Second Star by Alyssa B. Scheinmel Review

Second Star by Alyssa B. Scheinmel
Release Date : May 13th, 2014
Publisher: Macmillan; 248 pages
Rating:

A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy’s journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove’s charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward Pete's nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete. A radical reinvention of a classic, Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up--and the troubled beauty trapped between them.

Received from NetGalley in return for an honest review.

I delayed reading this book because I adore the original JM Barrie story and  the characters. I worried this retelling wouldn't live up to his creations. I needn't have worried. Sheinmel's Second Star is an adventure all its own with a new twist on our flying, hand clapping and dastardly favorites. Sprinkle yourself with a little fairy dust and dive on into this unique adventure.

I went into this book expecting a carefree fairy tale, but it isn't a bed time story or a happy thought from start to finish. Dealing with heavy topics such as death, loss, drugs and romance (We all know how dark this can be) the story wraps it all up in a wave and lays it out on the shore for you to pick up. Bring Barrie's characters in to the modern world with issues is well done in this weekend read for anyone, previous Pan beliefs not needed.

The characters within this book are both old favorites and new friends. There are no token characters slipped in to harken back to the classic. While all the characters have a place and depth the story itself is more then a simple retelling with cell phones and cars. Second Star tells its own story with its own trials, pit falls and hand clapping moments.

Reading this book took me just 2 days, but had I not needed sleep it could easily have been a single day read. The chapters are short and punchy. The story is quick and time line is well paced.

Pick up this book for a day on the beach and you never know who you may see taking the crest of a wave, but remember to take your surf board before you run off to Neverland.