by Audrey Greathouse
Genre: YA Fantasy/ Fairytale Retelling
Release Date: May 9th 2016
Clean Teen Publishing
Summary from Goodreads:
Magic can do a lot—give you flight, show you mermaids, help you taste the stars, and… solve the budget crisis? That's what the grown-ups will do with it if they ever make it to Neverland to steal its magic and bring their children home.
However, Gwen doesn't know this. She's just a sixteen-year-old girl with a place on the debate team and a powerful crush on Jay, the soon-to-be homecoming king. She doesn't know her little sister could actually run away with Peter Pan, or that she might have to chase after her to bring her home safe. Gwen will find out though—and when she does, she'll discover she's in the middle of a looming war between Neverland and reality.
She'll be out of place as a teenager in Neverland, but she won't be the only one. Peter Pan's constant treks back to the mainland have slowly aged him into adolescence as well. Soon, Gwen will have to decide whether she's going to join impish, playful Peter in his fight for eternal youth… or if she's going to scramble back to reality in time for the homecoming dance.
They
landed and moved slowly through the jungle for the last few hundred
feet, giving Peter time to explain to Gwen as she walked at his side.
“If
you’ve never met a mermaid before, there are a few things you
should know about them.”
“Like
what?”
“Like
they are the most cunning and conniving creatures you will ever cross
paths with.”
“Really?”
Gwen asked, astounded. “I would have thought mermaids would be…
I
don’t know, beautiful and sweet.”
“Sirens,
all of them. They’ll do anything to get what they want. Mermaids
have no qualms about the means to the end, so long as it’s their
end they get to.”
“Well,
what do
they want?”
“It’s
always some kind of trouble…
not
that they’ll ever tell you what they want.”
Peter
barreled through a clump of vines, hanging low in his way. Gwen
followed after him, her curiosity compounding with every moment. “Are
they dangerous then?”
“Terribly,”
Peter responded. “So there are three rules for whenever you
confront mermaids. First, don’t get too near to them; second, don’t
get too close to them; and third, don’t ever
get
in the water with them.”
“Alright.
Easy enough,” Gwen said, wondering if there was a working
difference between the first and second rule.
“The
best thing to remember,” Peter continued, “is that mermaids will
never tell you what they’re after, and it’s best to assume it’s
something dastardly. Whatever they want from you, whatever they want
you to do, just don’t.”
“Well,
if they’re so terrible, why are we going to meet with them?” Gwen
asked, not seeing what good could come of the encounter.
“Because
mermaids know things, and they can learn things you and I couldn’t
ever possibly learn, even if someone spent a hundred years trying to
teach us…
and
they have information right now that I need.”
Peter
caught sight of a papaya
tree and reached up to pick its fruit. It
seemed impossible for Peter to pass up ripe fruit, so he beckoned to
Gwen and filled her satchel with a few. He found a mango tree, and
tossed Gwen a few of those fruits as well.
“Will
the mermaids tell you?” Gwen
asked.
“If you’re so bent on thwarting them, what’s to stop them from
giving you misinformation to spite you?”
“They’re
very easy to coerce,” Peter said, his mouth full of mango, “and
the one good thing about mermaids is they can’t lie.”
“They
can’t?”
“Nope.
Not even a tiny white lie. Mermaids don’t go against their word,
and they stick to the bargains they strike. But that makes them even
more dangerous, obviously.”
Gwen
didn’t see how that was obvious at all. If anything, it seemed like
that would make them less of a threat,
but there
wasn’t time to press the conversation further. They broke the tree
line
and found themselves on the edge of a small cliff. Crude steps carved
into
the cliff's
face
led down
to a rocky lagoon. Below, the beautiful bay of blue-green water was
so clear and still that it was easy to make out the silhouettes of
the slender, aquatic nymphs swimming beneath the surface.
Buy Links:
Amazon│Barnes & NobleAdvance Praise:
"Gwen's description of growing up and high school life is one of the most accurate that I've ever read." (Across the Bookiverse)
"The author creates such a peaceful and serene place that it felt likeescape just reading about it...Through this world, the author explores the themes of what it means to grow up." (K.E. Carson, The Underground)
"The author creates such a peaceful and serene place that it felt likeescape just reading about it...Through this world, the author explores the themes of what it means to grow up." (K.E. Carson, The Underground)
About the Author
Audrey Greathouse is a Seattle-based author of science-fiction and fantasy. Raised in the suburbs, she became a writer after being introduced to NaNoWriMo during her sophmore year of high school. Since then, she has drafted more than a dozen books, 100 sonnets, and 800 other poems, and a handful of short stories and one-act plays.
After dropping out of her university and beginning training as a circus performer on the aerial silks, she returned to school to study at Southern New Hampshire University College of Online and Continuing Education to earn her B.A. in English Language and Literature, with a minor in Computer Information Technologies.
Audrey Greathouse is a die-hard punk cabaret fan, and pianist of fourteen years. She's usually somewhere along the west coast, and she is always writing.
After dropping out of her university and beginning training as a circus performer on the aerial silks, she returned to school to study at Southern New Hampshire University College of Online and Continuing Education to earn her B.A. in English Language and Literature, with a minor in Computer Information Technologies.
Audrey Greathouse is a die-hard punk cabaret fan, and pianist of fourteen years. She's usually somewhere along the west coast, and she is always writing.
I would love to go to the treehouse and meet the kids.
ReplyDeleteI would love to visit the mermaids
ReplyDelete