Editorial Content for Everland
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Reviewer (text)
Wendy Spinale’s debut novel, EVERLAND, is an action-packed steampunk re-telling of the classic PETER PAN. EVERLAND gives the perfect amount of adventure and suspense, all while telling a story of how far a girl will go to save her family.
“EVERLAND gives the perfect amount of adventure and suspense, all while telling a story of how far a girl will go to save her family.”
A bomb dropped on London leaves 15-year-old Gwen Darling and her younger siblings, Joanna and Mikey, as orphans. London is left in ruins and most of the adult population have died from the Horologia disease. Having no one to take care of them, Gwen makes it her responsibility to take care of her siblings, all while avoiding Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer, who believes that the cure for Horologia lies in the surviving children. After leaving their hideout to search for non-perishables, Gwen meets the rascal Pete and his mechanical winged sidekick, Bella. After returning home, Gwen discovers that the Marauders, led by Captain Hook, have abducted Joanna for experimentation.
During another encounter with Pete, he takes Gwen and Mikey back to the Lost City with a promise to help rescue Joanna. There, Gwen realizes that she and her siblings aren’t the only kids left when she meets the Lost Boys, a group of orphans taken under Pete’s care.
When Bella flees after she and Pete get into an argument, a few of the Lost Boys accompanied by Gwen and Pete decide to go after her, also agreeing to help find Joanna. On their trip, the children suffer losses, encounter danger and discover unknown secrets behind the bombing of London and the Horologia disease.
I am a huge fan of all things related to PETER PAN, and I must say that it was hard to set this book down once I started reading it. Wendy Spinale has successfully managed to take the classic story of PETER PAN and transform it, all while including new elements and ideas, such as making Bella’s wings mechanical --- which adds to the steampunk genre --- and making one of Gwen’s siblings a girl. While she does change the names of most of the characters, it is easy to distinguish who they are. Another thing that I love about EVERLAND is that it maintains the element of action and adventure, all while subtly developing Pete and Gwen’s relationship. It is kind of hard to find a pure action novel where the protagonist isn’t distracted by love interests, but Gwen’s main goal was to rescue her sister and find Bella.
I recommend EVERLAND to those who are PETER PAN fans and those who enjoy action-adventure novels with minimal romance.
Teaser
London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. Unsure if the virus has spread past England's borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. When they grab Joanna, Gwen sets out to save her with a daredevil boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground.
Promo
London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. Unsure if the virus has spread past England's borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. When they grab Joanna, Gwen sets out to save her with a daredevil boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground.
About the Book
London has been destroyed in a blitz of bombs and disease. The only ones who have survived are children, among them Gwen Darling and her siblings, Joanna and Mikey. They spend their nights scavenging and their days avoiding the ruthless Marauders --- the German army led by Captain Hanz Otto Oswald Kretschmer.
Unsure if the virus has spread past England's borders but desperate to leave, Captain Hook hunts for a cure, which he thinks can be found in one of the survivors. He and his Marauders stalk the streets snatching children for experimentation. None ever return. Until the day they grab Joanna. As Gwen sets out to save her, she meets a daredevil boy named Pete. Pete offers the assistance of his gang of Lost Boys and the fierce sharpshooter Bella, who have all been living in a city hidden underground. But in a place where help has a steep price and every promise is bound by blood, it will cost Gwen. And are she, Pete, the Lost Boys and Bella enough to outsmart Captain Hook?
