Second Star

Alyssa B. Sheinmel

- 4.4 • 11 Ratings

- $11.99

- $11.99

A radical reinvention of J. M. Barrie's classic tale, Alyssa B. Sheinmel's Second Star is an irresistible summer romance about two young men who have yet to grow up—and the troubled beauty trapped between them.

A twisty story about love, loss, and lies, this contemporary oceanside adventure is tinged with a touch of dark magic as it follows seventeen-year-old Wendy Darling on a search for her missing surfer brothers. Wendy's journey leads her to a mysterious hidden cove inhabited by a tribe of young renegade surfers, most of them runaways like her brothers. Wendy is instantly drawn to the cove's charismatic leader, Pete, but her search also points her toward his nemesis, the drug-dealing Jas. Enigmatic, dangerous, and handsome, Jas pulls Wendy in even as she's falling hard for Pete.

PUBLISHERS WEEKLY MAR 10, 2014

Offering more psychological drama than magic, this modern rendition of Peter Pan traces Wendy's quest to find her brothers, John and Michael, months after their broken surfboards are retrieved from the ocean. Refusing to believe her brothers have drowned, Wendy travels the California coast to search for them, a journey that leads her to a beach community of abandoned houses. One side of the beach is ruled by squatter Pete, who lives with his band of carefree looters; the other half belongs to drug dealer Jas, who has lured away some of Pete's friends with his potent "fairy dust." Both boys may hold clues to what happened to Wendy's brothers. Blurring the lines between villains and heroes, truth and (perhaps drug-induced) illusion, Sheinmel (The Stone Girl) offers an intriguing premise and a dramatic portrayal of an unstable, grief-stricken teen. However, while Barrie's classic transplants neatly to a contemporary surf-culture setting, the parallels come across more as a clever hook than an integral part of the story. Ages 12 up.

GENRE