{My thoughts} – Gwen is a sweet fifteen year old girl that has been forced to grow up extremely fast. England was bombed and her parents never came back. She then became the caregiver of her younger sister and brother.

All the times she’s been out looking for supplies she rarely encounters other children. Then twice in the same day she encounters the same to children. Pete and Bella are two other scavengers that are out looking for supplies.

Pete distracts the people out hunting for children so that Gwen can get away. Then him and Bella follow Gwen to her hideout. When they get there they start trying to walk off with all the supplies that Gwen had for her and her siblings, but then Pete talks her into joining them.

However, while Gwen was gone her sister had been captured. So, now Gwen only has one goal to rescue her from the palace. It turns out that Pete promises to help with that rescue mission and they all go off to the Lost City together.

The Lost City is where Pete and Bella and all the other lost kids live. There are so many orphaned kids since the bombs dropped releasing a deadly virus that no one seems to be immune from. All the adults have seemingly died and nearly all the girls. Boys are dying too but not as quickly, it seems to have been released to wipe out mankind.

When Pete found Gwen he realized she showed no signs of the virus and needed her. It appeared as if she may be immune to it. He wanted to take her back to the Lost City so their doctor could look at her and see if she’d be able to help in the creation of a cure.

I have to admit when I’d learned this was a dystopian remake of Peter Pan I was fully intrigued. It is obvious when you read the book which characters are meant to be which etc. I enjoyed how the author was able to pull it all together and help the storyline to run seamlessly. I also look forward to reading the next book in the series very soon.

I highly recommend this book for avid dystopian readers as well as fans of the original Peter Pan story. I promise it’s worth the read and you most certainly will be intrigued and pulled into it pages. ( )

This was a beyond good book. It is 4.5 stars for me. I really loved the world and the the characters were so engaging and such a fast pace read. I loved the twist on neveland and it was so cool. I really enjoyed the duel POV we got and was invested in both sides of the story. I just loved how twisted this story became and all the tieback and connections to the orginal story. I loved the cast of characters and also how the book still addressed historical issues but also brought urban fantasy elements as well. I think the setting of this book was so strong and so well crafted as well. I really loved this story and can't wait for the sequel. ( )

This was a beyond good book. It is 4.5 stars for me. I really loved the world and the the characters were so engaging and such a fast pace read. I loved the twist on neveland and it was so cool. I really enjoyed the duel POV we got and was invested in both sides of the story. I just loved how twisted this story became and all the tieback and connections to the orginal story. I loved the cast of characters and also how the book still addressed historical issues but also brought urban fantasy elements as well. I think the setting of this book was so strong and so well crafted as well. I really loved this story and can't wait for the sequel. ( )

FROM AMAZON: Forget the story of Peter Pan you know. Because in Everland, the only way to grow up is to survive.

London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the ruthless Marauders - the German army led by Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.

Unsure if the virus has spread past England's borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return. Until the day they grab Joanna.

As Gwen sets out to save her, she meets a mysterious boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it will cost Gwen. And are she, Pete, the Lost Boys, and Bella enough to outsmart Captain Hook? ( )

The publisher of Everland, Scholastic, was really excited for this book. They sent out manuscripts – unbound sheets of printer paper – to booksellers almost a year before the book’s release. In two years I’ve worked in a bookstore and for the 25 years before that the bookstore had been around, no one can recall being sent an unbound manuscript. Needless to say, as the resident lover of all things Peter Pan at the store, the manuscript found it’s way into my hands.

I enjoyed Everland. It has a clever premise with hints of steampunk and allusions to historical events. It is a quick and enjoyable read, the plot is well paced and well structured. I had found myself in a reading slump before I picked it up to read and Everland is a great book palate cleanser. It is serious enough to hold one’s attention and make you think, but light enough that it doesn’t cause any sort of book hangover that would inhibit one from diving directly into the next book on a lengthy TBR list.

The characters are intriguing, none are exact copies of their original Peter Pan inspirations, but they stay true enough to J. M. Barrie’s characters that certain personality traits and behaviors are predictable. However, Spinale makes the circumstances of those actions a surprise as her setting, while bearing a resemblance to the century-old Neverland, is unique to her story. ( )