Book review for The Child Thief

'Peter glanced up at the stars and a wicked smile lit his face. "Time to play," he whispered to the stars and winked. And the stars winked back, for Peter's smile is a most contagious thing.'

This phrase sums up a lot about Peter. Charismatic, not even meaning for people to follow him, but knowing exactly what he is doing. Wanting to play, but not many people survive playing with him. In Brom's The Child Thief, the classic story of Peter Pan and Neverland is turned on its head and given a dark makeover. This book retains several elements of the original story of Peter Pan, but I can almost guarantee that you will never look at it the same way again.

One part of the book that really captivated me was the setting. Peter's Neverland is replaced in the book with Avallach, a land of magic, populated by elves, trolls, and all manner of fairy tale creatures. The only difference between the two lands is the fact that Avallach is slowly dying and the magic is fading away. The author paints a disturbing picture of how the land is slowly losing its magic, and his descriptions are vivid and realistic. From the barren forests to the stormy coast and back, a mental picture is painted to show the land of Avallach.

The story was what really pushed me over the top on my opinion of this book. The author took the story of Peter Pan and changed it enough to put his own spin on it, but still have readers recognize the story. The story starts out by introducing two characters who will be important later on in the story, Nick and Cricket, before switching to Peter's point of view. Peter helps both of them to escape from their abusive situations and takes them to Avallach to join his small band of soldiers, the Devils. In Avallach, Peter and his group of fighters join forces with a group of renegade elves to combat the Flesh-eaters, led by the evil Captain. If you are not able to get that reference, then you probably need to leave the blog now and go watch Peter Pan. The story takes surprising twists and turns that startle the reader and add to the mystery of the story. The story of how Peter became the leader of the Devils and how he ended up in Avallach is also explained and creates a new mystique for Peter as a person.

All in all, I would recommend The Child Thief to anyone who enjoys the story of Peter Pan or a good book. Just be warned that you probably will never be able to watch the Disney movie again without thinking about this book. So, if that doesn't bother you, I say go for it.

476 pages