As someone who always thought Peter Pan was a bit scary, These Deathless Shores brings a light to the story which I love. It fully explores this idea of ‘never growing up’ with power in a way that I found super intriguing. Keep reading this book review of These Deathless Shores for my full thoughts.
Summary
Jordan has gotten good at pretending.
On an Island where boys fly and fight pirates, but girls can only be mothers, Jordan’s shaved head and false swagger are the only things keeping her adopted crew of Lost Boys from forcing her into a role she has never wanted. When she gets her first period, she’s exposed and thrown back Outside—into a world where grown-ups die slowly in offices, flight is a fantasy, and withdrawal from the Island’s magical Dust slowly strips its afflicted of their dignity.
To Jordan, it’s a fate worse than death.
Nine years later, when the drug she has been using to medicate her withdrawal begins to show its fatal final symptoms, Jordan persuades her best friend and fellow ex-Lost Boy to return with her to the Island. With the help of a temperamental pilot and her long-estranged sister, she sets in motion a plan to oust Peter from his throne and seize control of the Island’s Dust supply.
But Peter isn’t the only malevolent force moving against her. As Jordan confronts the nature of Dust, first love, and the violent legacy carved into the land itself, she realises the Island may have plans of its own…
Review
(Disclaimer: I received this book from the publisher. This has not impacted my review which is unbiased and honest.)
These Deathless Shores is a fantastic re-imagining of Peter Pan. Even if it took me way too long to figure out the character of Hook. However, These Deathless Shores has all the elements one might be looking for while always exploring the complexity. There’s the signature never growing up, but giving it a more violent spin here and expanding on what happens when we never change. When we accept a stagnant state as ‘freedom’. With the figure of Peter Pan, we can see the true complexity as someone who will do whatever he can to maintain his power, and his never growing up, and the power of being loved.
No one is let off the hook in These Deathless Shores. And while there are some decisions that I still find a bit puzzling, one of the themes in this story is mercy. It’s incredibly violent not only in the clashes between the Lost Boys and the Pirates, but also in each character. It strips everyone down to our base desperation and what we would do. All the things addiction, ambition, and love can make us do. While I had trouble figuring out the book at some parts – particularly the beginning – the ending really tied it together for me.
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These Deathless Shores examines when we wish we hadn’t fallen, had stayed oblivious, but we can’t ever go back. It’s the epitome of ‘all my enemies started out friends’. And while there’s certainly a heavy sense of action, I loved the character dynamics, specifically between our main characters and POVs. It is about if revenge, our quest for vengeance, turns us into the very person we despise. Find These Deathless Shores on Goodreads, Storygraph, Amazon, Bookshop.org, Blackwells, & Libro. fm.