BOOK REVIEW
by Papa

Title: Peter and the Shadow Thieves

Authors: Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson

Recommended Age: 8+

Pages: 556

Read-Aloud Time: 6 weeks

Rating: 8/10

Peter and the Shadow Thieves is the sequel to Peter and the Starcatchers. It picks up less than a year after the first book with Peter and the Lost Boys on Mollusk Island. Peter must leave the island to help his number one girl, Molly Aster, who lives in London. Molly and her family are in danger because a mysterious villain called Lord Ombra is after them. Peter, along with Tinkerbell, encounter several adventures just to find Molly and even more adventures after.

Like the other Neverland books, the book switches between points of view. You follow Peter for a chapter, then the pirates - led by Captain Hook, then the Others who are after Molly, and then Molly who is trying to stay safe. It uses these switches to build the suspense and pace the story out. It does a good job doing this, but there was a branch of the story that Kid A and I didn't much care for. The boys back on Mollusk Island find themselves in some trouble and the book occasionally switches to their story. It seemed too far removed from the action.

Favorite Thing: Tinkerbell was quite the character in this book. She would speak malevolently about Molly and Peter would have to mis-translate what she said so that Molly wouldn't get upset.

Least Favorite Thing: Because the book switches between so many different groups of characters, there are some really short chapters. Several chapters were only one page. I think I'd like it better if there was just a page gap between.

Questionable Material for Kids: There are some really mean people in this book - mainly in London. They do some nasty things. Also, Lord Ombra is a pretty scary villain.