Rating: ⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️1⁄2
I knew this could go one of two ways; it could be a really good book that I really enjoyed... or I wouldn't like or enjoy it at all. And I thought through the beginning that it was going to be the latter. However, it started picking up and I was invested in the lost children and in Wendy and Peter.
The characters in this were amazing. Wendy's trauma from having lost her brothers to Neverland was so intense and real. And I enjoyed how that was depicted accurately as anxiety. How guilt poured from her because she was found and they weren't returned and as the book progresses we find out why. Which wow, what a plot twist! PETER! My boy! I loved Peter. As ironic as it is, I really enjoyed the parts of Peter that were grown up like Wendy. There was still parts of him that were child-like, and not in a negative way, but when he interacted with Wendy it was different and I liked that. Wendy's parents were definitely semi-present to help depict the grief and loss aspects of the book, and they were written well in that regard. It felt necessary to have them there. The only character that felt unnecessary was Jordan. I get Wendy needs to have a friend or friends, but they don't need to be as heavily present in a story where the friends are not the fore front of the story. She also screamed teen-y bop vibes which I didn't enjoy considering they are both eighteen years old and Wendy didn't have that vibe at all. I wish she hadn't been included at all, but that is a personal opinion.
The plot of this was so interesting! It had me in it's grasp and I read the majority of this book in one sitting. Children keep going missing and it's almost eerily similar to how Wendy and her brothers were missing 5 years ago; except Wendy returned. Then as Wendy is driving something hits her car, it's a boy... It's PETER! God, this book is so good. Wendy and Peter talk and he tries to remind her of her memories of the past that she has shut out (her choice or not). They have to save the lost children and they are the only ones who can. I love their relationship, their friendship, but the only thing I desperately wanted from this was for them to be together. When the villain later reveals that Peter felt an instant connection to Wendy when he first met her, that just hit me so hard in my feelings. It was written well and I was already invested in them together already that I was being teased by the author that there were indeed feelings there! But I respect that the point of the story was for Peter to return to Neverland and for Wendy to grow up and live her life rid of the guilt of her past. I'm happy for them, I am, but god I wish they could've been together.
This book was so good. I loved the mystery and the suspense. And clearly I loved the characters (minus one). Would recommend.