Dewitched: The Untold Story of the Evil Queen by E. L. Sarnoff

Here's a fun mashup of fairy tales: E. L. Sarnoff's Dewitched.  The premise of this one is a lot of fun -- after the evil queen's plans to kill Snow White are thwarted, she's entered into a rehab program, by none other than the Huntsman she had trusted to help her with her wicked plan.  With a steady barrage of familiar fairy tale characters, and lively writing, this one is a page turner.

The only real problem I had with this was the constant use of sexuality and ugliness equating to wickedness among the female characters.  This was all from the viewpoint of the rehabilitated queen, whose thoughts and attitudes don't change so much as she learns to progress from her initial impulses of anger and jealousy.  So I suppose it's a matter of the character, but I felt uncomfortable with the constant uses of the words "skank" and "whore" as derogatory terms.  There is also a whole can of worms about body image here and I didn't feel like the writing handled that in a fully responsible way -- in spite of the premise that the queen must overcome her inability to see inner beauty, there is a consistent use through the book of ugliness or ugly terminology to depict evilness.  So if that is a hot button for you, I would avoid this one.

However, it is a fun romp with a lot of clever writing in terms of the use of fairy tales and sly puns about them.  Some of the throw-away mentions of other tales startled laughter out of me and there are good chuckles throughout the book, both in the fairy tale references and the characters themselves.

It's a light and funny read, with a cute premise and a lot of great cameos.  The book didn't go quite where I was hoping it would, but with some surprising twists near the end it was enough to keep me guessing.  It's only available as an ebook now, and for the low price it's a fun afternoon read.

Peter and the Sword of Mercy by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

The latest addition to the Peter and the Starcatches trilogy, making it officially more than a trilogy, is Peter and the Sword of Mercy.

This continuation of the adventures of Peter Pan is the first in the series that actively contradicts J.M. Barrie's story, while still sticking close enough to give it the sense that, "Oh, Mr. Barrie overheard part of THIS story, and that's where he got the idea for HIS story."

Which can be very effective, and I think my recommendation runs this way:

If you like anything at all to do with Peter Pan, and you love all the variations, then I definitely recommend this whole set. If you like additional material as long as it doesn't contradict the original story, then I'd suggest reading the original trilogy here, and skipping the latest one. If you're deeply devoted to Barrie's rendition of Peter, then I would probably not recommend this series.

In tone, it's a lot lighter than Peter Pan. While there is a strange sense of menace in Peter's forgetfulness and unpredictability, Barry and Pearson have made Peter into a more... human character, I think is how I want to put it. Barrie's Peter is always playing, even when it puts others in danger. Barry and Pearson's Peter has a stronger sense of responsibility and devotion to his friends. So if those aspects of the original story bothered you, this is definitely an interesting adaptation that you would probably enjoy.

My problem with this latest book was that there were too many characters. I think if I had read the other three more recently, that wouldn't have been a problem, but the authors leaned on their previous characterizations to make them familiar to me. The last fifth of the book, or so, is divided into at least six viewpoints of the action, and that's about when I started to struggle to get through it, although it wraps up nicely at the end. So, ehh, I hesitate to call that a bad thing, because if you've recently read the first three books, I don't think this would be such a problem.

Overall, I would say that if you liked the first three in this series, give this one a shot, too.

Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean

So, I'm sure that most of the people here are aware of the "authorized sequel" to Peter Pan. It all began when the Great Ormond Street Hospital in London called for, basically, a contest, and found Geraldine McCaughrean to write Peter Pan in Scarlet.

I admit that I ordered it and began to read it with great trepedition. I didn't see how it could possibly live up to J.M. Barrie's work. However, I was pleased to find it to be quite a lot of fun, in a very close approximation to Barrie's style.

It's a good story, but I'm not sure I care one way or the other about it being an "authorized sequel," as all the hype would have us believe is so important. I don't think that it's necessarily better than some of the other adaptations, prequels, and sequels that are out there by now.

Still, I think it's worth a read, if you like the Peter Pan mythology at all.

Capt. Hook: Adventures of a Notorious Youth by J.V. Hart

I just finished reading Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth, by J.V. Hart, which I recommend for Peter Pan fans.

I thought Hart did well mimicking the voice/tone of JM Barrie... the language was similar and evocative of Peter Pan. He pulled in a lot of familiar phrases: "an awfully big adventure," "good form," phrases that I associate with Peter Pan, as well as references to a second star to the right (of a particular constellation), and a vivid image of an island that appeared before the eyelids as they were closing.

Even more impressive was Hart's ability to make Hook, or James/Jas., sympathetic without taking away his essential villainous nature. He's a bit of an underdog at the beginning of the story, but cunning and ambitious and absolutely willing to do whatever it takes to win. And although he isn't the totally evil Hook we've come to love to hate, the devilish beginnings of his career path are there.

I found about 3/4 of the way through the book things got a little tedious, but I felt obliged at that point to pick it up again, and then things turned around and picked up again, themselves. Also there were a few loose ends left open, and I didn't know if the author intends to write a sequel but he sure left himself space for one. I would probably check it out but maybe not at the top of my list of things to read.

In any case, I do recommend it for those of you who need more from JM Barrie's world. After all, what would the world be like without Captain Hook...?

Neverland Tales

This isn't exactly new news, but if you're looking for something more to round out your Peter Pan collection, these Neverland Fairy stories from Gail Carson Levine (of Ella Enchanted fame) are cute, sweet, and with enough depth to be interesting to any age.

While not featuring Peter Pan (although he gets a mention), Tinkerbell is a character in this story. Mostly I'm impressed, though, with Levine's ability to fill in the fairy setting of Neverland without ever contradicting the original story. The fairies are as impetuous as you could imagine from a reading of Peter Pan, but somehow Levine also makes them quite likable in a way that they aren't (or maybe aren't for me) in Barrie's original.

The first one is Fairy Dust and the Quest for the Egg, and while it's a story by itself, it does open the way for Fairy Haven and the Quest for the Wand (while not, thank you very much, leaving us on a cliffhanger).

If you already know and like Levine's other stories, I wouldn't hesitate to recommend this. And I think Peter Pan purists (those of us who don't like a fluffy Peter Pan story; those of us who appreciate the melancholy of the original tale) won't be disappointed by an overabundance of happy skipping fairies. While not mean, these fairies aren't gushingly sweet, either. (Maybe just one of them!)

Has anyone else read them? What do you think? Too watered down (not counting the plot point in the second book!)?