“To die will be an awfully big adventure.”
Book: Everland
Author: Wendy Spinale
Pages: 320 (Hardcover)
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Published: 10th May 2016
Read: 1st June – 4th June 2016
Synopsis:
London has been distroyed by bombs and disease. The only Survivors are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings Joanna and Mikey. Meanwhile, Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer, the ruthless leader of the Marauders, is searching for a cure against the disease. It is believed to be in one of the survivors. When one day, Joanna is captured by the Marauders, Gwen is willing to do anything to get her sister back. She meets Pete, the sharpshooter Bella and their gang of Lost Boys, who agree to help her. But what will it cost Gwen? And are they smart enough to save Joanna and defeat Captain Hook?
Review:
To be honest, I didn’t know about this book until it came to me within a subscription box. But I was immediately intrigued. I fell in love with the cover the moment I set my eyes on it. It’s so beautiful and shows the steampunk-ish character of the book. The story sounded great, too, steampunk based Peter Pan in a dystopian London? Yes, please!
I loved the concept of the story. I really like Peter Pan, and I also adore steampunk, so this book was pretty much made for me. And the dystopian setting made for the right, quite dark atmosphere. Through the quite simple, but fast-paced and detailed writing style it was very easy to imagine the world and to feel with the characters. Sometimes I would have wished for some more details, other times I would have liked fewer. What I thought to be unnecessary was that the story was told from two point of views. In my opinion, one would have been enough. At some points it confused me, especially while the characters were at the same place. Another thing I didn’t like was the choice of villains. I mean, even though it seems kind of set on World War II, it is not explicitely said. And of course, the Germans are evil and traitorous. That’s probably what annoyed me the most. The characters were on point though. I think J.M. Barrie would have been proud. I also liked that romance wasn’t a big part of the story.
All in all I think it was okay, a good, quick read.
Rating:
★★★/5
