Book Review – Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas

Title: Lost in the Never Woods

Author: Aiden Thomas

Publisher: Swoon Reads

Publication date: March 23rd, 2021

384 pages

3/5 stars

Goodreads Synopsis

When children go missing in the small coastal town of Astoria, people look to Wendy for answers.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road, and gets pulled into the mystery haunting the town.

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, claims that if they don’t do something, the missing children will meet the same fate as her brothers. In order to find them and rescue the missing kids, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods. 

Review

“But that’s what happens when you grow up—you forget about the magic you’ve seen.” 

Aiden Thomas, Lost in the Never Woods

I’ve never been one for Peter Pan as a story personally, but this one sounded perfect for spooky season and I was able to listen to the audio through my library. Also, isn’t this cover gorgeous? It was basically calling to me to try it out. But, as expected it ended up being only an average read for me overall.

A lot of the average feelings I had were definitely due to me generally not liking the source material. This is definitely a dark retelling of Peter Pan, where Wendy is grown up and John & Michael went missing years ago from their small towns. When children begin to go missing again, Wendy worries it’s related to her brothers. But when a boy who says he’s Peter Pan shows up – Wendy learns just how complicated the situation is.

I didn’t foresee the big reveal, which is always a positive for me. The pacing and plot were solid but Wendy as a character bothered me, along with her parents – especially her father. Reading about verbally abusive parents is just not a high point for me, and I was frustrated with Wendy for being a passive character and not standing up for herself. The plot line with Peter growing up because something is wrong in Neverland was an interesting twist. I missed Captain Hook though 😉

Happy reading, folks!