Dust (#1)

In this new reimagining of Peter Pan, nothing is as it seems.

Claire is trying to track down her brother Connor, who mysteriously disappeared 6 years ago. Her only clue: an old copy of J. M. Barrie’s Peter Pan. Claire’s life is further complicated by a chronic skin condition—she secretes a golden dustlike substance—which has mystified any doctor she’s tried to see about it. Fearful of connection and obsessed with the hunt for her brother, Claire is isolated and mistrusting.

Peter Pan is stranded in our world—cut off from a rapidlycrumbling Neverland, he’s rapidly ageing from eternal boyhood into adulthood. He needs Claire’s magic to get home, but his connection to her brother’s disappearance—to the disappearances of all the Lost Boys—makes it hard to gain her trust.

When Captain Hook offers to take Claire to Neverland to search for Connor, he gives her a twisted version of the truth—that Claire and Connor were originally from Neverland; that Peter took Connor back there. Betrayed, Claire accepts.

But there’s more to the story—a truth even Peter can’t face. Peter had no idea what taking the twins to the real world would do to Neverland. He tried to bring Claire back with Connor, but she didn’t believe him. Traumatised and isolated, Connor never fitted in with the Lost Boys—and when he came to Peter for help, Peter told him that boys don’t cry, and to grow up. Connor—unimaginably powerful and emotionally unbalanced—is the one destroying Neverland.

Ending on a massive cliffhanger, as the characters make their way to Neverland, Dust will have you reaching for the sequel! Straddling the line between grim, dark and hopeful, this retelling of a familiar story brings us fleshedout characters, a thoughtprovoking plot, and breathtakingly vivid settings. A great choice for any lovers of Peter Pan.

mystery, fantasy, other worlds, family, trust, chronic illness, Peter Pan

1. Mild nongraphic violence throughout. 2. Magic—such as flying, etc—as per the original Peter Pan story. 3. Claire and Peter kiss (p. 278).