Fourteen-year-old Nick would have been murdered by the drug dealers preying on his family had Peter not saved him. Now the irresistibly charismatic wild boy wants Nick to follow him to a secret place of great adventure, where magic is alive and you never grow old. Even though he is wary of Peter's crazy talk of faeries and monsters, Nick agrees. After all, New York City is no longer safe for him, and what more could he possibly lose? There is always more to lose. Accompanying Peter to a gray and ravished island that was once a lush, enchanted paradise, Nick finds himself unwittingly recruited for a war that has raged for centuries—one where he must learn to fight or die among the "Devils," Peter's savage tribe of lost and stolen children. There, Peter's dark past is revealed: left to wolves as an infant, despised and hunted, Peter moves restlessly between the worlds of faerie and man. The Child Thief is a leader of bloodthirsty children, a brave friend, and a creature driven to do whatever he must to stop the "Flesh-eaters" and save the last, wild magic in this dying land. This is possibly my favorite book of all times. Brom is a gothic fantasy artist and had drawn the picture for the cover and all the illustrations throughout the book, including the glossy character pages in the middle and they're all absolutely beautiful. They add to the story and help the reader imagine just how horrific and beautiful the world he builds really is. This is definitely a more plot-driven than character-driven novel. Still, each character is built, serve their purpose, and there's a favored character for everyone from the crazy Redbone, the strong Sekeu (my personal favorite), the confused and angry Nick, and the ever so beguiling Peter. The plot itself is intricate and the first half of the novel's chapters go back and forth from telling the current story and Peter's flashbacks that explain the current circumstances. Yet, Brom is able to not leave any plot holes as far as I can see. The Child Thief is classified as an adult horror fantasy retelling of Peter Pan, but it definitely also qualifies as YA so it's open to a wide range of readers even though it has some mature content. Read more for a discussion of the themes! -Alise This may be a retelling of Peter Pan, but it's not Peter Pan, at all. Or at least not what Disney has taught us what Peter Pan is. Brom was inspired to write this after reading the original novelization by James M. Barrie himself since he only knew the Disney version of the story as many of us do. Since the original story is much grittier than the Disney movie, it only makes sense for Brom to make it even more so. Keep it mind that this was originally a children's story. The author weaves old folklore and myth into his novel to make it his own and almost completely unrecognizable from the original tale. It's no longer a magical place of fairies and mermaids, but rather a place of Flesh-eaters and barghests and witches with pretty girls that are prone to eating little boys. It's horrific and completely enrapturing. You don't need to know the original story or folklore to understand and enjoy it, but when you find a connection or reference to the original tale, it's a small little thrill for you. The main theme of this novel is the line between right and wrong and if there really is a clear difference. It was charitable of Peter to take adolescents away from their corrupt lives before they lost their childish magic, but is it still okay since he uses them to build up his army of bloodthirsty Devils for a battle in which they will inevitably die? The Flesh-eaters themselves believed they were leading a righteous life by living strictly by their holy book to save those taken by the devil, but they were the villains in the novel because they were on the opposite side of the fight with Peter. There was Ulfger who started out with all the right intentions, but is labeled a villain for fighting in what he believes in, True, he killed many people, but there's the witch and her girls that regularly eat little boys for sustenance, they're just trying to live and not get to involved with the war, can you really blame them? Even Modron, the protector of Avalon (the equivalent of Neverland), preserves her and all the magical creatures' home by putting everyone under a spell of undying devotion to her so that they will fight to the death to defend Avalon. In the end, the reader doesn't know who is good or who is bad and it they're following the right path to fight for their cause. Brom creates these questions by exploring the gray area between right and wrong.
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