Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Starcatchers by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, 451 pages

Ever read or watch Peter Pan and wonder how Peter ended up a flying, never-aging boy living on a mystical island with a fairy and a bunch of scurvy-riddled pirates? Apparently that's exactly what caused Barry and Pearson to write this book, a prequel to Peter Pan that spells out Peter's life before Neverland. It also introduces Molly Astor, a young girl that Peter meets on a ship bound for the oppressive land of Rundoon. Molly and her father are starcatchers, a secret group of honorable people that gather magical "starstuff" that falls from the sky to keep it out of the hands of the horrible Others. It's a fun book that, yes, answers all those questions in the first sentence of this post. My family and I listened to this audiobook on a road trip, and had an excellent time giggling our way across Missouri as narrator Jim Dale brought to life the horrible Black Stache and his bumbling second-in-command Smee, as well as many others. Highly recommended for those summer road trips.