Peter Pan in Scarlet by Geraldine McCaughrean

If you've read or even looked briefly at my book list, you know that Peter Pan is at the top. For a long while, it was my official favorite book, and my online moniker was "iluvpeterpan" for an even longer while. I was a member of an online fan club, a drawer of fan art, and a hater of all superficial fans (ie., people who "love" Peter Pan but haven't read the book).

A couple years ago, while I frequented an extensive fan website (peterpanfan.com), I read about a worldwide search being conducted by the Great Ormond Street Hospital for Children (which holds the rights to J.M. Barrie's play and his novel) for an author to pen the first authorized sequel to the novel Peter Pan. After I wrote three mediocre lines of a sample chapter, I put the idea out of my mind and proceeded to forget entirely about the imminent sequel.

Then, the night before it was released, while browsing Amazon.com, I was informed that I still had time to pre-order a copy of Peter Pan in Scarlet, and seeing as I have a passion for children's literature (especially classical), I did.

Now that I have read the book, I'm not sure what to say. I know a lot of Peter Pan fans are a bit wary of the book (I was) because (obviously) it isn't authored by the magnificent Sir James Matthew Barrie. In spite of my hesitation, which in many cases would have sealed the fate of a book before I ever opened it, I was delighted by this book. Geraldine McCaughrean pays great homage to Barrie throughout her novel, from the dedication to the afterword. The tone and diction are incredibly similar to that of the original. Elements are incredibly nonsensical in the most logical way. You say to yourself, “Well, of course that's how an adult would get to Neverland.”

The basic story is that Wendy, John, and the Lost Boys (who, in case you only know the Disney movie, are adopted by the Darlings) have grown up, but they begin to dream of Neverland and wake up to find Neverland “souvenirs” tucked away in their bedclothes or hidden under their pillows. At one point, the Twins awake to find themselves wearing warpaint. The Lost Boys (or the Old Boys as they are now called) are lost as to what this could mean, but Wendy, in the typical Wendy way, knows that something must be amiss in Neverland. Thus, they undertake to find a method by which to return to Neverland in order to offer help in righting whatever is wrong.

McCaughrean introduces hoards of new characters that seem to be knit into the Neverland lore as if they had always been a part of it, and she paints familiar characters in such a new light that you do not know them when they look you in the eye.

Much of the theme, as in the original, is that of growing up, and though some may argue the contrary, I think that much of Barrie's point in his novel (and play) is that growing up is essential and good. McCaughrean also shows us that point but in a more obvious way. However, the idea is that growing up is essential in time. Growing up too fast or before the appropriate time is a betrayal of goodness and beauty.

What really struck home to me is that much of the story focuses on those who have broken the Rule and have grown up. They think there is no going back. Neverland and Peter Pan are lost to them, but McCaughrean tells us that we can return. While Barrie ended his book with the declaration that Wendy cannot return because she has grown up and forgotten how to fly, McCaughrean sends the grown ups back to Neverland by having them simply stop being grown up. (Why didn't I think of that?)

In the end, I was very satisfied with this book. More than satisfied. I think that the first page of this book could be read immediately after reading the last page of Peter Pan without the change of authors being noticeable. All Peter Pan fans and fans of classical children's literature in general should pick up this book.

Check out PeterPanInScarlet.com for more information.