Reviews for Everland
Publishers Weekly
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Zeppelins dot the sky and Marauders roam the bombed-out streets of Everland, formerly London, in this darkly imaginative take on Peter Pan. Fifteen-year-old Gwen Darling and her siblings Joanna and Mikey are struggling to survive since their parents failed to come home after the war started. A virus set free when Capt. Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer (aka Hook) conquered London has moved beyond its borders. Hook aims to find a cure using children who are immune, but Pete, his Lost Boys, and Lost Girl Bella have no plans to get themselves captured. When Joanna goes missing, Pete offers to help find her. What follows is a fast-paced adventure set in and under a ruined city where steam-powered weaponry collides with the ingenuity of the Lost Children. In an exemplary debut, Spinale uses Gwen and Hook's voices to offer glimpses into the psyche of a man desperate to please his cruel mother and a girl intent on saving the only family she has left. This is a magical, wondrous treat, with a conclusion that's nothing less than epic. Ages 12-up. Agent: Thao Le, Sandra Dijkstra Literary Agency (May) © Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Book list
From Booklist, Copyright © American Library Association. Used with permission.
A deadly virus has decimated England. Only children survive, though they, too, become ill as they grow older. Anyone not sick becomes a the target of the Marauders, a band of soldiers who stalk children in hopes that one of them will be The Immune, the one who might become the basis for a cure. Heading the Marauders is Hook, the son of the German queen seeking world domination. The Marauders are plagued by Pete, the leader of the Lost Children, the orphaned of England who scavenge for their lives among the ruins of a once-great city. Enter Gwen, a young woman who just might be The Immune that Hook seeks. Peter Pan goes steampunk in this debut, which twists the familiar tale into a survival story complete with well-drawn characters, a blistering plot, and plenty of adventure. Readers unfamiliar with the source material will still appreciate the constant threat of danger pursuing Peter and Gwen and their charges. Fans of Scott Westerfeld and A. G. Howard will be eager for more from this author.--Lesesne, Teri Copyright 2016 Booklist
