Peter Pan in Wonderland Review

DISCLAIMER: I bought this book with my own dollar bucks because I liked the sound of it, and I’m reviewing it because that’s what I want to do. The author didn’t ask me to do this, and I’m doing this without compensation. Doing this is a fun side project, and it will be a spoiler-free review.

Oh, boy.

I’m sad to say that there’s not much that I enjoyed about Peter Pan in Wonderland. I was extremely stoked when I read the premise, especially the part where this would take place in Wonderland, or at least mostly. I love reimaginings of the Alice in Wonderland story or stories that take place in that chaotic world. And a different take on Peter Pan was also exciting (one of my favorite movies of all time is Hook). I was so hopeful going into this novel, and seeing all the positive reviews on Amazon only made my enthusiasm rise. 

So, I was super surprised and disappointed when, eighty pages into the novel, I wanted to hurl it into the sun. I’m a fast reader, and I can finish a book I highly enjoy in a few days, if that. Unfortunately, I had to force myself to get to the end. It’s not a long or complicated read, and I actually had a ton of free time this month, but it wasn’t until the last full weekend of January that I managed to complete it.

While, yes, there are a few structural and grammatical issues with the book, that wasn’t what made it difficult to finish. I noted them, but they have no bearing on this review. I’d be a hypocrite if I were so harsh with a self-published novel that had these minor problems.

No, my biggest problem with this book is the two main characters, Peter and Jillian. They are horrible protagonists, and I dislike them both equally, though for separate reasons. Peter is spineless; he’s forgiving to a fault, and he just stumbles through the novel with no true agency. Stuff just happens to him, and then he whines about it. Despite her recklessness and arrogance, Jillian never really suffers or receives criticism for her behavior. She’s a girlboss with daddy issues, and that’s everyone else’s problem, and everyone is okay with that.

The pair lack any characterization outside of these traits, and being stuck in their heads for the entire book is a chore. There was never a point when I cared about their journeys or wanted them to succeed. In fact, more horrible things should have happened to them (especially Jillian) based on their actions. I understand that the author aimed for this book to have a PG-13 rating (if going by movie-rating standards), but the way it was written made it seem childish. Perhaps if Peter and Jillian were eleven or twelve, their characters would have read better, but as it is with their ages, their actions and the fallout of events lack any true depth.

As underwhelming as the main leads are, the setting is even more so. The book takes place in both Wonderland and Neverland, and I never felt much of a difference between the two. They weren’t well-established at all. I wanted whimsy and the fantastical, and all I got were some different-colored trees and a star-shaped island. Woot-woot, I guess. Where’s the creativity? Where’s the strange and out-of-the-ordinary?

To add to the muted setting, all the characters talk the same, even the pirates with a clear accent. I noticed that everyone over-explains themselves. It seems like the author’s way to info-dump without putting it in non-dialogue text, but it’s very unnatural for everyone to do that. Why can I interchange how the non-Mirror Islands characters express themselves with the Cheshire Cat and Tinkerbell? It makes Peter and Jillian that much more insufferable, and it doesn’t give the Mirror Islands inhabitants any identity of their own. Outside of the few instances of magic and odd creatures, this story could be taking place on Earth.

The one aspect I did enjoy, though, was several of the side characters. Wendy and the Lost Girls were spunky and adorable and criminally underutilized. Everything about the merpeople and how they fit into the story was excellent. Both groups of characters added a level of charming absurdity that pulls straight from their source materials, and they show that there was potential for the entire plot to have this overall tone. I honestly wish they were the individuals we were following throughout the novel. Peter and Jillian are as intriguing as wet newspaper in comparison. Without these side characters, I don’t believe I would have gotten through the book. They’re the only highlight.

I won’t be continuing the trilogy. Despite the book ending on an interesting cliffhanger and the several mentions of Oz and the Goblin King (yes, that Goblin King), I just can’t muster the energy to care. If I continue, I’ll have to be with Peter and Jillian at some point, and I refuse to do that. This book gets a generous two-out-of-five-star rating, and part of that is for the very awesome book cover.