UNHOOKED
by Lisa Maxwell

Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy- Retelling
Pub Date: Feb 2, 2016
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Length: 352 pages
Spoilers: MARKED
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I read this ebook for free on Riveted thanks to Simon & Schuster.

For as long as she can remember, Gwendolyn Allister has never had a place to call home—all because her mother believes that monsters are hunting them. Now these delusions have brought them to London, far from the life Gwen had finally started to build for herself. The only saving grace is her best friend, Olivia, who’s coming with them for the summer.

But when Gwen and Olivia are kidnapped by shadowy creatures and taken to a world of flesh-eating sea hags and dangerous Fey, Gwen realizes her mom might have been sane all along.

The world Gwen finds herself in is called Neverland, yet it’s nothing like the stories. Here, good and evil lose their meaning and memories slip like water through her fingers. As Gwen struggles to remember where she came from and find a way home, she must choose between trusting the charming fairy-tale hero who says all the right things and the roguish young pirate who promises to keep her safe.

With time running out and her enemies closing in, Gwen is forced to face the truths she’s been hiding from all along. But will she be able to save Neverland without losing herself?

Predictable
Maybe it was just me, but I was able to tell from the first introduction of characters who was good and who was bad. This was either because of the way it was written or because I have a pretty good understanding of people in general. Whatever it was, my ability to predict who was good and bad made the MC seem really stupid because she couldn’t figure it out.

Good vs. Evil
I liked how this story delved into deeper themes rather than just skin-deep themes. For example, it got into what is really evil and how such an image can be construed and or misinterpreted based on one’s circumstances. This level of realism always makes me happy.

Fast
This is one of those stories that picks up right away and whisks the reader into the middle of everything, which I enjoyed. I’m not big on slow beginnings. I loved how the plot never hung in one place, but constantly evolved and morphed to match what was going on, keeping the reader on their toes.

A Good Spin
Another piece that keeps the reader on their toes is how the author took the story of Neverland and gave it her own twist. I haven’t read the original Peter Pan, but I have a feeling this was quite different. It was dark. It had unique elements added to the original Neverland (or at least the Disney Neverland) and there was no Wendy. (I really dislike Wendy Darling.)

A little Tropey
The big reveal towards the end of the book was just… a little too tropey for me. It kind of bugged me, especially when previously clues hadn’t added up to this and those clues were never explained. Thus, it felt just a little too convenient. Thankfully, some of this was indeed made up for with legitimate plot elements later in the story.

~~Not a perfect Ending~~
It might sound strange, but I actually liked this ending because it wasn’t a perfectly happy ending. By that I mean that Gwen wasn’t able to save her best friend, Olivia, whom she was attempting to save the entire time. It made this story a little bit more realistic and added to the dark edge of this fairy tale.