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September 2022 NEWFOUNDLAKELIFE.COM Page 17 Community
Book of the Month: Lost in the Neverwoods by Aiden Thomas
By BRittaNy amalfi
A Peter Pan Retelling With a Much Darker Twist
Aiden Thomas brings dark shadows to life in Lost in the Neverwoods. When children begin to go missing, the dark reminder of what happened to Wendy and her brothers starts to creep back into her life. Five years ago, Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, and only Wendy came back. The holes in her memory of what happened to her broth- ers continuously plague Wendy, causing her to feel utterly useless. And with all eyes on her in the wake of the missing kids, Wendy is at a complete loss.
One night, as she tries to es- cape the tragic reminders of her missing brothers, she almost runs over an unconscious boy in
the middle of the road. And just like clockwork, the magical Peter Pan catapults himself back into Wendy’s life. Peter tells Wendy that in order to find the missing kids, they must work together to bring down sinister forces that intend to do a lot of damage to her small town. In a crazy turn of events, Wendy finds herself teaming up with the boy she be- lieved to only exist in her stories to bring down a sinister shadow and save the missing children. What could go wrong?
A Magical Story That Shows the Highs and Lows of Pushing Through Grief
Lost in the Neverwoods is a Peter Pan retelling that isn’t afraid to demonstrate the effects grief has on a person. Wendy Darling and her parents went through a tragic event with the loss of her two little brothers. Throughout
the story, we see how each fam- ily member goes about their day with the looming memories of lost loved ones. Aiden Thomas makes the reader gen-
uinely empathize with the characters and isn’t afraid to show the raw effects of grief. Wendy experiences guilt, shame, and heartache over the loss of her brothers, but we also see her power through these heavy emotions.
Aiden Thomas does
an excellent job bal-
ancing the light and
the dark with this tale
as they stay true to the classic tale we all know and love. Peter is the embodiment of what is happy and bright in this world, and his light opens a door for Wendy. I found Wendy and Peter
to be, quite literally, the dream team as they searched for clues and braved the terrifying forest. Their dynamic made the story a
comfort with a character, but Thomas nailed it when writing Peter.
Lost in the Neverwoods tells us a story of how grief and resilience challenge
your emotions every day. Wendy Darling shows us that no matter what tragedy we’ve ex- perienced, we have the strength to come out stronger. Peter tells the readers never to lose hope and that letting yourself have a little fun sometimes is okay. And on those days that feel like they’re a bit too
much, hopefully, we can escape to Neverland for a little while, but with a bit of help and pixie dust, we have the power to step into who we really are.
fun yet gripping read with Wen- dy’s hesitancy and Peter’s vitality. As I read, I felt a certain warmth towards Peter, and I think that’s exactly what Wendy felt too. Sometimes it’s hard to feel that
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