Never by Jessa Hastings
What's It About?
"Never" by Jessa Hastings is rooted in and intertwined with J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan, but takes on a life of its own. Most of the settings and characters we have come to know and love remain, but "Never" has that distinctly Hastings twist, giving us something familiar but unique at the same time.“Second star to the right and straight on ‘till morning.”
When my most anticipated book of the year was released, I prepared myself to “Get Lost” in Never, a new imagined tale of Peter Pan from Jessa Hastings.
Peter Pan is the stuff of legends and has been passed down from each Darling girl to the next for many generations. As the granddaughter of Wendy Darling, Daphne has been waiting with her window unlocked for the fateful night when the boy behind the star would come to whisk her away from her life in London — and take her on a wondrous adventure. But he never did.
Dreamy Lost Boy and a Descendent of Captain Hook
Now that she’s 17 years old, Daphne believes that the stories she’s heard her entire life of Peter are just that — stories, a fantasy. When Peter does finally make his appearance to claim his next Darling girl, he isn’t as her family described him to be. The boy forever clinging to childhood is on his way to becoming a man, and a very attractive one at that.
Suddenly Daphne is swept away from her life flying behind the stars, through a black hole, and onto Neverland. While her arrival in Neverland isn’t exactly ideal, it does introduce her to Jem Hook, the son of the infamous pirate and greatest enemy of Peter Pan, Captain Hook. Now torn between a fate that seems generationally intertwined and the pirate that has suddenly captured her heart, Daphne is thrust into life in Neverland.
Lush, Magical Worldbuilding
As someone who is a huge fan of Jessa Hastings and loves the legend of Peter Pan by J.M Barrie, this book was pretty much my dream come true. Never by Jessa Hastings is such a transformative tale, and yet, you don’t even realize how it’s impacting you until after you’ve closed the book.
Hastings has such a talent for writing with language so lush and dripping with magic it feels like you are inhabiting the very character you’re reading about. Her books have the ability to possess you, but in the best way.
Ever since the idea of this book was announced, my expectations have been through the roof. Now, I’ve been burned before when it comes to high expectations with books, but I am so proud to say my expectations were met and even exceeded at every turn of the page. I’ve come to learn in Hastings’ writing that all of her characters are flawed. While that can be frustrating at times — because these characters have made me cry and scream into the pages — I have to remind myself that she’s leaving room for growth. Which, in my opinion, is very smart in the long run even if they make me want to pull my hair out.
Peter Pan with a Distinctly Hastings Twist
Never by Jessa Hastings is rooted in and intertwined with J.M Barrie’s Peter Pan, but takes on a life of its own. Most of the settings and characters we have come to know and love remain, but Never has that distinctly Hastings twist, giving us something familiar but unique at the same time. Fantasy was uncharted territory for Hastings, but she has proven that she has just shifted her beautiful words, flawed, and complicated characters, and vivid world-building and made it magical. I am a bit embarrassed to say that I read this book in one sitting (I couldn’t put it down, sue me) and I was shocked by the complete range of emotions I felt in such a short time.
This book is filled with joy, excitement, wonder and waves of sadness. All these words to say that I believe this was such a magical book that you can experience for yourself as long as you unlock your window and are willing to “Get Lost”.
About Jessa Hastings:
Jessa Hastings lives in Southern California with her husband, two children, her cat and a dog. She’s a chronic over-thinker and is going through a real soup phase. She finds Twitter and small talk equally terrifying, and still often pines for a sourdough loaf in America that doesn’t make her want to impale herself with a rusty fork. Magnolia Parks was her debut novel and the launch of the series and she still (obviously) struggles to write a concise or topically relevant author’s biography. She is sorry for this.
