I honestly couldn't put this book down. I'd read Aiden Thomas' Cemetary Boys last month and while I loved it, I had some trouble getting into it. Lost in the Never Woods pulled me in immediately. It is definitely an amazing sophomore novel for Thomas. It took a well known and loved children's story that has been my favorite since I was little and gave new meaning to the story of Peter Pan and Wendy. Also, I know want to go revisit Astoria, OR. I need more from Thomas!

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a free e-arc to review.

This book is the Peter Pan story I never knew I needed. WOW. I loved EVERYTHING about this!
I'm not super familiar with the original Peter Pan story, and I'm not normally into retellings, so I was really surprised at how much I enjoyed this. Thomas did an incredible job of fleshing out Peter and Wendy, her parents, and her best friend. I'm not sure how much of the plot to share without giving away any spoilers - but trust me, you want to read this one!

I have to confess, I was surprised by how much I ended up enjoying this book. Peter Pan has never been one of my favorite stories, but Aiden Thomas is a beautiful storyteller, and I knew I had to read his version of the tale. In this novel, we follow Wendy Darling as she endures each day of her life since her brothers and she went missing. Despite five years having passed, she has little to no memory of what happened. But suddenly, children are disappearing again. And suddenly, Peter Pan, the fictional boy from her stories, is back.

This novel had a slow build to the end. There were moments that I honestly wasn't sure what was happening, or what the consequences of each action might be. It was challenging to continue through the middle, as the pacing was very slow. However, leading up to the climax, I can see that the pacing was intentional, and the slow build definitely helped the conclusion to have a greater impact. I like that the ending wasn't too happy (if that's not too weird to write). And I really like that this story seemed to hold true to the original essence of who Peter Pan is and was.

In terms of characters, Peter and Wendy are, for the most part, relatable and engaging. Both seem to be as real as they can be, but within the dimensions of their story, they're not as compelling as I feel that they could have been. The overall story just seemed....flat. Especially after Cemetery Boys and the incredible characters and story of that novel, this one just didn't grip me as much. The two novels are very different, but something about this book just was not as compelling. I think that for someone with stronger ties to the themes and elements of the plot, or for someone who really loved the original story, this will be a much more enjoyable read, but I don't think I'll be returning to this one.

**4/5 stars**
eARC provided by the publisher

You would think after spending 10 months writing an extensive scholarly research project on Cemetery Boys and other queer Latinx YA fantasy, that would be enough to hold me over for a while. But no—I needed Lost in the Never Woods as soon as Thomas announced it. And now, having read their second YAF stand-alone, I can confidently say that Aiden Thomas is well on their way to being a cherished YA author for years to come. The stories they have to tell, the worlds they can create, and the scope of the messages they want to send to young readers are all incredible, and so very necessary in a fad-driven, market-driven storytelling industry.

Aiden Thomas clearly writes from the heart, and Lost in the Never Woods is evidence of that. I can tell that Thomas inserted parts of themselves into this novel, parts that are really beautiful, and I can also tell that the story of Peter Pan—likely the Disney version of Peter Pan—has an intense meaning for them. It takes real guts to tackle retelling such a beloved story that has already been retold several times. But for me, Lost in the Never Woods has something innately Zennial (Gen Z-millenial) about it. It harkens back to another era, an era of Zennial foolery I am somewhat embarrassed of but also look back upon fondly: the era of the Disney craze, mainly on Tumblr.

I have a theory, and I wonder if one day Aiden Thomas will talk to me about it and prove me right or wrong. But the theory is this: Aiden Thomas was a Disnerd.

I really do not have any evidence for this except that I have seen very enthusiastic Tweets about Disney from them and that I am fairly certain that the Peter Pan in this book is a Peter Pan Disneyland actor personified... BUT IT'S JUST A HUNCH. I am by no means judging, and this does not affect my analysis of the book. After all, I was also a Disnerd. When I was twelve and thirteen I logged too many hours on YouTube watching Disneyland ride run-throughs, Disney princess makeup tutorials, and watching Disneyland face character meet-and-greet videos—including yes, Peter Pan.

Anyways.

Lost in the Never Woods is a gorgeous book, with an endearing yet fairly dark story. Thomas handles themes of loss and grief with compassion and nuance, which leaves Wendy Darling, the lead, with a satisfying happy-sad ending. Thomas takes the Peter Pan story and gives it their own twist that works, though I am not convinced that it was the most imaginative direction to take. If you are like me and was hoping for run-ins with Pirates and fairies, then heed my warning: you shall not get such in this book. However, you will get pixie dust, you will get a lovable lead, and you will get the charming Peter Pan everyone expects him to be.

The trope of the "Dark Forest" is also something that Thomas put to paper really well. The forest feels like its own character. I find that this comes easy to people who come from places (like the Pacific Northwest) where the forest really is quite an imposing thing. It is its own being. This near-personification of the forest does well to set the novel's tone and create stakes for its leads.

What I think this book would have been better without is the romance. It did not feel forced, but it also did not feel necessary. I found that it was distracting more than interesting. It is a powerful enough story without it, and ultimately it just felt silly, especially given how the novel ends. Perhaps that is not the fault of Thomas, but the fault of the previous Peter Pan retellings that always have Peter reminiscing Wendy for eternity.

The slight lack of creativity that I found in the villain and twist on the classic Pan story knocked off that one star for me. Maybe others will find it more inspiring, but I think twists/endings may be something that Aiden Thomas has to work on. Even with Cemetery Boys, I was not entirely satisfied with the villain's twist at the end. There is always room for improvement, and Aiden Thomas can only get better. I really look forward to reading anything and everything they put out in the world.

Aiden Thomas has done it again and I love that LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS has a totally different style and feel to it from CEMETERY BOYS. Honestly, I already had this as a title to purchase for my library before I got my hands on an ARC of it, but now that I’ve read it - I can’t wait to tell all the teens about how they have to read it.

For those of us that grew up on Peter Pan, this is for us. What if Peter Pan happened today, and what if Peter’s role was slightly different than the Disney story we’ve heard since childhood?

Without giving away a spoiler, the reveal in chapters 19 & 20.... was brilliant and makes so much sense but also completely changes how I’ll think about Neverland and Peter Pan. And I am completely ok with that.

I appreciate how Thomas handled, and described Wendy’s anxiety and depression. Particularly the moment in chapter 9 when Peter explains what happens when a magic shadow detaches itself from a body (but in doing so deftly explains what depression does to a person): “those dark thoughts can devour a person and take all their happiness away. They want you to feel isolated and alone. It’s like they suck the energy out of you and leave you with nothing.”

Overall this was a powerful story and a wonderful reimagining of a childhood favorite.

I loved this darkly magical take on Wendy and Peter Pan set in the real world. This version finds Wendy struggling with survivor's guilt after the disappearance of her little brothers when the mysterious Peter drops into her life (literally!). The tension between Wendy and peter is a nice foil to the heavier themes in the book.

A modern and much darker Peter Pan retelling where Wendy is all grown up and Peter is in search of his shadow- however, things are not quite what they seem
Kids are starting to disappear in the town where Wendy lives- Wendy herself (along with her brothers Michael and John) had also disappeared but Wendy was found alone in the woods without any recollection or thought of where she was or where her brothers are
Five years later, a strange boy with auburn hair and starlike eyes seeks her help- claiming to be Peter Pan
Peter urges Wendy to remember him and the times they spent together in Neverland and begs for her help as he is the key in solving the mysterious disappearances
Slowly Wendy begins to remember things but the truth could shatter them all...
Filled with intrigue, mystery, a dark and haunting twist, tension, chemistry, pixie dust, grief, forgiveness, and heartbreaking truths, this book is perfect for all of you looking for dark twist to a fairytale we all love

I came in with high expectations because I adored Aiden Thomas' debut novel Cemetery Boys and was so excited to see Thomas' take on Peter Pan. I am so glad to write that this book did not disappoint. The book tackles grief and survivor's guilt in a haunting and beautiful way. I found the chemistry between the first two characters heart-achingly warm. I was just prepared for this story to be more fantastic, but it rides the line between the real world and something more magical throughout.

This was a really good book, but I don't think I can say it was a great one. While the overall concept and the characters pulled me through til the end, the pacing was chunky and stilted, and by the time we find out what happened I found myself having a very "meh" reaction. Thomas did a lovely job with reimagining the tale of Wendy Darling and Peter Pan, but I'm still a bit confused on how it all came together.

I received an ARC of Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas from NetGalley in exchange for a review.

Five years ago, Wendy and her brothers disappeared in the woods behind their house in Astoria, Oregon. Six months later, Wendy was found with her brothers’ blood under her fingernails and no memory of her abduction or where John and Michael might be. When children begin disappearing in Astoria, a mysterious boy who claims to be a figure out of Wendy’s childhood stories appears, telling Wendy that she is the only one who can help him find his shadow and retrieve the missing children. As all of the questions about Wendy’s memory lapse and missing brothers come back, she will have to face old fears and new revelations to have any chance of helping the missing children and discovering what really happened to her and her brothers.

I wanted to enjoy this book more than I did. I loved Thomas’s previous book, Cemetery Boys, and I have a soft spot for adaptations of Peter Pan, so I was excited to see Lost in the Never Woods on NetGalley. Unfortunately, while the majority of the book is decent, I had trouble connecting with Wendy as a protagonist. This is not to say that this version of Wendy isn’t interesting – Thomas has given us a Wendy shaped by trauma, both her own and that experienced by her parents. Her initial characterization and the way Thomas introduces her were fascinating. However, periodically throughout the book I kept running into this weird dissonance between Wendy’s stated intentions/priorities (as revealed by her internal monologue) and what she actually does. It’s hard to connect with a character when everything the text tells the reader about her contradicts what the text shows us about her via her actions. In all fairness, this disconnect between her thoughts and actions is obliquely explained in the final big reveal, and if there was much editing between the ARC-version and the final version, it may be more clearly explained in the published book. For me, it made for a disconcerting reading experience that I didn’t enjoy.

That said, I love Thomas’s writing and the language and imagery in this book is consistently amazing. As a darker interpretation of the Peter Pan story, the book has some truly effective creepy scenes that occasionally required me to take a break to get my heart rate down again. The portrayal of how grief and the loss of John and Michael have changed Wendy and her parents is heartbreaking, with the parents retreating into their jobs and Wendy quietly holding everything together as best she can in a balancing act that can’t last. If you enjoyed Thomas’s writing style in Cemetery Boys, like creepy/atmospheric horror in the Pacific Northwest woods, or want to see a different take on Peter Pan, you may really enjoy this book. I’m certainly still looking forward to whatever Aiden Thomas publishes next.

This review will be posted to Good Reads one month before publication.

Aiden Thomas are a wonderful writer and I am very grateful for the ARC of this book. Thank you very much for letting me read it.

The pitch is great! I love Peter Pan retellings.
The setting is interesting too: Astoria, Oregon. I love it. Not many authors write about this town, so it was very refreshing. I love reading about new places.

Unfortunately, I didn't finish reading this book. Since I've read only the first chapter, I'm not going to rate this book on Goodreads or share my reivew socially. Aiden Thomas are such a great author. I can't and won't say anything negative about their book on Goodreads. To be honest, I stopped reading this boook mostly because of the Covid-19. LOST IN THE NEVER WOODS is about missing children. It's dark and sad. And it's hard for me to read about grief and depressing topics these days. This pandemic changed everything. I'm unemployed and I... I want to read books that will make me smile and laugh. Books that will make me forget about the reality. This novel is wonderful. Problem is, it's too depressing to think about missing children and their heartbroken parents.

I apologize.
(I gave this book five stars because it's written by Aiden Thomas. However, I can't really rate it since I've read only one chapter.)

Such a creepy version of Peter Pan but with a great underlying message of who Peter Pan really is. Loved reading this story and how it ended.

Peter Pan has been a staple of my childhood and overall life since my grandfather read it to me. I've read the sequel - Peter Pan in Scarlet, a great prequel - Capt. Hook, a dark take - The Child Thief, and many more versions looking for one that really captured the Peter Pan I needed as an adult to make him fit better into the mythos instead of "its just a beautiful fairy dream" and not quite "edgy dark creature of chaos".

Lost in the Never Woods meets that need and overflows it. This is the Peter Pan I have been waiting for. A mischievous but ultimately kind Peter, a Peter that made sense as to why he takes children to Neverland. It's the story I needed to hear.

I read this in one sitting - I devoured it, unable to go fast enough. Wendy Darling as a "still new" adult really hits home with me - that "I have my life planned out but I still don't know what's really happening" version of a new adult. She is still reeling from the events of her childhood, when her brothers and her went missing. It's a mystery. It's a fairy tale. It's a coming of age telling. It's fantastic.

I thoroughly enjoyed the dark and modern take on the Peter Pan story. The author takes the fairy tale and turns it into a mystery about missing children that is timely, creative, and fun to read!

I had a hard time trying to figure out what audience would like this. It’s not for really young kids even though it’s the whole Peter Pan theme - too scary with the missing kids and finding out the truth about what happened to Wendy’s brothers... I came to the conclusion that tween girls will love this (I know many who will). It has that bit of magic, a dash of romance and a big mystery/adventure plot that will keep them thrilled till the end.

I'm bummed. I hate to compare an authors' books to each other, but I really can't believe this is the follow-up to Cemetery Boys. The characters in Cemetery Boys were so fleshed out and believable, the story was well-paced, the ending flowed well.. The stark contrast between this, Thomas' sophomore novel, and his debut, is really surprising.

It's a Peter Pan retelling, which has definitely been done before, but it's always fun to revisit. Peter feels easy to characterize - manic pixie dream boy-esque, mischievous, child-like, innocent; I think that's the real strength of this story. Peter's character was whimsical and boyish, he really was like someone you'd have a dream about. Wendy, who is the main character in this story, is where it starts to unravel. I mean, it's been a while since I've watched Peter Pan, but Wendy is kind of like... boring. It seems like it'd be hard to assign her character traits, and she doesn't really have any in this story. She and Peter's chemistry feels a little forced, even though they did have some nice moments together.

The story itself is where the bulk of my issues lie. For the first 60% of the story, nothing happened. They just met up and talked in different spots. They also spent the entirety of the story in our world. I wasn't promised anything other than that, but I assumed from the title that they would at least be in a creepy magic forest if not actually in Neverland. So that may not have been false advertising, but I did misinterpret the title and cover and was disappointed because of that. Similarly - which, granted, there were a handful of adult couples and just two teen couples, but everyone (as far as I remember) was straight. I'm not saying an author has to write their story any kind of way, but after the overflow of diversity that was Cemetery Boys, I just expected something different in this story. But yeah, they spend all this time just literally talking about the same thing over and over, and then a plot twist came up that was actually surprising, and the outcome of that was PURE melodrama. All the build-up led to maybe one page of reveals, and the reveal was just so nonsensically fast, and upsetting, that it was enough to send you physically reeling. I will say I recognized part of the reveal as being a popular fan theory, which may have been the catalyst for this book's inspiration. I think it would be fun to try to write, too. The end of this book was also incredibly rushed to have had so much drag in the beginning of the story.

There's a few things that are randomly weird for no reason - Wendy's dad has a study, and Wendy has never been in there. Like, never. No one ever told her to stay out, she just felt like it was off-limits. Her mom tells her to get the trash out of there and she goes in for literally the first time, noticing the wall was painted green and that there was a chair and stuff.. This is a teenager, who has absentee parents, living in a house with a room she "doesn't go in," but that is kept unlocked... yeah, right. The second my dad left for work I would be running in there just for the simple reason of being nosy and that I could. Ya know? So that kinda useless scene was just so absurd to me.

There's also a 5 year time jump between Wendy and her brothers' disappearance and the events of this story, and what Peter was doing in the meantime is never really explained. I just thought it was weird.

ALSO five whole kids go missing from town over the course of this story and the most they do is a search party and only for the last two. Like men who live near the forest these kids were last seen by aren't interviewed, there's no curfew installed in the town, like nothing that would actually happen in real life happens in the face of this serial kidnapping, as it would appear. The most the cops do are come and harass Wendy, whose only connection is that she also went missing from the town at some point.

All in all, the finished copy may change, but I really wouldn't recommend this one, as sad as it is to say. I think younger teens may enjoy it, or anyone who is really passionate about hitting all the Peter Pan retellings, but other than that, I'd say skip it.

Okay, so, this book. This book, y'all. Normally I like to write a review almost immediately after reading the material, but I couldn't do that with this novel. The ending left me feeling all kinds of ways, and I needed time to process. Have you ever finished a really good book, and just had this heavy, sad, almost nostalgic feeling settle in your chest, right under your sternum? If you have, then you know exactly how I felt when I put this book down.

Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas, is, on the surface, a modernized retelling/sequel to Peter Pan. It is a sequel in a sense that the events of the original Peter Pan story happened something like six years prior. The protagonist of this story is an eighteen-year-old Wendy Darling. When she was twelve, she and her younger brothers, John and Michael, disappeared from the woods one day without a trace. Six months later, Wendy was found by herself in those same woods, traumatized and alone, clutching an acorn. She had no memory of the six months that had passed, and as of the beginning of this story, her eighteenth birthday, she still has no memory of the events. Her little brothers are still missing.

It is summer, and Wendy will be going to college in the fall with her best friend, Jordan. She is ready to grow up and move on with her life. However, the old trauma from her past is brought back to the forefront when children in town begin to go missing the way she and her brothers had. It is brought to a head when, while driving home from her shift volunteering at the hospital, she nearly runs over a boy who is collapsed in the middle of the road. A boy who looks just like 'Peter Pan,' a made up character from stories her mother used to tell her, and which she in turn told her brothers so long ago. And this boy not only seems to recognize her, but he also knows her name.

The Mental Health Of It All:

Through most of the novel, Wendy struggles with something akin to PTSD, although the memories usually come to her in the form of dreams rather than flashbacks. Her parents suffer from the events of six years ago as well, due to not having closure on John and Michael's whereabouts. Wendy's mom is a sad shadow of the woman Wendy remembers prior to her and her brothers' disappearance. Her father is no longer affectionate with her, and drinking alcohol seems to have become his main coping mechanism. Although it remains unspoken in the narrative, signs point to Mr. Darling having become a full-blown alcoholic.

I thought the portrayals of the fragile mental health of a family torn apart by loss seemed very authentic, and they were sensitively handled. For example, while Wendy acknowledges the amount her father drinks, and doesn't like it, she isn't judgmental of him for it, as she understands all too well the feelings that led him to drink in the first place. In addition to Wendy and her mother's lack of condemnation of Mr. Darling's coping mechanism of choice, the author also chose to not depict him as some kind of selfish monster, as many alcoholics seem to be portrayed in the media. Rather, he is a broken man, and although he can be gruff, he is ultimately a sympathetic character. (That being said, it is clear the author is not trying to glorify the over-consumption of alcohol either, as its use, we find out, plays a significant role in a very tragic event, uncovered late in the book).

The Romance (which could have been problematic, but ultimately is not):

When Wendy nearly runs over Peter, he appears to be thirteen or fourteen at most. A bit older than the Peter Pan her mother used to tell tales about, but not by too much. However, it becomes clear that he is rapidly growing into a more physically mature version of himself, which, he explains, is a problem, because he's Peter Pan. He isn't supposed to grow up. As he changes and appears older, he tells Wendy that he can feel his magic growing weaker. Once he is fully 'grown up,' he will lose his magic, and he's terrified because he doesn't know what that will do to him.

I bring up the rapid aging thing, because at first glance, an eighteen-year-old Wendy falling in love with an ambiguously aged (but definitely several years younger than her physically) boy is extremely problematic. However, it is clear that the feelings she gradually develops for him aren't present when he appears to be so much younger than her. She only seems to be becoming attracted to him once he presents as closer to her in age. In this world of 'cancel culture,' I just hope people don't latch on to the whole 'Peter Pan is a kid' thing and give the author a hard time, because Mr. Thomas's Peter Pan ISN'T a kid, which is kind of the whole point. His rapid aging is an important part of the plot, especially once the reader learns the reason it is happening (which I can't go into because spoilers but OH DEAR GOD MY HEART).

My Conclusions:

While the romance that happens in Lost in the Never Woods is integral to the plot, this novel is SO MUCH MORE than a love story. It is full of magic and wonder, it tackles difficult subjects like loss and grief, and ultimately, it is a story about growing up. That it is a modernized retelling of a beloved children's tale is just the icing on the cake.

I give Lost in the Never Woods ALL OF THE STARS and highly recommend it for fans of YA, retellings, Peter Pan, romance, magic, and well....anybody breathing, really.


A big thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for free access to the e-arc of this book, in exchange for a fair and unbiased review.

“He was stardust and the smell of summer.”

Wendy Darling has grown up. Her uncelebrated eighteenth birthday marks the five year anniversary of the day she and her brothers went missing; and though she turned up six months later, her brothers were never seen again. The summer before her freshman year Wendy can’t wait to escape her small town and get to college— but when she runs into a kid claiming to be Peter Pan and children start to go missing, Wendy must remember what happened to her if she ever wants to find her brothers again.

Honestly, Aiden Thomas has done it again. Technically, they wrote this book before Cemetery Boys (presently busy becoming a bestseller), so I guess it would make more sense to say Aiden Thomas only writes hits. I’ve never been a huge fan of Peter Pan— sure I enjoyed the original J.M. Barrie and who doesn’t love Peter Darling— but I’m not a die hard fan. However, this book really captures the irresistible heart of the Peter Pan story: summertime, childhood, and avoiding the enormous responsibilities of growing up. There’s a darkness at the heart of the original story, a bittersweet quality to that eternal childhood that the original only hints at, the lack of caring parents and the origin of the lost children chief amongst them.

Similar to Cemetery Boys, Lost in the Neverwoods is a mystery at its heart and the stakes are high. It reads like a YA version of Tana French’s In the Woods with a Peter Pan infusion. Without giving too much away, I will say that it always feels like there’s real and present danger both from the real world and the fantasy world of Neverland. Wendy dealing with the trauma of her missing brothers and her lost six months felt so realistic and scary, and the kids going missing was a constant reminder of the story’s stakes. I felt that the mystery sometimes lagged, but the ending was perfect and fulfilling. This book was a perfect balance of darkness and light and a testament to how fantasy can carry us through childhood traumas. The romantic aspects of the story (which are definitely appropriate though I won’t explain how) are cute and capture that childhood crush filled with sweetness and impossibility.

Overall I would give this book a 4.5, my only complaints being around some parts of the mystery and the tragic lack of Captain Hook or Mr. Smee (we do get a great villain though— no spoilers!). True to form, Thomas dots the work with little references to the original and the beloved animated film, showing their deep and abiding love of Disney films that’ll make the rest of you Disney fans smile. Lost in the Neverwoods is a fast-paced read with characters you can’t help but fall in love with, especially the eternally charming and ebullient Peter Pan.

Lost In The Never Woods is a fun and exciting read. I had a hard time putting it down.

This book is not at all what I had expected. This book is a modern take/ continuation of the Peter Pan. Wendy is 18 years old, and is trying to hold her family together. Her mother and father have grown distant and are no longer affectionate since her brothers disappearance 5 years ago where they were lost in the woods. Years after living with this tragedy, having no memory of events, even though Wendy was lost for a while too, Wendy darling and her family are forced to relive their nightmare when other children in town begin to go missing. While dealing with the stress of starting college, facing past trauma, and still living with the uncertainty of what happened to her brothers, Wendy runs into a boy Peter, who insists he knows her, even though she thought he was only a character in her mothers stories. Together, they work to unravel the disappearances and figure out what happened to Wendy and her brothers five years ago.

This book was the perfect mix of familiar and magical fairy tale references, mixed with modern twists, turns and takes on a well loved story. The author was able to take the tale of Peter Pan and provide a new and darker take on Peter and Neverland.

The plot was interesting and kept me reading. I really needed to know what happened. The ending had a couple great twists that I was not expecting, and the book kept me guessing the whole time. There was some cute romance, but it was not the focus of the book.

I really enjoyed this book and the characters. It was a little darker than I was expecting, but still filled with magic and humor. I really enjoyed reading it and will be looking out for other books by this author.

I really enjoyed this book. It was such an interesting play on Peter Pan, set in the current world. I had been in a slump, and this book brought me out of it. Not only does it possess the best parts of the Peter Pan story, but also delves into the life of teenagers dealing with trauma and loss.

Check this one out!