Peter Pan, Revisited

Author's note: It's my birthday today!!

The other night, my family watched Peter Pan the live action film. I used to watch this movie all the time. My mom thinks the cartoon version is really rascist, so I've only seen the Disney version a handful of times. When the movie was over, I expressed my interest in reading the book. My mom
immediately grabbed my iPad and downloaded it on iBooks (along with several Dickens novels). I started reading that night.
Peter Pan was honestly a very big surprise! I don't know why, but all my life i've had this notion that Peter Pan was some terribly difficult novel written in the 1500's. Upon reading even the first chapter, I discovered this not to be the case at all. Not only was the language quite simple and modern, the movie was excatly the same! Direct quotes and everything! I think this helped me a lot, because whenever I got a little confused (which I did occasionally), a scene I had seen in the movie would grab my attention and I would be right back on track.
Does everyone know the story of Peter Pan? I hope so, because it is simply lovely. Filled with romance and fighting, this book is appealing to both male and female, young and old. It's the story of a boy who lives on an island with many boys who ran away from their mothers. He visits the Darling's house (an esteemed British family) and brings the three kids back with him (Wendy, John, and Michael). They have many adventures including swimming with evil mermaids, dancing with the local Native American tribe, and fighting the evil pirates lead by the ruthless (yet somehow slightly sympathetic) Captain Hook.
The story isn't focused only on the good things, however. From time to time Wendy (who is recruited by the family-less boys the "mother" although she is only a year or two older than them) remembers glimpses of her own family, and to her horror realizes her brothers have nearly forgotten them. Sometimes the plot in Neverland takes a break and we are panned back to the Darling house, where Mrs. Darling has become simply depressed, and Mr. Darling as well. The worst terror in Peter Pan, however, is probably Peter's refusal to grow up. Neverland doesn't show any sort of time passing, therefore you stay the same age. Peter is the definition of a youthful, gay child, but reality must face hime when Wendy requests to visit home.
In retrospect, Peter Pan was simply amazing, and I highly reccomend it to anyone who enjoys complex charaters, riveting adventure, true love, and the truth about growing up.