Dust (Heirs of Neverland)
Claire Kenton believes the world is too dark for magic to be real-since her twin brother was stolen away as a child. Now Claire’s desperate search points to London… and a boy who shouldn’t exist.
Peter Pan is having a beastly time getting back to Neverland. Grounded in London and hunted by his own Lost Boys, Peter searches for the last hope of restoring his crumbling island: a lass with magic in her veins.
About the Author:
As the daughter of missionaries, Kara Swanson spent her childhood running barefoot through the lush jungles of Papua New Guinea. Kara is passionate about crafting stories of light shattering darkness, connecting with readers, and becoming best friends with a mermaid—though not necessarily in that order.
Review:
The truth about Neverland is far more dangerous than a fairy tale.
Summary of the Book
Wow what an amazing way to start a book!!! This is unlike any summary I have ever read. Many people say that when you find a new book, if you fall in love with the cover, the summary and the map then you have find a great book. I never really believed that until I got my copy of Dust.
I do not know how Swanson was able to do it, but she was able to get me to love this retelling of Peter Pan more than the actual book. Anyone else able to tell how good a book will be judged by the fact that they have a C.S Lewis quote? From the moment I saw the quote by C.S Lewis and the map of Landon, I knew this book would be different than all of the retellings I have read. I loved how this book was a dark fairy tale, but it also had a lot of light in it. It was such a great balance between the two.
If you know me then you know that retellings are generally not my cup of tea. I like adventure, but I do not happy endings. I use books to escape this world a lot, but if it feels too unreal then it’s not truly the book for me. As much as I hate it, I love when books have an unhappy ending and things do not go as planned. Sure, lately I have a few retellings that have appealed to my taste, but I do not tend to pick retellings first. So imagine my surprise when I picked Dust as my first read of 2020. I had been wanting to read Dust from the moment it came out. I do not know what caused me to be drawn to that book. I just knew that there was something different about this retelling. From the reviews and quotes, I read I could tell it was unlike any retelling.
Each character in the book is so amazing. Every time I opened Dust, I fell in love with each character. Peter was a character that while I know most people connect with, I never realize that I would connect with him. Lately, I have come to realize that like Peter, I do not wanna grow up, but I want all of the benefits of growing up. Tiger Lily was portrayed in a way that I have never seen before. Most times Tiger Lily does not seem to be able to hold her own. This Tiger Lily was able to hold her own and so much more. She was equally able to be there for everyone.
Do not even get me started about Claire. Oh my gosh, she was such a well-developed character that I grew to love. While I know I tend to say this a lot in my reviews, Claire is certainly my character. She acts and does stuff exactly how I would do them! It is amazing how well I was able to connect with her. The way she was so much like a real character just made me so happy! Swanson was able to make Claire come alive in an I have never seen before. Swanson developed Claire with anxiety. This anxiety was unlike any I had ever read about before. The reason is that most authors act like anxiety is an easy thing. Swanson showed us what anxiety is truly like through the eyes of Claire.
Well, I better stop talking before I give everything away. This book was just so unlike anything I have ever read. It definitely, my new favorite book. Well….it is up there with The Blades of Acktar. I think both series are tied as my favorite : ) I wish I could have heard about this book sooner so that I could have got some preorder books to go with these amazing books. I would have totally preordered this book.
I cannot wait for the Shadow to come out. I need July to come sooner! It is too far away. On the plus side…I get to be apart of Shadow’s cover reveal. So be looking out for my post tomorrow to see first hand what the cover of Dust will look like!
Quotes:
He gently shuffles the pixies off of his palm and reaches for the cord around his neck. I like this side of Ben-playful and yet caring. Understanding their world, but also taking care of it. It almost what I thought Neverland should be, when Connor and I read the fairy tale. Before I became disillusioned with the story.
Page 212
That magic in your veins means you have a choice, Claire. You were created for more than bear the weight of your shadows-but you have to choose to no longer let the, define you. You have to choose to let the light shine through the shattered pieces.
Page 260
