by Audrey Greathouse
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Fairytale Retelling
Release Date: May 9th 2016
Clean Teen Publishing
Summary from Goodreads:
Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That's what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.
However, Gwen doesn't know this. She's just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn't know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she'll discover she's in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.
She'll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won't be the only one. Peter Pan's constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she's going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she's going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.
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They
landed and moved slowly through the jungle for the last few hundred feet, giving
Peter time to explain to Gwen as she walked at his side.
“If you’ve never met a mermaid
before, there are a few things you should know about them.”
“Like what?”
“Like they are the most cunning
and conniving creatures you will ever cross paths with.”
“Really?” Gwen asked,
astounded. “I would have thought mermaids would be… I don’t know, beautiful and
sweet.”
“Sirens, all of them. They’ll
do anything to get what they want. Mermaids have no qualms about the means to
the end, so long as it’s their end they get to.”
“Well, what do they want?”
“It’s always some kind of
trouble… not that they’ll ever tell you
what they want.”
Peter
barreled through a clump of vines, hanging low in his way. Gwen followed after
him, her curiosity compounding with every moment. “Are they dangerous then?”
“Terribly,” Peter responded.
“So there are three rules for whenever you confront mermaids. First, don’t get
too near to them; second, don’t get too close to them; and third, don’t ever get in the water with them.”
“Alright. Easy enough,” Gwen
said, wondering if there was a working difference between the first and second
rule.
“The best thing to remember,”
Peter continued, “is that mermaids will never tell you what they’re after, and
it’s best to assume it’s something dastardly. Whatever they want from you,
whatever they want you to do, just don’t.”
“Well, if they’re so terrible,
why are we going to meet with them?” Gwen asked, not seeing what good could
come of the encounter.
“Because mermaids know things,
and they can learn things you and I couldn’t ever possibly learn, even if
someone spent a hundred years trying to teach us… and they have information right now that I need.”
Peter
caught sight of a papaya
tree and reached up to pick its fruit. It seemed impossible for Peter to pass up ripe fruit, so he
beckoned to Gwen and filled her satchel with a few. He found a mango tree, and
tossed Gwen a few of those fruits as well.
“Will the mermaids tell you?” Gwen asked. “If you’re so bent on
thwarting them, what’s to stop them from giving you misinformation to spite
you?”
“They’re very easy to coerce,”
Peter said, his mouth full of mango, “and the one good thing about mermaids is
they can’t lie.”
“They can’t?”
“Nope. Not even a tiny white
lie. Mermaids don’t go against their word, and they stick to the bargains they
strike. But that makes them even more dangerous, obviously.”
Gwen
didn’t see how that was obvious at all. If anything, it seemed like that would
make them less of a threat, but there wasn’t time to press the conversation further. They broke the tree line and found themselves on
the edge of a small cliff. Crude steps carved into the cliff's face led down to a rocky lagoon. Below, the beautiful bay of
blue-green water was so clear and still that it was easy to make out the
silhouettes of the slender, aquatic nymphs swimming beneath the surface.
A to Z
of Peter Pan
A is
for ALWAYS a child and on adventures.
B is
for BEDTIME stories from Wendy at night.
C is
for CANNIBAL'S Cove and it's buried treasures.
D is
for DODGING the dastardly pirates we fight.
E is
for ETERNALLY young and forever free.
F is
for FAIRIES that twinkle and sparkle in flight.
G is
for GAMES and all their ensuing gaiety.
H is
for HOOK himself, horrible pirate captain,
(I
shake in my boots just to think of him!)
J is
for the JOLLY RODGER, when he sails again.
K is
for KIDS who run amok and fight on a whim.
L is
for LAGOON depths that house the most beautiful
M is
for MERMAIDS and their miracles in the mire.
N is
for the NEVERBIRD nesting, happy and droll.
O is
for OLD TALES told once more around the camp fire.
P is
for PETER PAN, of course, friend to the pixies—
Q is
for QUITE a bit of nonsense surrounding him.
R is
for REDSKINS, a brave tribe living among trees.
S is
for SWORDFIGHTING and stabbing old peg-leg Jim.
T is
for TINKERBELL and Tiger Lily's sly tricks.
U is
for UNDERGROUND home, always safe and sound.
V is
for VICIOUS enemies getting their licks!
W is
for a WOUNDED Wendy-bird falling to the ground.
X marks
the spot for the greatest treasures.
Why is
for questions that need no answers;
Zzzzzz's come after a long day's adventures.
Advance Praise:
"Gwen's description of growing up and high school life is one of the most accurate that I've ever read." (Across the Bookiverse)
"The author creates such a peaceful and serene place that it felt likeescape just reading about it...Through this world, the author explores the themes of what it means to grow up." (K.E. Carson, The Underground)
"The author creates such a peaceful and serene place that it felt likeescape just reading about it...Through this world, the author explores the themes of what it means to grow up." (K.E. Carson, The Underground)
About the Author
Audrey Greathouse is a Seattle-based author of science-fiction and fantasy. Raised in the suburbs, she became a writer after being introduced to NaNoWriMo during her sophmore year of high school. Since then, she has drafted more than a dozen books, 100 sonnets, and 800 other poems, and a handful of short stories and one-act plays.
After dropping out of her university and beginning training as a circus performer on the aerial silks, she returned to school to study at Southern New Hampshire University College of Online and Continuing Education to earn her B.A. in English Language and Literature, with a minor in Computer Information Technologies.
Audrey Greathouse is a die-hard punk cabaret fan, and pianist of fourteen years. She's usually somewhere along the west coast, and she is always writing.
After dropping out of her university and beginning training as a circus performer on the aerial silks, she returned to school to study at Southern New Hampshire University College of Online and Continuing Education to earn her B.A. in English Language and Literature, with a minor in Computer Information Technologies.
Audrey Greathouse is a die-hard punk cabaret fan, and pianist of fourteen years. She's usually somewhere along the west coast, and she is always writing.
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