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A review by jjcraftsandbooks
Last Bus to Everland by Sophie Cameron
4.0
(Free review copy)
An engrossing contemporary take on Peter Pan set in Edinburgh with a diverse cast and a teen struggling to find his place in a hard world.
Brody hates his life, how he's always compared to his smart older brother. How they never have enough money. How the other kids on the estate tease him and call him fairy. But then Nico invites him to Everland and brody finds a place he prefers to the real world.
Brody is such a strong but vulnerable character. He's angry at his situation but at the same time he knows it's not his families fault and he struggles with it so much. Trying to be a good kid and do his best but feeling like he doesn't belong and isn't allowed to be his true self. I loved the fact that Everland became a place to go for so many people like him just like Wendy and the lost boys in the original. The cast of characters and friends that Brody meets is diverse - Everland has doors all over the world - but it was the people around him in the real world that really made this book for me.
I loved the disability rep of Brody's dad and how Brody thinks about him. It's obvious that the author has either done her homework or has first hand experience with the benefits system in the UK. The second Brody;s mum is mentioned as having a brown envelope (Also known as the brown envelope of doom to us fellow disabled) my heart sunk. I think so much of the strength of this story is in the little things. There's so many moments that are subtly mentioned that make the story feel true. From the hints about Brody's brother, or Brody's best friend or that envelope I mentioned.
I loved how the idea of Everland was placed on such a modern contemporary setting. But more than that, in a run down, struggling part of Edinburgh that felt gritty and real and from the authors own experiences of the city.
For me this is a heartbreaking and yet hopeful book at the same time in exactly the same way as Peter Pan (which is one of my favourite books) and I love how the setting brought a new twist to the tale.
Rep: gay MC, m/m, disability rep (agoraphobia, panic attacks and a wheelchair user), lots of the side characters are poc and queer.
Trigger warnings: homophobia, ableism, eating disorder
An engrossing contemporary take on Peter Pan set in Edinburgh with a diverse cast and a teen struggling to find his place in a hard world.
Brody hates his life, how he's always compared to his smart older brother. How they never have enough money. How the other kids on the estate tease him and call him fairy. But then Nico invites him to Everland and brody finds a place he prefers to the real world.
Brody is such a strong but vulnerable character. He's angry at his situation but at the same time he knows it's not his families fault and he struggles with it so much. Trying to be a good kid and do his best but feeling like he doesn't belong and isn't allowed to be his true self. I loved the fact that Everland became a place to go for so many people like him just like Wendy and the lost boys in the original. The cast of characters and friends that Brody meets is diverse - Everland has doors all over the world - but it was the people around him in the real world that really made this book for me.
I loved the disability rep of Brody's dad and how Brody thinks about him. It's obvious that the author has either done her homework or has first hand experience with the benefits system in the UK. The second Brody;s mum is mentioned as having a brown envelope (Also known as the brown envelope of doom to us fellow disabled) my heart sunk. I think so much of the strength of this story is in the little things. There's so many moments that are subtly mentioned that make the story feel true. From the hints about Brody's brother, or Brody's best friend or that envelope I mentioned.
I loved how the idea of Everland was placed on such a modern contemporary setting. But more than that, in a run down, struggling part of Edinburgh that felt gritty and real and from the authors own experiences of the city.
For me this is a heartbreaking and yet hopeful book at the same time in exactly the same way as Peter Pan (which is one of my favourite books) and I love how the setting brought a new twist to the tale.
Rep: gay MC, m/m, disability rep (agoraphobia, panic attacks and a wheelchair user), lots of the side characters are poc and queer.
Trigger warnings: homophobia, ableism, eating disorder