Review--The First Lost Boy by Casey L. Bond

 

Stars see everything and forget nothing. And sometimes they meddle far too much.

Ava has no idea who she is or how she got on the unfamiliar island Peter Pan keeps insisting is her home, the place she’s safest. But there are shadows in his cunning eyes and something within her screams out a warning that he can’t be trusted.

When Belle learns that her sister is alive, she leaps at the chance to work with Hook, his crew, and their siren ally to free Ava from Pan’s grasp. She thought that with their help, she’d have time to save Ava before her secret was discovered…

She was wrong.

When the sinister truth slithers its way between the tentative truces formed, some friendships and alliances buckle while others break. But if everyone doesn’t work together to accomplish the seemingly impossible, and fast, all those trapped in Neverland’s gravity will be lost to an insidious darkness forever.

Can Hook and Ava find one another and manage an escape? Or will they be consumed by the malicious shadow and forget one another forever?

The First Lost Boy is the final book in Casey L. Bond's The Shadows of Neverland duology and it was quite the tale! This book went in a direction I never saw coming! It was strange and discombobulating at times, but the mystery and danger of Neverland and an evil Peter Pan was still clear and the secrets that were revealed were startling!

We pick up where we left off for the most part, but we are treated to new points of view. We get Hudson, Belle, Devin--Ava's friend in the real world, and of course, Ava's point of view. It's largely told from Ava's perspective with the occasional one from Hudson. But things are definitely a little harder to comprehend in this since Ava has seemingly lost her memories. She finds herself spending her days with Peter and his Lost ones. But strange things keep happening and Peter's mood swings are something to be feared as well.

Meanwhile, we see Hudson and Belle trying to find a way to rescue Ava and get her as far from Peter as possible, but nothing is done on Neverland that Peter isn't aware of. He's a force to be reckoned with that even his Lost boys fear him at the best of times.

But then we get an eye-opener. This was such a shocking reveal that I didn't see it coming and yet it makes a sort of sense to the story in some ways. But I'll admit, things still got confusing. There were suddenly these changes in the points of view mid-scene and it was hard to note the actual change. You just suddenly realized someone else was talking and then before you knew it, you were back to the first voice. There was a reason behind it and I knew it at the time and the reader knows it too, but yet, the transition was not an easy one to notice. I felt like it just seamlessly fit into the current perspective that it was very confusing when you could notice the change in tone and not grasp what was happening.

Sadly, with Ava taken by Pan and having her memories erased, this meant little time for romance with Hudson. Hudson is meanwhile fighting tooth and nail to do whatever he can to get her back and then of course we have the larger problem at hand that was revealed about midway through.

Needless to say, this is not your ordinary Peter Pan story! This is Peter Pan turned on its head, upside down, and flipped backwards. It's recognizable in some sense as the traditional fairy tale but it's definitely got a flare of its own too. Which is ideal when it comes to fairy tale retellings in my opinion.

The pacing to this one was pretty decent. I felt like there were some confusing times again with certain aspects. I can't really delve into them without spoilers, but let's just say I was thrown off with some confusing times a bit more than I was in the first book. The story was still intriguing and we are given some answers to the lingering questions presented in the first book as well.

All in all, the story was pretty good! I was kept entertained and delighted with Peter Pan lore. Although Tiger Lily and her tribe were absent entirely. At one point, I think in the first book, an offhand comment was made in regards to the native tribes but it was just a straight up one and done line that had no merits, I felt. But it does make you wonder why she was excluded. Neverland was seemingly uninhabited other than by Peter and his Lost ones and the mermaids and crocs who ruled the water, and the Neverbirds. Can't forget those beasts of terror. 

This is not your mother's Neverland nor is it your Neverland of childhood! This was a very different and more dangerous Neverland and yet the two still have a lot in common. This was an exemplary retelling of a beloved fairy tale! The increased danger and added romance made it worthwhile!

Overall Rating 4/5 stars