Dust
Review provided by Madeline Oliver
Dust is a Peter Pan retelling about Peter Pan, who is grounded in London and being hunted by his own lost boys, and Claire who just wants to find her twin brother, Connor, who has been missing for nearly six years.
After getting a tip from her friend on Conner’s possible location, she hurries to London, desperate to find him. There, she runs into one of Peter Pan’s reluctant colleagues, The Guardian, who sends her to Kensington Gardens where she will meet someone that can help her find who she’s looking for. That someone is Peter Pan.
When Claire arrives at Kensington Gardens, she unknowingly joins Peter Pan in looking up at the Peter Pan statue. When Peter discovers that Claire hates him, he lies and introduces himself as Ben Kensington. Claire follows Peter and Tiger Lily back to their humble flat where the lost boys find them and try to take them back to Hook. But when Claire escapes, she’s confronted by Captain Hook and her friend who had been helping her find Connor. She goes with them to Hook’s ship and he ties her to the mast.
When Peter swoops in to rescue her, she confronts him about his lies and he admits them. Claire chooses Conner, who is apparently in Neverland, over the lying Peter Pan, whom she already hated from the beginning even though she’s now somewhat in love with him. Ignoring her feelings about Peter and embracing her longing for her brother, she leaves Peter behind and goes with Hook to Neverland. After explaining the truth of the events in Neverland to The Guardian and Tiger Lily, Peter goes after Claire to rescue her and the island one more time.
While including both Peter and Claire’s points of view, Dust will most likely appeal more to girls than boys. I think teens will enjoy this book because the characters feel authentic and relatable. Lastly, the book contains strong messages about the importance of truth which parents will appreciate.
Key quotes from Dust:
“People are rarely kind about what they don't understand.”
“We all fight the shadows. Even the ones we can’t remember.”
“Because this caring for someone is not what I thought it would be. It's not losing who I am. It's finding my soul interwoven with another - and chasing the stars together.
And that might just be the greatest adventure of them all.”“The light is far brighter than the darkness. Don’t forget that.”
“But I can’t keep waiting for someone to tell me I’m worthwhile. The light has got to deep deeper than that, or else I can’t truly help myself or anyone else. I can’t always depend on Peter Pan to fly.”
