Unhooked

January 1, 2016
Hidden powers, parallel worlds--Gwen has a lot on her plate, but there are two teen hunks determined to help her. Maxwell uproots Gwen from contemporary London and drops her in a reworked Neverland with competing teen versions of Peter Pan and Capt. Hook (with an enchanted mechanical arm) and a mercurial, lethal version of Tinkerbell. Excerpts from a separate story precede each chapter; despite its "Once upon a time" opening, this narrative starts on terra firma. Its World War I storyline of two brothers edges ever closer toward the main tale until the stories merge. The first-person, present-tense voice lets Gwen share her confusion during frequent clashes between good and evil, her uncertainty over who is telling the truth and deserves her loyalty, and the "thundering hoofbeats" of her heart as she defies death and the various minions of good and evil. Unsurprisingly, Pan and Hook (also known as the Captain and, eventually, simply Rowan) offer competing love interests. Maxwell shows a talent for describing lush, imaginative settings and epic battles based on layers of deceit and betrayal; inconsistent pirate vernacular is happily ever less frequent as the story progresses. When the truth of Gwen's lineage emerges, readers will wonder that she spends so much time looking for a hero rather than being the heroine. The romance is emphasized in this retelling of Barrie's classic. (Paranormal romance. 14 & up)

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February 1, 2016

Gr 7 Up-In this dark retelling of Peter Pan we meet Gwendolyn Allister, who is moving again, this time to London. Her best friend, Olivia, is coming with them for the summer to help with Gwen's slightly crazy mother, who is trying to keep them away from the monsters. Gwen has never lived anywhere long enough to have a home, and when they settle in their first night in London, they are captured by dark shadowy creatures and taken to Neverland. When Gwen awakens, she finds herself in the presence of Captain Hook on his ship of boy pirates, sea hags, and a Neverland island filled with magic and Fey creatures who are anything but fairylike. Gwen quickly finds a distaste for Hook and is "rescued" by Pan and taken to the magical island that Gwen feels she can connect with. After finding Olivia, Gwen comes to realize that things are not what they seem with Pan and his fortress filled with Lost Boys. Through a series of perilous adventures and battles where countless lives are sacrificed, the teen realizes that she is being used by both sides. She discovers her own magical heritage and Pan and Hook's sinister plot. Readers will be surprised and satisfied with the outcome. Even though the pacing is awkward at times and Gwen tends to get lost in interior monologue throughout, this gruesome retelling will be a hit with teens. VERDICT A general purchase where fractured fairy tales and fairy fantasy is popular.-Nancy Jo Lambert, Reedy High School, Frisco, TX

Copyright 2016 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

February 1, 2016
Grades 9-12 Once again, Gwen and her eccentric artist mother have moved. For Gwen, it's hard to accept being repeatedly uprooted, especially since it's possible that her mother is actually losing her mind. With senior year and college looming ahead, Gwen wants this move to be different, but when she starts seeing and hearing things no one else does, she wonders if her mother might not be crazy after all. When Gwen is kidnapped by dark creatures, she is only slightly relieved to be rescued by a pirate captain with a mechanical arm and a crew of young boys, recognizable as the characters from Peter Pan. The longer she stays in Neverland, however, the less she remembers, and the more fictional characters she meets, the less she believes in the original tale. Maxwell, who first established herself with Sweet Unrest (2014), successfully shifts gears to tackle this adventurous fairy-tale retelling. This new take on the classic isn't the traditional once upon a time, and that alone will hook many readers.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2016, American Library Association.)