A tale so devoid of wonder that no amount of clapping can breathe life into it.
Peter Pan’s son flies off to save Never Never Land from Capt. Hook in this painfully mirthless sequel.
J.M. Barrie—who wrote Peter Pan in 1904—filled his now-classic work with nuanced characters, vivid scenery, and timeless themes, which continue to fascinate generations of filmmakers, artists, and writers. Flying in Never Land requires faith as much as fairy dust, and any author seeking inclusion in Barrie’s canon should believe in the established characters enough to explore their complexities even while introducing new faces. Rosenthal’s effort, in which Peter’s 12-year-old-son, Thomas P. Pandora, assumes his father’s mantle, sacrifices character development in favor of a generic fast-paced adventure narrative laden with dreary dialogue. The result is a spiritless drama that plays fast and loose with facts established in Barrie’s version—Hook is a former “gypsy” (as though Peter Pan weren’t problematic enough), and Never Land ages children!?—rendering beloved characters unrecognizable and new additions woefully flat. Dispatching Peter (who grows up, changes his name, marries, and becomes a California yoga instructor) from the narrative by transforming him into an overprotective grown-up incapable of comprehending his angst-ridden son is as disrespectful a bit of storytelling as it is disingenuous. Appearances by Hook, Tinkerbell, and Tiger Lily merely reinforce this story’s anemic treatment of the original’s magic formula.
A tale so devoid of wonder that no amount of clapping can breathe life into it. (Fantasy. 14-18)Pub Date: Sept. 1, 2017
ISBN: 978-1-944856-09-0
Page Count: 151
Publisher: Whitepoint Press
Review Posted Online: June 18, 2017
Kirkus Reviews Issue: July 1, 2017
Two Rio Grande Valley high schoolers flirt with cutting out early but find reasons to finish school in this purposeful but intense tale. For Beto, it’s a combination of pride, disinterest in school and a clash with his caring but harsh father that sends him stalking away to spend the night in a Dumpster. For Beto's longtime friend Jessy, it’s a strong desire to be an artist, plus the strain of hearing her father beating her mother and knowing that her turn will be coming up one of these nights, that drives her to head for the bus to San Antonio. Using a mix of tenses and all three persons, Saldaña lays out his characters’ thoughts and emotional landscapes in broad strokes—creating a third angle of view by adding Beto’s little brother Roelito, who works his nalgas off in school but shows early signs of an ominous anger, as another narrative voice. The action takes place over the course of a little more than 12 hours, neatly capturing the spontaneity of teen impulses. Teen readers chafing at the domestic bit will find food for thought here. (Fiction. YA)
Pub Date: Oct. 30, 2010
ISBN: 978-1-55885-607-3
Page Count: 112
Publisher: Arte Público
Review Posted Online: Aug. 31, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Sept. 15, 2010
“Death is a period / at the end of a sentence,” concludes Annaleah, the 16-year-old protagonist of Schutz’s captivating fictional follow-up to her verse memoir (I Don’t Want To Be Crazy, 2006). And much like the resolute finality fixed in that tiny dot, Annaleah spends a great deal of this free-verse novel stuck contemplating the harsh reality that her sometime boyfriend, Brian—a seemingly healthy, dark-haired, cloudy-blue–eyed 17-year-old—has just dropped dead on the basketball court. Reeling from both physical loss and lack of closure to the meaning of their clandestine relationship, Annaleah finds herself routinely visiting and addressing the deceased Brian, until a chance graveside encounter yields advice that finally begins to hit home: “Nothing grows here,” says Brian’s grandmother, “besides grass.” At first blush appearing to pull out all the melodramatic stops in classic teen fashion, these refreshingly spare lines tackle tough relational issues—intimacy, risk, abandonment—with aplomb, making for a moving tale that also effectively shows teens how life can go on. (Fiction/poetry. 14 & up)
Pub Date: Oct. 1, 2010
ISBN: 970-0-545-16911-0
Page Count: 304
Publisher: PUSH/Scholastic
Review Posted Online: Sept. 15, 2010
Kirkus Reviews Issue: Oct. 1, 2010
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