What if Peter Pan grew up? And what if, on a visit to London, his own children disappeared from their nursery and a mysterious note was left behind which led Peter back to the notorious Captain Hook?
That is precisely what happens in this magical fantasy adventure of innocence imperiled and innocence regained, of Lost Boys who refused to grow up and Pirates who show no mercy, of a wondrous place populated by Mermaids and Faeries and of a quest for missing children – and the quest to find the child in all of us.
(Image via Goodreads]
So to start off with, I love movie novelization. If you asked my thirteen-year-old self what my favorite book was, outside of Harry Potter, I would’ve told you the novelization of Spider-Man 2. I also loved the movie Hook as a kid, in part because it is a well-made and entertaining film but probably in large part because of Rufio.
(via Giphy)
For those of you who are unaware, Hook tells the story of Peter Pan/Banning, who chose to grow up and eventually married and had children with Wendy’s granddaughter. He has also become a workaholic lawyer – a “pirate” as Wendy tells him when the Banning family makes a visit to her.
(via Imgur)
When his two children, Jack and Maggie, are spirited away from the nursery and a note is left signed by Capt. J. Hook, Peter must return to Neverland and remember who he truly is in order to save them.
(Via Buzzfeed)
Terry Brooks does an excellent job adapting the film’s story into a novel. The writing is beautifully descriptive, keeping true to the spirit of the movie while adding just the right amount of embellishment and expansion. It’s clear that Brooks has appreciation for the original book by J.M. Barrie. At points, his writing style seems to mimic the way Barrie wrote Peter Pan, addressing the reader directly at times. The characters, particularly the Lost Boys and particularly Pockets, are endearing and memorable, and it’s nice to get more insight into what’s going through the characters’ minds.
Part of the fun of film novelizations is finding where the book and the film differ, with deleted scenes sometimes being slipped in. There isn’t too much of that in the book as far as I can tell, though it’s been a while since I sat down and watched the film. There a few scenes where Maggie takes on a motherly role to a group of imprisoned lost boys while being held captive by Hook which I don’t remember. It’s very sweet and gives her an extra little connection to her great-grandmother. Rufio seems to be portrayed as vaguely Jamaican, at least as far as a I can tell from the way his dialogue is written, rather than American as in the film. Perhaps that was the original plan before Dante Basco was cast?
The novel is out-of-print, not that that’s odd for a novelization of a film released twenty-seven years ago. If you happen to come across it (as I did at a library sale) it’s certainly worth the read.
This book was read as part of my Beat the Backlist 2018 challenge!
Books Read: 1
Books Remaining: 14
Let's Consume Media! 