Everland
Scholastic Press, 2016
Agent: Thao Le
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?
Reviews:
“Peter Pan goes steampunk in this debut, which twists the familiar tale into a survival story complete with well-drawn characters, a blistering plot, and plenty of adventure. Readers unfamiliar with the source material will still appreciate the constant threat of danger pursuing Peter and Gwen and their charges. Fans of Scott Westerfeld and A. G. Howard will clamor for more from this author.”
—Booklist
"Zeppelins dot the sky and Marauders roam the bombed-out streets of Everland, formerly London, in this darkly imaginative take on Peter Pan…. [This is a] fast-paced adventure set in and under a ruined city where steam-powered weaponry collides with the ingenuity of the Lost Children. In an exemplary debut, Spinale uses Gwen and Hook’s voices to offer glimpses into the psyche of a man desperate to please his cruel mother and a girl intent on saving the only family she has left. This is a magical, wondrous treat, with a conclusion that’s nothing less than epic. Ages 12–up.”
—Publisher’s Weekly (starred)
"Readers who fell in love with Everland, the debyt novel by Bay Area-native Wendy Spinale, will definitely be thrilled to jump back into that darkly reimagined world with Umberland. This series takes some of our favorite storybook characters and sets them on a perilous adventure with familiar threads of the old stories plus a fantastic steampunk twist...[Umberland] is an exciting chapter in this trilogy and will leave readers eager for book three!"
—San Francisco Book Review
"Spinale’s first novel offers readers what might be described as a dystopian version of Neverland. Fans of the original J. M. Barrie play or novel will find most of key elements here, recast in intriguing ways and apropos for young adult readers...The climactic scene is takes readers to new levels not explored in Disney and other versions of Barrie’s tale.”
—Rick Williams for ALAN (The Assembly on Literature for Adolescents of NCTE)
“The novel is a fun and unique addition to the twisted fairy-tale genre, loaded with adventure, romance, and double crossing. The characters are sassy and charismatic adaptations of beloved favorites, with Spinale adding equally mesmerizing backstories leaving readers wanting more... Overall, Everland is a compelling adventure. Spinale’s novel is a creative and action-packed reimagining of a classic, and will hold mass appeal for fans of similar novels."
—Linsey Milillo for VOYA