Peter Pan

 

Peter Pan is an old classic.

The Darlings' children get visited by the boy who never grows up and teaches them to fly. Off to Neverland they go which is the place of their fantasies, pirates, mermaids, Indians, and adventures galore. 

It is a fine book. One that can touch the lives of many people who are wanting to escape the bounds of growing up and knowing that we all need a mother--biological or "make-believe." This one will probably be one I'll read to my son because it's a fun, simple adventure. 

Reading it myself, though, wasn't as fun as I remember. The narrator in it was funny, in an odd way. Like an adult trying to be childlike, as opposed a child like say Wendy telling the story. It could be the fact that the audiobook was narrated by an older man, but it shouldn't make that much of a difference. The tone and fake childishness of the story put me off enough that I couldn't give it four stars. 

I've seen the play. I've seen the movies. The story is a good one. I like the emphasis and explanation we get for Mr. and Mrs. Darling. It makes them far more alive than even some of the movies give us. I also really like the implication that maybe, just maybe, when Mrs. Darling was younger, she too spent time with Peter. Maybe not off to Neverland with him, but stories and potential glances of him out her own window as a girl. 

I'd read it again for someone else, but for me I think I'll stick to the movies if I need a Peter Pan fix. 

The Sea of Monsters

 The Sea of Monsters is book two in Rick Riordan's Percy Jackson series. 

Percy was waiting for something to go wrong. He had been able to spend the whole school year without getting in trouble, so it was about time he did. He just wasn't anticipating Cannibal Cyclopes coming to his school as being what got him expelled. Then when he's finally able to get back to camp, Thalia's Tree the protects the camp has been poisoned and more monsters are able to get into the camp and has harmed many a camper. His friend Tyson is also somehow related to him which is like a punch in the gut. Charon is fired and the new camp counselor does not like Percy at all. Grover is also sending dream messages of help because a cyclopes has him captured in a wedding dress. The quest to save Grover and get the Golden Fleece has arrive, only it's not Percy's quest. How is he going to save his friend and the camp and watch out for Luke and the big sarcophagus that he's floating around with?  

It's a pretty good book. More monster mayhem erupts that Percy and Annabeth have to fight off. It's fairly similar to the first book in that it isn't until 'almost too late' that they remember who the bad guys are in this Sea of Monsters before they save themselves and there are constant monster fights. Differently though is that Percy grows with pretty much each encounter. He internalizes them and recalls them and the feelings he had through those experiences. He feels the lose of losing a friend, though I think it probably could have been a tad more heavy or emotional because lose of family members are real. Percy was sad, but he didn't grieve, which I think is important especially for young audiences--a grieving process would have been beneficial here, whereas Annabeth (I think) didn't even mention it as a condolence later.

I enjoyed Percy's character development. I do wish there was more development and character arcs for more than just him, though. Everyone else is kind of stagnant and stays as "the smart one," "the bully," "the kid," and so on. Luke, I guess gets some, but minimal. I want more from the other characters. 

My son enjoyed it, as I was reading it aloud to him, and actually cried a few time because he like the characters so much. 

We're reading onward!