Review: "Another Pan"

Currently no Official book cover. Normally I'd wait before posting a review, but since I read this book on an ARC tour, I have a deadline for my review :) I'll be sure to make an update when the book cover is officially released!

 Another Pan

by Daniel Nayeri, Dina Nayeri

October 28th 2010

400 pages

From Amazon: Sixteen-year-old Wendy Darling and her insecure freshman brother, John, are hitting the books at the Marlowe School. But one tome consumes their attention: THE BOOK OF GATES, a coveted Egyptian artifact that their professor father believes has magical powers. Soon Wendy and John discover that the legend is real—when they recite from its pages and descend into a snaking realm beneath the Manhattan school. As the hallways darken, and dead moths cake the floor, a charismatic new R.A. named Peter reveals that their actions have unleashed a terrible consequence: the underworld and all its evil is now seeping into Marlowe. Daniel Nayeri and Dina Nayeri return to reimagine Peter Pan as a twisty, atmospheric, and fast-paced fantasy about the perils of immortality.

My Thoughts: I wasn't really sure I was going to like "Another Pan" considering that I wasn't really a huge fan of "Another Faust", and because the story of Peter Pan is so dear to my heart and unfortunately has been redone completely wrong so many times before.

But "Another Pan" is a completely different story. The story continues to take place in the Marlowe School, and the evil governess Vileroy returns to the school. A few unimportant characters from the first novel also reappear in this second novel. Connor Wirth is dating protagonist Wendy Darling, and there was a small mention of Mrs. Spencer at a charity event, but really, the book is a completely different story, and you don't even need to read the first book in order to enjoy "Another Pan". (Although, I would recommend reading the first book at some point! I know it was a really popular read with some of my fellow bloggers)

I LOVED the book. It's definitely in my top 5 favorite books that I have read so far this year. I've been completely obsessed with the story of Peter Pan for as long as I can remember. As a child it was my first ever favorite book and the story has stuck with me my entire life. As I said before, I find that most people get the story wrong and I can go on an endless rant about that. But I feel that Daniel and Dina really understand the original story well.

Of course this isn't your typical Peter Pan type of story... but instead the book just holds a strong likeness to the original story with a huge Egyptian mythical influence. Peter is obsessed with staying young, and is forever chasing Egyptian legends in order to obtain eternal youth. Just like the Peter in the original stories, he is childish, self centered and simply doesn't care about anything but the adventures ahead of him. He has a huge following of misfit boys across the world called LB's (Short for Lost Boys) who do his bidding without questioning him. Just like the Peter in the original tale, he can't be bothered to remember their names, so he gives them nicknames, or refers to them as a number. Whenever Peter would get upset, the LB's would gather their happy thoughts, and text them to Peter and it would have a calming effect of him, which I loved!

I loved the chemistry between Peter and Wendy. It was dead on. Daniel and Dina hit the nail on the head! Peter was playful and sometimes even charming while around Wendy, and of course she falls for him instantly. Maybe because he's good looking, or because she can't resist his charm, or perhaps it's the adventure. Either way, Wendy fell for him, and I think that it's possible that she may be Peter's ultimate happy thought. Oh and I can't forget about John! His street slang had me laughing out loud!

Overall, the story is full of adventure! I loved the 5 Egyptian legends that led the characters on their dangerous missions in the underworld at the Marlowe School. The most important thing about this book that made me love it was the familiarities of my favorite childhood story! It was kind of like hearing the story all over again for the first time!