Jolene

2 stars for the last 1/3 of the book, no stars for the first 2/3.I think I would have liked this book more if I had skipped the introduction. I may have ended up seeing things that weren't really there. After reading the intro, I saw this book as nothing more then Barrie writing this story to get over mommy issues.I honestly found nothing likeable about Peter. He was a sadistic bully who found joy in murdering anyone he felt like. We're told while Peter is away, Neverland is a happy place. Everyone keeps to their selves and there is no fighting.In his absrnce things are usually quiet on the island. The fairies take an hour longer in the morning, the beast attend their young, the redskins feed heavily for six days and nights, and when the pirates and lost boys meet they merely bite their thumbs at each other As soon as he gets close to Neverland, all hell breaks lose. But with the coming of Peter, who hates lethargy, they are all underway againI just don't understand why all the inhabitants worship him. Wendy was too perfect to be believable. If she had had even one or two small flaws, I think I would have liked her more. The Darling boys didn't really add anything to the story or make much of an impression. They only thing that stands out was a scene with Michael towards the end. "Let me see father." Michael begged eagerly, and he took a good look. "He is not so big as the pirate I killed" he said with such frank disappointment that I am glad Mr. Darling was asleepThis really took me by surprise. I know they did crazy things in Neverland, but assumed it was something in the water that made everyone believe these horrible acts were ok. But for this kind of thinking to be in the real world shocked me.I hated the narrator. I believe a narrator should pop in here and there as needed. They should play the role of a minor character at best. I'm pretty sure this narrator probably had more page time then Peter. I found him over opinionated and condescending.Surprisingly, Hook was the only character I really liked. He was the only one who was flawed enough to come off as somewhat believable. He was the only one in all of Neverland that actually had something to be upset about.I have loved every movie and stage show version I've ever seen of Peter Pan. I was expecting the fun little care free boy I see in those. I'm hoping this book hasn't ruined future movie versions for me