The year is 1901--it's been twenty-three years since Peter and the Lost Boys returned from Rundoon. Since then, nobody on the island has grown a day older, and the Lost Boys continue their friendship with the Mollusk tribe, and their rivalry with Captain Hook.

Meanwhile in London, Molly has married George Darling and is raising three children: Wendy, Michael, and John. One night a visitor appears at her door; it's James, one of Peter's original Lost Boys. He is now working for Scotland Yard and suspects that the heir to England's throne, Prince Albert Edward, is under the influence of shadow creatures. These shadow creatures are determined to find a secret cache of starstuff which fell to London many centuries ago. The starstuff is hidden in an underground vault which has only one key: the Sword of Mercy, a legendary weapon kept with the Crown Jewels. Molly is determined to help, but when she suddenly goes missing, it is up to her eleven-year-old daughter, Wendy, to keep the starstuff out of the Others' clutches. She has heard her mother's stories of a flying boy named Peter Pan, and he may be her only hope in saving the world from a shadowy doom...

This series is hands down one of my favorite read-alouds. These two authors work fabulously together to take a classic and familiar story and make it something special. There is non-stop adventure, with inventive and loyal children leading the way right to the end of each story. I'm so sad that this is it for the Starcatchers as I know them...the next book goes modern day...but am so pleased this book came about after fans talked Barry and Ridley into another! Brilliant work! ( )

These books are cute, but they get repetitive, I think I'm just a bit too old to enjoy all of them. ( )

Another good listening tale, but starting to feel far-fetched and also no longer matches up smoothly with the Peter Pan original story. Kids still enjoyed it and kept us all entertained for 6 hours in the car. Good still trumps evil with lots of twists and turns -- but often felt too drawn out, especially in moments of high intensity. ( )

This was a great continuation to the Starcatchers series. While I loved reading about the pre-history of Peter Pan was we know the story, it’s nice to have everything come full circle and for Wendy to finally by the main character.

You definitely need to read the previous books in the series in order to fully understand what’s going on and appreciate all the characters involved. It draws heavily from the backstory established in the first few books. As always, the authors perfectly hit on the creepy and horror factor for the bad guys–these villains are legitimately scary; and it’s fun to see them in comparison to bumbling, hopeless Captain Hook. I love how the authors play with the idea of what a villain is in that way. The stakes are also absurdly high and beloved characters are put into dire, impossible situations.

I also really enjoyed the dynamic between grown-up George and grown-up Molly; while Molly still has a bit of her adventurous spirit, George has thoroughly become a boring adult and acts as one of the obstacles Wendy has to overcome in order to get to Peter and try to save her mother, which was excellent. Wendy is a great main character: smart, resourceful, and more daring than she has any right to be.

The story itself meanders a bit and could have been cut down to keep up the action, but other than that, it’s thoroughly enjoyable. A good amount of time is spent with each of the timelines; I like that we have something happening in Neverland and England at the same time.

I’m interested to see what the next book holds. This book ended on a nice note of having everything be resolved, while also keeping a few things open, such as Wendy’s future relationship with Peter. If you enjoyed the previous books in the series, you’ll definitely enjoy this one!

Also posted on Purple People Readers. ( )