Book Review: Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan

by J.M. Barrie

Source: I bought this beautiful Puffin Chalk paperback online

Genre: Adventure, Classic, Fiction, Children's Literature

Synopsis:

One starry night, Peter Pan and Tinker Bell lead the three Darling children over the rooftops of London and away to Neverland - the island where lost boys play, mermaids splash and fairies make mischief. But a villainous-looking gang of pirates lurk in the docks, led by the terrifying Captain James Hook. Magic and excitement are in the air, but if Captain Hook has his way, before long, someone will be walking the plank and swimming with the crocodiles...

Review:

Every so often I go on a binge, buying and reading a bunch of classic books in a short period of time. This time around, it's been Classic Children's Literature. I have been reading quite a bit more middle-grade/kids' books this year, and several have been classics! And Peter Pan is, of course, one of them.

I have to admit that, as I was reading this story, I kept imagining scenes from the various Peter Pan movie adaptations I have grown to love: Disney's 1953 animated film Peter Pan, the 1991 movie Hook starring Robin Williams, and the 2003 live action film Peter Pan. I think the Disney animation is probably the closest to the book (although, it has been a long time since I've seen it...), but there are still some major differences. Of course, we know that most of the original fairytales were pretty violent and gruesome, and Disney has taken all that out to make them all pleasant with happy endings. Peter Pan is no exception: the book had much more violence than I was expecting. It is by no means gruesome, don't get me wrong, but let's just say it was darker than Disney had led me to believe.

I would not say with 100% certainty that, in this case, the book was better... Having seen and fallen in love with so many versions of Peter Pan, the original was somewhat of a disappointment. I think I will need to get my hands on J.M. Barrie's other Peter stories (particularly Peter Pan in Kensington Garden/The Little White Bird and Peter and Wendy) to see if my opinions of the original Peter change at all...

I've always felt a connection to the idea of Peter Pan; of everlasting childhood, never growing up, etc. Turning 30 just this past week has been especially difficult for me for this reason. Thirty sounds like such a grown-up age to me, and I just don't feel like it suits me... But actually, I've changed and grown so much, without even noticing most of the time...

But that's another story! Getting back to Peter... as I said, I've always felt a connection to those adaptations I've come to know and love, and the way that Peter is always portrayed, but the original Peter is not quite as wonderful (in my opinion) as his adaptations. This original Peter is manipulative, forgetful, vengeful, and childish (I mean, of course he is, but how old is he supposed to be? That's never been clear to me). He always has to be in charge, but is irresponsible, and can't tell the difference between fantasy and reality. The Peter Pan of my mind is playful and caring,

I am absolutely not the kind of person who analyzes the books I read, to find underlying themes and meanings. To me, a story is a story. I enjoy it for what it is at face value. Occasionally I come to discover some underlying ideas, but for the most part, books are what-you-see-is-what-you-get. That being said, as much as Peter Pan was a fun little adventure read, there certainly were some underlying tones of grief made obvious even to me. I would not dare to ever go in depth about that, but suffice it to say that, while I was entertained and amused, I was also left feeling sad, both because of events of the story and the tone. Not that the story has a sad ending, per se, but it's not exactly what I would call a happy ending either.

*This paragraph contains a potential spoiler*
I had never truly felt sorry for Wendy until reading this original story. Wendy, to me, was always just lucky to have been able to spend so much time with Peter Pan, and live out almost every little girl's dream of being a mother with actual children to play house with! But in truth, Wendy was spoiled, and she fell in love with the one boy she could never have. The ending, when Peter comes back to see her for the last time, broke my heart. It's a bit like Tuck Everlasting where the boy comes back for the girl, but she moved on without him. You sort of feel happy for her that she had a wonderful and fulfilled life, but you're sorry for him that he missed it and that they didn't spend it together. *sigh*

 

Well... I think that's about all I have to say about Peter Pan. This is a much wordier review than I am used to writing... I hope I haven't sounded like a moron.

I'd love to know your thoughts on the original Peter Pan, and how it compares to the Disney animation in your opinion!

My Goodreads Rating:

Top Ten Tuesday: Books That I Think Should Be Required Reading

Hi guys! It's been ages. I feel like I haven't hung out with you all for a while... Probably because I haven't! Hah!

So, anyway, in case you didn't know, Top Ten Tuesday is a weekly meme hosted by The Broke and the Bookish. This week's theme is a Back-to-School freebie, so I chose Top Six Books I Think Should be Required Reading (I'm sorry, I could only come up with six!)...

1. Wonder by R.J. Palacio - a book about bullying, about accepting people who are different, about overcoming difficulties and fears... This should be required reading in every middle school!

2. Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie - everyone should read classics, especially children's stories, at some point in their lives. You might think you know Peter Pan, but the many movie adaptations aren't exactly like the book!

3. Anne of Green Gables by L.M. Montgomery - This should just be required reading for all Canadians. Can anyone tell me why it isn't?? Not that it's an amazing book, but it's a good story about a little Canadian girl, written by a Canadian.

4. The Night Circus by Erin Morgenstern - just because. Because I think everyone should read it, so why not start with school children? :)

5. Anything written by Jules Verne - because classics! I'm sure some of his stories probably were required reading once upon a time, but they should still be!

6. The Giver by Lois Lowry - I know that I read this one in school, but I don't know if everyone does, and it should absolutely be required of everyone, in my opinion. It's an older book now, for dystopian, but still relevant, in my opinion. Definitely one of my favourite mandatory reads ever.

Book Review: A Monster Calls by Patrick Ness

A Monster Calls

by Patrick Ness

Source: Purchased a paperback copy online

Genre: Young adult, Fantasy, Fiction, Tragedy

Synopsis:

The monster showed up after midnight. As they do.

But it isn’t the monster Conor’s been expecting. He’s been expecting the one from his nightmare, the one he’s had nearly every night since his mother started her treatments, the one with the darkness and the wind and the screaming…

This monster is something different, though. Something ancient, something wild. And it wants the most dangerous thing of all from Conor.

It wants the truth.

Review:

Apparently some people consider this book a horror (according to Goodreads), but I really wouldn't consider it that. There is a monster, there is a tragedy, and it is haunting, but it's no horror.

Everyone was talking about this book last fall when the movie came out. I wasn't that interested in reading the book, but I did kind of want to see the movie, so I gave myself permission to see the movie without reading the book first (gasp!), but in the end, I wasn't able to get to see it in theatres. English films usually only play for a couple weeks here, so you have to really want to see it and be able to rearrange your schedule, which I wasn't.

Anyway, so I didn't end up watching the movie... After a few months of continuing to hear people rave about this book, I did decide that I might add it to my shopping list and if I ever found it on sale for a good price I'd buy it, which just so happened a few more months later. So I ended up reading the book in May (yes, it takes me that long to review books!) and just wow. Wow.

A Monster Calls is an extremely moving story about a young boy struggling to accept his mother's terminal illness, and his feelings toward her. It touched me deeply because, though I am no longer a child, my mother recently had cancer and went through treatments. It was diagnosed early, and was very effectively treated, so not a tragic ending; but at the time, I still had to face the idea that I could lose my mother, which was pretty terrifying. Reading this story and all of Conor's fears... It resonated with me because of my experience.

It is a fairly short book, yet packed with emotion and good drama. It is beautiful, tragic, haunting, and most definitely leaves an impression. I highly recommend it, but you will need tissues.

I still haven't watched the movie... I think I bought it, but now I'm not sure and I will have to go check... Anyway, I will most definitely try to watch it soon: I'm due for another good cry.

Have you read the book? Seen the movie? How do they compare?

My Goodreads rating:

Book Review: Kindred Spirits by Rainbow Rowell

Kindred Spirits

by Rainbow Rowell

Source: I bought an e-version from the Google Play Store

Genre: Young adult, romance, fiction, short story, contemporary

Synopsis:

'Everybody likes everything these days. The whole world is a nerd.'
'Are you mad because other people like Star Wars? Are you mad because people like me like Star Wars?'
'Maybe.'

If you broke Elena's heart, Star Wars would spill out. So when she decides to queue outside her local cinema to see the new movie, she's expecting a celebration with crowds of people who love Han, Luke and Leia just as much as she does.

What she's not expecting is to be last in a line of only three people; to have to pee into a collectible Star Wars soda cup behind a dumpster or to meet that unlikely someone who just might truly understand the way she feels.   

Review:
This was actually one of the first Rainbow Rowell stories I read. I don't recall exactly how many pages there are, but it definitely is a shorter one. It felt like it could have been a bit longer, and yet it was probably just the perfect length the way it was.

 

Elena's father instilled in her his love of Star Wars. She had dreamed of the day she could join "the line" to wait for the release of a new movie. When she finally gets her chance, it's not quite what she was expecting. There are only two people in line: the first a hardcore Star Wars fan probably her parents' age (Troy), the other a hostile boy around her age (Gabe). She thinks that maybe the others will join as the days progress... but they never really do.

 

Waiting in line is a serious business, and people just don't really do it anymore. People ridicule them. Elena's mom drives by frequently trying to convince her to come home. The movie theatre managers reminds them that they can buy their tickets online in advance, there's really no need to sit in line...

 

As the day approaches, Elena does her best to make the most of the situation: bringing a little life to the line, posting pictures of the fun to her Instagram, and trying to befriend Gabe. Despite his reluctance and hostility, Gabe helps her out with line etiquette (and peeing behind dumpsters in the middle of the night). As the countdown to release day approaches, Elena wears Gabe down, and attracts attention to the line with her Instagram posts.

It's a quick, cute, funny read, and the ending is both sweet and funny. I enjoyed it, but it's not one of my faves, so I only rated it a 3 on Goodreads, but I'd definitely recommend it!

My Goodreads rating: