This children's book was written by Ridley Pearson (whom I've never heard of) and Dave Barry (a humor columnist for the Miami Herald). Thus I had no idea what to expect. Would it be simplistic? Poorly written? Hilarious and yet disjointed? I've never seen it in paperback which was a deterrent [1], but then I found a copy on sale at one of the BYU Book Store's outdoor progressive inventory sales.[2] Even though it was quadruple what I would pay for a paperback at a thrift store, I decided to buy it.
My verdict: None of my suspicious about the book proved to be true (e.g. Dave Barry didn't inject any of his zany humor). The book was fast-paced and the plot was surprisingly complex. The prose was appropriate for children but not insultingly so. The story deviates from J. M. Barrie's backstory for Peter in several regards [3] but I think that these alterations actually solidify the story. If that bothers you, you'll just have to pretend you're reading a completely different story. I, for one, really liked this book.
Notes:
[1] I don't have anything against hardback books. I just can't usually afford them on a student budget. Even when I go to thrift stores I buy the paperbacks because they're $1–$2 instead of $4–$5.
[2] The progressive sale works this way: on Monday things are 10% off, on Tuesday they're 30% off, on Wednesday they're 50% off, on Thursday they're 70% off, and on Friday they're 90% off. By Friday things are pretty well picked over, so it's best to get there earlier in the week.
[3] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter and the Starcatchers#Differences from the works of Barrie.
My verdict: None of my suspicious about the book proved to be true (e.g. Dave Barry didn't inject any of his zany humor). The book was fast-paced and the plot was surprisingly complex. The prose was appropriate for children but not insultingly so. The story deviates from J. M. Barrie's backstory for Peter in several regards [3] but I think that these alterations actually solidify the story. If that bothers you, you'll just have to pretend you're reading a completely different story. I, for one, really liked this book.
Notes:
[1] I don't have anything against hardback books. I just can't usually afford them on a student budget. Even when I go to thrift stores I buy the paperbacks because they're $1–$2 instead of $4–$5.
[2] The progressive sale works this way: on Monday things are 10% off, on Tuesday they're 30% off, on Wednesday they're 50% off, on Thursday they're 70% off, and on Friday they're 90% off. By Friday things are pretty well picked over, so it's best to get there earlier in the week.
[3] See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Peter and the Starcatchers#Differences from the works of Barrie.
Will you be reading the rest of the series?
ReplyDeleteYes. As soon as I can afford them.
ReplyDelete