Martha Pennydrop and her younger brother, Scruff, have just moved into the top floor apartment at number 14 Darlington Road, Bloomsbury. It's just them and their father after their mother left when they were very young. As Mr Pennydrop is consumed by his job, Martha feels responsible for Scruff, especially after the Terrible Day. And now, as she is ten, she feels she needs to grow up and stop having adventures. However, the room she shares with Scruff seems to have different ideas: the window simply refuses to close, there are unusual leaves on the floor every morning when the children wake and there is some very mysterious dust in one of the drawers. And then, one night, a visitor arrives at the window: Peter Pan has returned (for this house was once owned by the Darlings) and is desperate for Martha and Scruff's help to save Neverland from a curse that is threatening to completely destroy the island. But can they succeed where Peter Pan has failed, will Martha cope when Scruff is kidnapped and will she be able to rediscover her imagination to save the day?
I have always loved the story of Peter Pan and used to dream of being able to fly round my bedroom with my teddy! I'm also a big fan of Abi Elphinstone's writing so when Saving Neverland arrived, there was great excitement (there may have been squealing and book hugging!). It jumped straight to the top of my reading pile and made the perfect companion whilst I recovered from being unwell.
At ten, Martha has reached an age where she feels that she should no longer be involved in anything considered childish; she sees her other friends growing up and feels that she has to do the same. She also feels responsible for her younger brother and is clearly taking on the role of the parent (she even has a list of jobs that need to be completed every day). It is this that means that she no longer wants to bounce on the bed or play their invented game of Raiders, and even Armageddon, her beanbag shaped like a woolly mammoth, has been consigned to the attic - life has become very serious for Martha. Scruff, by contrast, is a bundle of adventure and he seems to enjoy nothing more than jumping on the bed and regaling his sister with unusual animal facts. He seems unfazed by his asthma and leaves his sister to worry about that for him. When Peter turns up, it's no surprise that Martha wants nothing to do with him and it's only Scruff's excitement at the thought of a real adventure and Muddle finding the dust and swirling it around that results in the start of the adventure. I think Scruff is my favourite character but I adored Martha's fierce independence and absolute drive to save her brother at all costs - she rocked!
The world building within Saving Neverland is simply wonderful. Whilst staying true to the original Neverland, Abi has managed to update things to reflect the world in which we live today: the Lost Boys are now Lost Kids and there is a more culturally appropriate feel to the island whilst loosing none of the magic - I love that the Lost Kids are all named after vegetables and they live in the Burrow. Some of the original features of Neverland remain such as Mermaid Lagoon, but the map reveals new areas of the island that are begging to be explored as the team head out on their adventure. Hook's curse means that the island has become a land of snow and ice and frostbears and snowtigers roam the land. This is an island that you will adore exploring.
Beautifully written, Saving Neverland has a real feel of a classic to it whilst feeling modern at the same time. The phrasing and writing style is a joy to read and wraps you in a hug whilst the adventure is thrilling and perilous in all the right places, which means you won't be able to put the book down (at first because you are enchanted by the magic and then because you simply have to know whether everything is going to work out in the end). I marked so many pages with phrases I loved that my book is now littered with tiny pink post-its and I know I'll go back to them again and again (I also love the idea of always having a fork in your pyjama pocket so you're ready for invites to midnight feasts!).
In short, Saving Neverland is a simply gorgeous and wonderfully readable book perfect for children and adults who want to read it alone, or for parents to read aloud to their children (I'm already planning to read this aloud to my class). In a world where so many things appear to be wigglysplat (yes, that is a word from Rumblestar that I use regularly in my life!), this is a book that reminds us all, no matter our age, that it's important to grow down and sideways as well as up; we must remember that we are never too old to have adventures and we should always keep the window open ... just in case.
Due for release on the 5th January, Saving Neverland is guaranteed to chase away the January blues and leave you with a warm glow in your heart... Now, how do I go about curing the massive book hangover I have?!
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