Peter Pan

I've seen the Disney movie, I've seen two different productions of the musical, I've watched Peter PanGoes Wrong, and I've watched/read other movies and books that retold the story, yet until now, I'd never actually read the source material. I have to admit, I've liked many of the other versions/adaptions better. 

I feel as though a book like this needs no recap, so I'll go right into it.
 
I never expected the pacing to be so fast even though it's a children's book. Maybe being familiar with the plot is part of the reason, but I felt like whenever I blinked I was on a new scene. A lot of the material hasn't aged well, either, which being a classic comes to little surprise yet never fails to catch me off guard. Still, I adore the premise and always have, so I'm glad to have finally read the original novel. 

"You see, Wendy, when the first baby laughed for the first time, its laugh broke into a thousand pieces, and they all went skipping about, and that was the beginning of fairies."

Peter Pan is so much more than it seems. It touches on themes of childhood vs. adulthood, the fear of growing up, motherhood, abandonment, memory, fairness, and acceptance.

A lot of the characters are metaphors (Peter is childhood, Hook is adulthood, the ticking crocodile is time). I think this book may be aimed more at adults than at children, as longing return to a carefree childhood is a feeling adults can relate to (whereas children are still living it). The omniscient narrator even explains that “we too have been [to Neverland]; we can still hear the sound of the surf, though we shall land no more,” now that we are adults and can no longer access the land of children's imagination.

I think this story is beautiful, but it's also a product of its time. There are some passages that I wish weren't included in the novel (most notably the Native American stereotypes), but overall this was a magical read that hit me with a wave of childhood nostalgia.