Title: Straight On Till Morning
Author: Liz Braswell
Published by Disney Hyperion
Year: 2020
Series: A Twisted Tale Series
Format Read: Kindle
Pages: 349
Language: English
ASIN: B07VW38815
Dates Read: August 11 to 20 2022
I found this book series while scrolling through an overwhelming amount of fairy tale retellings on Amazon. A Twisted Tale series retells Disney movies; the plots seem to offer very intriguing alternative/what-if scenarios. For my first book to read in the series, I decided to randomly go with Straight On Till Morning. Peter Pan (1953) was an enjoyable movie, and I was so captivated by the scenario of this book- Wendy going to Neverland with Captain Hook.
I thought the story would follow the events of the movie more closely than it did. This retelling was almost completely unrecognizable to the movie; there were several differences. There are a lot of details and narration about Wendy, her life, her family, and acquaintances. It’s almost 100 pages before Wendy even leaves London. She is already 16, moved out of the nursery, and she does not go to Neverland with her brothers. Throughout the novel, there are some variations on characters that are in the movie, new characters, and characters absent from the movie. The narrator’s voice is somewhat wry.
On the Amazon page, the recommended age minimum is 12. Honestly, I thought this was probably because of the reading level; however, this story is actually darker and more serious than the movie. This would definitely be a hard PG. There are some suggestive references, a few minor coarse words, more violence, alcoholic references, and more peril. Also, the author does use a lot of interesting dated British words or rare words; I had to constantly look up words while reading the novel.
This story is very much about Wendy coming of age. The adventure she takes helps her decide what she should do with her life. Also, there seems to be a deeper characterization of her character. Her relationship with Tinker Bell and the jealousy the fairy has when it comes to Peter Pan are explored in depth throughout the plot. The story is a wild ride; by the end, Wendy is tan and in rags. Additionally, to me, in this retelling, it seems that Captain Hook is portrayed as an extremely more pitiful villain than in the movie.
Overall, the novel is alright. It was fun to read and then muse about for a few days. Honestly, it was more like a well-crafted fanfiction for older intellectual teens and young adults than an alternative version to the famous animated film. I may try out some other books in this series.
A Love So Wordy 