter Pan. So... how is it? Well, I gobbled it up in one setting. The writing is classic Geraldine, gorgeous & witty. The characters are feisty, inventive, and magical - especially the new fairy, Fireflyer (Whedon reference?!). The lights are light and the darks are scary dark. And yet... and yet, compared to White Darkness, I felt there was something missing. Maybe the originality? Maybe the sense that, in Neverland, everything will turn out somehow OK. The spiralling internal world of Sym in that book - first person narrative - was just more compelling. Or maybe I feel like there's an show more ironic edge to McCaughrean's handling of the mores of the older text. But it's a grand read, nonetheless. I hope that it makes her kersquillions of pounds so that she can write more books. show less

I have zero idea why this book deserves anything less than the full five stars. I love the original and there is obviously respect and research involved in this sequel. Details that tie not only the original Peter Pan story but other bits of J.M. Barrie's creations to this one. Author is wonderful with spinning words together to create surprising, quirky sentences. LOVED IT! As did my 12 and 15 year olds.

I think that both the gorgeous covers of this book capture the spirit, the essence, the whatever-you-want-to-call-it, of the real Peter Pan. And let me tell you, so does the book! I can understand why McCaughrean ('Muh-cork-run') won the contest, because, seriously, Barrie might as well have written this!

O, what's that? You didn't know about the contest? Well, allow yours truly to fill you in.

In 2004, the Special Trustees of Great Ormond Street Children's Hospital (those who Barrie gave the rights of Peter Pan to) decided that it was time Peter Pan had a sequel. So they organized a massive search among lots of authors to see who would receive the honor. As the book itself states, McCaughrean won the job with just a plot outline and a show more sample chapter. And here, as described on her own website, is the plotline:

"Something is wrong in Neverland. Dreams are leaking out - strangely real dreams,of pirates and mermaids, of warpaint and crocodiles. For Wendy and the Lost Boys it is a clear signal - Peter Pan needs their help, and so it is time to do the unthinkable and fly to Neverland again. But back in Neverland, everything has changed - and the dangers they find there are far beyond their dreams...."

The only thing that I found a bit irksome was the lack of Tink! Yea! I know! She had moved on somehow (I forget how) and in her place, in this book, was a little faerie named FireFlyer. Mind you, he was a spunky, funny little thing, totally enjoyable to read about, but he just wasn't Tink. Also, he was a little blue imp (as he's described and as he can be seen on the back of the U.S. book, near Peter's feet). Faeries are supposed to be pretty! Really now!

But let me tell you, the whole book is so clever! The things McCaughrean comes up with must have been pulled straight out of Barrie's mind, as must be all of the characters, etc... They are 100% true to Peter Pan and Wendy (which, as far as I can tell, is the same thing as Peter Pan, just printed under a different title).
Their personalities are fantastic!! Peter is that perfect blend of irritating and downright loveable. You're torn between wanting to smack him and wanting to hug him.

The adventures are eccentric, original, wild, titillating... The villian is thoroughly...villianous; I love it!
It's an absolutely perfect book :)

This review is an entry on my blog. show less

In 2004, the Great Ormond Street Hospital (holders of the rights to Peter Pan held an open-call for authors to submit a sample chapter and synopsis for a proposed sequel to Peter Pan, to be published in honor of the centennial of the story in 2006. Geraldine McCaughrean's Peter Pan in Scarlet became the authorized sequel to J.M. Barrie's classic Peter Pan. Picking up the story some years later (but seemingly ignoring the epilogue of the original), all the Darling children have become full-grown grown-ups now. However, they all discover that they have been having dreams of Neverland; dreams so real that they are bringing objects back with them from their dreaming (pistols, cutlasses, etc). Wendy decides that there must be something wrong show more in Neverland and they all decide to travel back to try to help Peter with whatever is ailing Neverland.

In order to return to Neverland, however, the Darling's must discover how to become children again. They borrow their children's clothing and pretend to be children again, which does the job. Upon arriving in Neverland, they discover that Peter is moodier than usual, and living alone in the Wendy House, which has become a tree house in the branches of the Nevertree, which hasn't been cut in years and has grown through the roof of the underground hideout. They decide that a quest is in order to brighten everyone's spirits and they set off in search of a dragon. While in search of a dragon, they discover that the Lagoon is littered with the skeletons of mermaids, and they find the skeleton of The Crocodile as well. Wendy also meets Ravello, a circusmaster, and his animals. While they are standing on the shores of the Lagoon, the Jolly Roger beaches itself in front of them, and Peter decides to rename it the Jolly Peter. He also discovers a chest in Hook's old rooms, which contains his second-best coat and a treasure map. Peter dons the coat and decides to search for the missing treasure.

What follows is at once a fun, romping adventure to parts previously unknown in Neverland and at the same time a story that seems to loose its way occasionaly. The final confrontation at the end of the story is very vague, to the point where I thought that my book was missing pages; I thought I had missed something in the reading. It becomes more a test of wills than anything else, and this struck me as being a little off for Peter Pan, who was never one to think things through as he was to simply do whatever came to mind, as any child would.

However, by the end of the book, I was completely wrapped up in the conclusion. I don't want to spoil any of it, but the ending left me feeling so buoyed, the frenetic jumping through the final confrontation was meaningless to me. I felt the story ended perfectly and that everyone got the happily-ever-after that they needed.

I was surprised by McCaughrean's storytelling. She didn't shy away from making appropriate occurrences in the story that helped it move along, whether or not those occurrences could be seen as "child friendly" (for instance, the holes that are being wripped into Neverland are a result of the Great War, which is also the reason for the fact that Michael Darling is missing from this story). She took the story as Barrie presented and moved it forward in such a way, that while the writing didn't always match, the story felt like it was a natural progression from what came before. Overall, an enjoyable read and worthy sequel to the story of the boy who won't grow up. show less

I wasn't sure if I would enjoy this, after all, how could anyone compare to the wonderful J M Barrie? However, McCaughrean really pulled out all the stops and did a marvelous job with this sequel. She found a nifty way of getting the original characters back to Neverland and introduces some wonderful new faces too. The story still has some dark moments, but much less violence than the original, and some marvelous twists as well - like the changes that befall Tootle! All in all, this was a very pleasant surprise and one that I enjoyed immensely.