Originally written December 16, 2011

Forget what I said about This Side of Paradise being the oldest book I read, I think this might be. And I actually don’t even know if that is the right year because there’s too many versions of Peter Pan to distinguish. This is a book made by the author J.M. Barrie, and just to get a small taste of why the year confuses me is because the book that was released in 1911 is called Peter and Wendy, but the version I have is simply called Peter Pan. However, the plot of the books is the exact same, so I’m assuming the names have just changed.

But anyway, there aren’t many people who aren’t familiar with the story of Peter Pan in some form or another because of how many versions and appearances there have been of the character in the past 100 years. From books to movies to video games to TV, Peter has been in it all. For those not familiar though, the book is about a boy that refuses to grow up named Peter Pan, who lives in the land of Neverland. He flies to Kensington every night to listen to Mrs. Darling tell her children bedtime stories through the window. But one night Peter accidentally loses his shadow at their house, and when he flies back to get it back, he encounters Wendy and her brothers, John and Michael.

From there, Peter offers to take the kids to Neverland, where they meet Peter’s friends, The Lost Boys. The children soon become part of their home and join Peter and his gang on their adventures, including fighting the nefarious Captain Hook and his band of pirates.

It’s pretty much the epitome of fantasy adventure stories, and the basis for many more of its kind to come afterwards. I find it funny that I knew I was going to review this after This Side of Paradise, and I forgot that this is an older book than that. And why is that? Because Peter Pan doesn’t feel like an old book at all. It has completely survived the test of time, and I feel like it’d still be a great book for anyone to pick up. While it might be a bit childish to some people, I consider Peter Pan a classic. Definitely worth a read.

4.5/5