Peter Pan in Scarlet

Very disappointing. I read PETER PAN IN SCARLET the same week it came out. I tried to like this book. I had to keep putting it down then picking it up and forcing myself to finish it. I'm not sure it was a good idea for the author to try to replicate Barrie's style so much. Some of her quips are clever. However, it comes across as a "rip-off" of J. M.. The "pressure from GOSH" to produce an authorized sequel is quite evident in this endeavor. The characters in this book, although familiar to everyone, have lost their charm and appeal. Based on her previous reputation and awards, I am sure that the author's original children's books are fine. This one is clearly aimed at young children. The original is geared more towards a mature reader who can reflect on the magic of childhood. That is why Peter Pan has always been a multi-generational experience, one to be shared by parent, grandparent, aunt or uncle with their children. It's the story of lost childhood...a place to which we can never return. This slight melancholy is the thread that binds the original story together. There is just no depth to this story. The theme of "clothes make the man" seems so superficial by comparison. With the rights to PETER PAN now in public domain I hope that in the future there will be better new adventures for the boy who never grew up.

I read the first few chapters of this, and found them delightful, so I started over, this time reading the book aloud to my kids. We all laughed our heads off over the story of how and why the Darlings returned to Neverland. Just brilliant. The kids also loved the new fairy, Fireflyer, who is hilarious from birth. But things kind of went downhill once we arrived in Neverland. We discovered that things are not right in Neverland, and Peter is not himself. That's the whole premise of the story - the cause of the change must be discovered and things must be put right. But it's kind of a bad choice of a premise, because it means that for nearly the entire book, we have a Peter Pan is isn't very Peter Panish, and a Neverland that isn't very Neverlandy. An awful lot of it is basically grim and grown-up, though bits of humor keep popping up. Yes, we tie up some loose ends, but wanting all the loose ends tied up is such a grown up preoccupation. It hardly belongs in Neverland, where loose ends are simply abandoned in piles on the floor the moment a new adventure beckons.Anyway, the good bits of this are so good that fans of Pan should by all means read the book, but there is also much here that is far too heavy and sluggish to fly in Neverland.

I am a huge fan of Peter Pan, to the point where I am buying any book that touches on the subject. So of course I grabbed the authorized sequel to the original. And wow was I bored and upset at the result. Maybe it is just me, but by the time I was halfway through the book I felt the need to put it down and come back weeks later to finish it. I was disappointed and I am not sure why or how to even explain it. Maybe because Peter Pan was about never growing old, exploring your dreams and hopes forever, and having adventure. This book is about growing up, nightmares, betray and death.Sorry, but that seems a tad off. And that's why it has so few stars. In the end I just did not enjoy it!

I own the paperback of this book, and am excited to finally own the hardcover of it. It's so well written, and the illustrations in the novel itself make everything even more vivid in the minds eye. I suggest this as a gift for those who love to live in a fantasy world full of adventure, action, and mystery!

Peter Pan in Scarlet is one of the greatest installments to the legend of Peter Pan! With other adaptions like "Peter and the Starcatchers series", "Hook", and the 2003-film "Peter Pan", we finally get a "true" installment that remains true to the original story and is even an authorized sequel that carries on the legacy of the greatest hero, who will never die and never grow old!Children and grown ups will be loving every page and chapter to this amazing novel!

I wasn't sure I would enjoy this children's book as Peter Pan was a favorite of mine, however I found this sequel to be delightful. What I enjoyed most about the book was that Geraldine McCaughrean's writing style was very similar to Barrie's. Therefore the characters of Peter Pan and Wendy stayed fairly true to the original. Even the grown-up boys, that become children again in this tale, are portrayed close to the characters of the original Peter Pan. This book would be a wonderful 'read aloud' bedtime story for school age children.

The first and only authorized sequel to Peter Pan. I enjoyed this book, though probably would have preferred to be reading it aloud to a 5-8 year old child. The writing is terrific, and the story moves right along. There are plenty of references that only adults will understand, and this makes the book more readable. Children should enjoy the story, whether or not they know the original (book, rather than film). I'd give it to a good reader aged between 8-11.

Very interested to read the official sequel to Peter Pan.

One of the best books I've read over the last few months (or even years), I can't sing its praises high enough. Brimming with imagination and invention, from the beginning it is not at all surprising when, after having dreamt of Neverland, things like cutlasses and a quiver of arrows are left behind in the bed next morning, or that fairies hatch out of a baby's first laugh. I loved the fact how Geraldine McCaughrean portrayed the now grown-up Darling children and their adopted brothers, once the Lost Boys, as slightly ridiculous, by writing their appointment to fly to Neverland into their diaries (on a Sunday, so that children would not need to be collected from school), by having them chase after flying insects in the park in their search for fairies or by having them squeeze into their own children's clothing in order to become children again themselves. Once there, the reader is immediately transported into this magical land together with the characters, where they turn the Wendy House into the Trans-Sigobian Express and drink Bovril from a samovar. But all is not well in Neverland, and there is a definite dark undercurrent running through the book, just enough to add mystery and excitement to the narration. Humour is provided in the shape of Firefly, a mischievous and very hungry fairy, and the respectable Judge Tootles, who, having only daughters, had to put on a smocked party dress and ballet shoes and turn into a girl. There are so many wonderful images in this book, written in beautiful, evocative prose, that I could go and on. The author has got so much to say about the nature of childhood and of growing up, of friendship and love, yet it is done so subtly and skilfully that the book's profundity never interferes with characterization or plot development but is always perceived as a natural extension of it. I read this book to my 7-year-old son, and I've never seen him so eager for me to read just one more page, one more chapter; he still calls this book one of his absolute favourites. Together with David Wyatt's illustrations, this book is a joy to read and I, for once, have to concur with the Mail on Sunday in calling it "a little masterpiece". This book will enrich your life and you will treasure it forever.

I thoroughly enjoyed this book!While it is definitely a different take on Peter Pan, it did not seem to deviate too badly from the spirit or character of the original novel. My favourite amongst non-canon Peter Pan sequels and spin-offs, as it both had the whimsical, childish quirks that makes it appeal to adults and children alike, but also a dramatic and serious flair that had me engaged from start to finish. I wish it had been longer, though that might have ruined the magic.The plot, while not entirely unpredictable, was satisfying and nicely paced. At the same time, I felt like most of the characters actually had a chance at showing themelves, at times even more than in Barrie's original. And of course, the author works very well with Peter's character himself, and how he deals with the events of the book.Can heartily recomment for a revisit to your childhood!

Fantastic book for the transition between the level of children's books and teens. Peter Pan is back in a story which will have you pulled in to find out more about the plot with some moments where you will cry about the transition from childhood to adulthood. Set in post world war 1 Britain; the story is thoughtfully set out about the change of times and how that affects certain aspects of the book.

Cleverly written in the same style but maybe I'm too old for Peter Pan now :-)

Brought for a friend as a birthday pressent as she is a collector of various Peter Pan stories. She absolutely loved it!I myself have also read it and it is a good read.Shipping was fast and it came in good condition.