There is no place like a dysfunctional home.
Leaving everything behind for the Island was Ricky's dream come true. When his happily ever ...
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reviews
Feb 11, 2010
Donna
rated it: 
When Dan first contacted me about reviewing his book, I had to do a little research because I'd never heard of it. A re-telling of Peter Pan, you say? With penis jokes? Since apparently I'm a fourteen-year-old boy on the inside, I couldn't resist. Dan started writing this book when he was fourteen and got it published when he was 19. It's his debut.
First I want to say that it's an excellent and imaginative re-telling. It just totally bastardizes the whole fantasy of Peter Pan to some More...
First I want to say that it's an excellent and imaginative re-telling. It just totally bastardizes the whole fantasy of Peter Pan to some More...
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Nov 15, 2009
Brandy
rated it:
Ricky wakes up out of a good dream--one about an Island, a lush green paradise--and is startled to hear a crunching sound outside his window. Trying to be brave, he opens the window to investigate, and in comes Peter: an about-16-year-old with an Australian accent who seems to know everything in Ricky's head. Peter offers to take Ricky to the Island he's been visiting in his dreams, and seeing nothing to lose, Ricky accepts. No sooner have they gotten to Peter's Island, though, when Ricky is
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Nov 05, 2009
Taylor
rated it: 
Never After by Dan Elconin = Harry Potter + Superbad + Twilight + POTC + Peter Pan + Wicked.
To be honest I’m not a huge reader, I read Never After mostly out of curiosity because I heard it’s “the next big thing” like Harry Potter or Twilight. Much to my surprise, Never After is now one of my all-time favorite books. Here is why (and how it’s like all the books/movies mentioned above):
- Never After is like Harry Potter in a lot of ways. One, it reads very fast an More...
To be honest I’m not a huge reader, I read Never After mostly out of curiosity because I heard it’s “the next big thing” like Harry Potter or Twilight. Much to my surprise, Never After is now one of my all-time favorite books. Here is why (and how it’s like all the books/movies mentioned above):
- Never After is like Harry Potter in a lot of ways. One, it reads very fast an More...
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May 03, 2010
Jessica
rated it:
So apparently I am a teenage boy on the inside. Yup, I thought this book was amazing and hilarious!
I will grant anyone else who read this the fact that the writing is simplistic, it is. However what do you expect for a writer who was a teenager when he wrote this? I think it fits so well!
The characters are amazing! They are the type of people you wish you could hang out with, always jibing one another and telling "That's what she said" jokes until the other part More...
I will grant anyone else who read this the fact that the writing is simplistic, it is. However what do you expect for a writer who was a teenager when he wrote this? I think it fits so well!
The characters are amazing! They are the type of people you wish you could hang out with, always jibing one another and telling "That's what she said" jokes until the other part More...
Oct 25, 2009
Hurley
rated it:
Elconin is a teenager and it shows in all of the good ways and none of the bad. His prose, character development, and plotting is right up there with the best adult authors, but he knows how to write teenagers better than anyone else. From Alex and Nigel’s hilarious banter to Ricky’s interest in the girls, Elconin portrays his characters with an authenticity that older authors are simply incapable of. Unlike in most teen lit that I’ve read, Elconin’s authenticity allows the reader to forget t
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Oct 21, 2009
Erica
rated it:
Generally with books, within the first few pages you get a feel of how a book will be. With Never After, my initial thoughts were, "Wow, this'll be good!" but it outlived every expectation I had for it and more! Never After was so enjoyable because it was such a twist on the classic Peter Pan and was filled with loads of humor!
Never After is a book to keep you flipping pages at an insane speed, needing to know what'll happen next. Every page is jam packed with action, humo More...
Never After is a book to keep you flipping pages at an insane speed, needing to know what'll happen next. Every page is jam packed with action, humo More...
Oct 25, 2009
Katieg
rated it:
I LOVED this book. I didn’t think I would because I’m a huge Peter Pan fan and somebody told me that this book is WAY different than the book or the Disney cartoon, and it is way different but it works great. It’s like the Peter Pan everyone knows is a watered down kid’s story, and this is the true story. Every element of Peter Pan is here except turned on its head – I kept turning the pages just to see how Elconin would twist each part of the original story. The tone is dark and scary which
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Oct 25, 2009
Weston
rated it:
I didn’t want to read this because I hate Peter Pan and everything Disney and the title “Never After” makes me think of Cinderella or something but a couple of my good friends insisted I read it and I’m so glad I did. If I had to pick one word to describe Never After it would be (ironically since it’s about peter Pan) cool. Everything about it is cool. The banter between the teenage characters, the swordfights, the gross and seriously creepy horror scenes. Even the romance is cool, it’s real
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Sep 21, 2009
Billy
rated it:
This book has some of my favorite characters in all of literature. Ricky, the main character, reminds me of Harry Potter—he’s not really extraordinary in any way, but he’s a strong, brave, sympathetic hero. Peter is evil in a chillingly realistic way—you love to hate him. Hooke (my fave!) is mental, and his craziness is alternately humorous and disturbing. Mariah is a potentially lethal mystery. Alex and Nigel are just hilarious—I wish they were real so I could hang out with them. Lily is
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Oct 25, 2009
Bobby
rated it:
My new favorite book. Mainly because the characters are all so realistic and cool. I can’t decide which character is my favorite because they’re all so badass in their own way: Ricky is a straight up BAMF, Peter is an evil badass, Hooke is a comically but also scarily crazy badass, Mariah is a mysterious badass, Alex and Nigel are freakin hilarious badasses, etc etc. You wouldn’t think a book about Peter Pan could be badass, but this book is really the opposite of Peter Pan. And accordingly
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Oct 16, 2011
mstan
rated it: 
Fans of Peter Pan would be disappointed by Tinker Bell and Wendy's non-appearance in this more-male-centric-than-usual version of 'Peter Pan' and his Neverland but Elconin has replaced Wendy - the symbol of Peter's maternal fantasies - with the teenage boy's dream of a super-heroine, a Mariah nicknamed 'Oscar', with an acid tongue and a talent for swordfighting.
I learnt midway through the book that Elconin is/was still a teenager himself (19 or so) when he wrote this, and the convers More...
I learnt midway through the book that Elconin is/was still a teenager himself (19 or so) when he wrote this, and the convers More...
May 04, 2011
Peep (Pop! Pop!)
rated it:
Oh my goodness was this book hilarious or what? The author, who's 19, did an excellent job with the book. The characters were well written and believable. The banter was crazy. It had me laughing out loud many times.
Hahahahaha!!!
Riley, the main guy was actually a pretty decent guy, More...
...Nigel grinned, "Hey Ricky, where's your shining armor?"
"Oh," I said, cocking a thumb over my shoulder, "I left it up top with my white horse."
Hahahahaha!!!
Riley, the main guy was actually a pretty decent guy, More...
Feb 12, 2010
Stephanie
rated it:
A very unique book for sure. I didn't realize that Never After was a twist of the classic Peter Pan tale until I got to the middle of this novel. It was definitely interesting to see how Dan Elconin twisted the original plot line to make it seem as if Peter was the villain and Hooke was the good guy.
Though the plot itself was entertaining, I found the writing to be fairly simplistic. I could definitely tell that the book was written if not by a college student then a high schooler fo More...
Though the plot itself was entertaining, I found the writing to be fairly simplistic. I could definitely tell that the book was written if not by a college student then a high schooler fo More...
Aug 03, 2011
Kate
rated it:
Never After is an action-packed thrill ride. I honestly cannot remember the last novel that made me laugh so much. Never After, quite literally, made me laugh until I cried quite a few times.
There is so much here for readers to fall in love with. The plot twists, one of a kind characters, and oh, did I mention humor. Never After is not just about the Peter Pan tale. It is about friendships, families, and survival. When I began the novel, I was not completely sure what I was getting mys More...
There is so much here for readers to fall in love with. The plot twists, one of a kind characters, and oh, did I mention humor. Never After is not just about the Peter Pan tale. It is about friendships, families, and survival. When I began the novel, I was not completely sure what I was getting mys More...
Apr 09, 2011
I first judged this book by its cover and I wasn't disappointed. The story turned out to be just as good as the enchanting cover. While the island at first appears enchanting, Ricky soon discovers the island is more of a threat than a paradise.
I thought the writing was wonderful even if it was vulgar at times. It portrayed a truth to how teenagers interact. Plus, it was laugh out loud funny. There were plenty of "that's what she said" jokes, but there were also more seriou More...
I thought the writing was wonderful even if it was vulgar at times. It portrayed a truth to how teenagers interact. Plus, it was laugh out loud funny. There were plenty of "that's what she said" jokes, but there were also more seriou More...
Oct 20, 2009
Bobby
rated it:
Harry Potter was magic. That’s the only way I can describe it. Because if you asked me why I loved Harry and all his friends so much, I wouldn’t have been able to tell you. The book just had some (magical?) quality that made the characters come alive and become not only our heroes but our close friends. Never After is the only book I’ve read apart from Harry Potter that has that quality. I don’t know how Elconin did it, but I think it’s by far the most important element of any novel.
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Oct 25, 2009
Shannonelizabeth
rated it:
Funniest book I’ve ever read. All the other elements are there and really good too—action, suspense, romance, pretty much everything—but the characters and especially the dialogue are just hilarious. The first few chapters are funny enough, but it’s when Ricky (the main character) and you the reader get settled with the other characters, that’s when it gets hilarious. Only book I’ve ever read that’s quotable like a movie. The humor alone earns it five stars easy.
Oct 20, 2009
Cakeman
rated it:
I’ve never read a book that makes it so easy to get lost in the story. Elconin makes this world seem so real that even if all the character were doing nothing but lying on the beach, you’d be entertained because you’d feel like you were lying on the beach too. But of course they don’t just lie on the beach: There’s action in this book to rival LOTR, wit to rival Superbad, romance to rival, uh, a really good romance, and twists that M Night Shamalan would envy.
Oct 20, 2009
Herbert
rated it:
This book is great if you’re not crazy about reading. it doesn’t take forever to get started and the writings so good you get sucked into it and totally forget about the time. Youll be done with it before you know it and trust me you’ll wish you weren’t! I’m reading it a second time just in case there were any jokes that I missed. this book must have the highest numbers of jokes perpage as any other book out there or maybe even movie, if movies had pages haha.
Oct 20, 2009
Britney
rated it:
Don’t read this book because the author is a teenager. Read it because it’s a great book. People told me, “You’ll be amazed the whole time you’re reading that this could be written by such a young author?” I wasn’t amazed the whole time because I was too immersed in the story. That’s why this is such a great novel: not because it’s written by such a young author, but because the story is so rich and engrossing that you completely forget this fact.
Oct 20, 2009
Bertman
rated it:
High schoolers: Have you ever noticed how movies can be “cool” but books can’t be? This book changes that. You know that guy at your school who’s popular because he’s fun and funny and just badass? That must be what Dan Elconin was at his high school, because that’s what this book is: fun and funny and just badass. It’s the book high schoolers would write if they knew how to write (literally – Elconin wrote it while in high school!)
Mar 12, 2011
Selection for "around the world and back again", on the Exclusively YA Book Club, where we're going to pass a single copy of the book around the world. I am so so excited for this! It's like Sisterhood of the Traveling pants in a way :). Each person will include in the package a postcard and/or picture of where it's been, share thoughts about it in the book or on post-it notes or cards. I can't wait for my turn, the reviews are fantastic!
Oct 20, 2009
Dale
rated it:
On the one hand, it’s easy to explain why this is a good book. It has an exciting plot, interesting characters, and is extremely well written. On the other hand, I think this book is also so good for a reason that you can’t really put a name to. You know those books where you fall in love and get so lost in that you feel like you’re there and you just can’t wait to see what happens next? This book is one such rarity.
Oct 20, 2009
Sproles
rated it:
There’s something so fun about seeing a lighthearted tale from your childhood retold with a sinister twist. That’s why they’re coming out with all these movies about the old comic book superheroes, and transformers, and g.i. joe. But unlike some of those movies, Never After doesn’t ride solely on its twisted-classic premise. It would be an excellent book even if it had nothing to do with Peter Pan.
Oct 20, 2009
Peter
rated it:
This is the funniest non-comedy ever, including books, movies, plays, everything. If Never After had no humor at all, it would still be an awesome action-adventure-dark fantasy book. And if it had no action, adventure, or dark fantasy, it would still be awesome as a comedy. Combine the two and you have a book that’s not just awesome. As my man NPH would say: It’s legendary.
Apr 16, 2010
Dung Beetle
rated it:
If I had rated this book when I was only halfway through, I’d have given it five stars. After that it went off the rails a bit, and then I’m not even sure what the ending was supposed to mean. However, I think the writing was good and I had no idea it had been done by a kid. I will definitely be picking up Dan Elconin’s future books, he has potential.
Jun 10, 2010
Megan
rated it:
wow, really good book; it made me crack up several times which is definably not normal. Great characters, wonderful twists, original story line. The only reason i wouldn't recommend this book is because of all the swearing. Seriously. They wouldn't stop swearing. It was starting to get on my nerves. Other than that, amazing book.
Oct 20, 2009
Sonnyjim
rated it:
Elconin started writing this book when he was 14 and got the publishing deal when 18. That’s four years working on a book that’s not very big—and you can tell. Every single page is packed with action, adventure, horror, romance, or laughs. This isn’t just a page turner; it keeps you entertained on the page you’re on, too.
Jun 12, 2010
T.V and Book Addict
rated it:
Oh this was fun! The first half was pretty slow and hard to get into (some of the characters were not too likable) but it picks up like crazy on the second half. Lots of adventure and the ending I LOVED!!
Retelling of Peter Pan with quite a few twists on it and a few others on top of that.
Did I mention how fun it was?
Retelling of Peter Pan with quite a few twists on it and a few others on top of that.
Did I mention how fun it was?
Oct 20, 2009
Junior
rated it:
Great book for all, girls, boys, men, and women! My whole family—me, my wife, and my teenage son and daughter—have all read Never After and we all loved it. The language definitely isn’t tame but teenagers know more vulgarity than we do, and this just made it more realistic and more enjoyable because of it.
