Dust by Kara Swanson is a contemporary retelling of Peter Pan, so of course, I had to buy it. But I should have read the reviews more carefully, because it ended on a cliffhanger. I prefer books that are standalones.

The blurb is vague, but interesting:
          "Claire Kenton believes the world is too dark for magic to be real- since her twin brother was stolen away as a child. Now Claire's desperate search points to London ... and a boy who shouldn't exist.
           Peter Pan is having a beastly time getting back to Neverland. Grounded in London and hunted by his own Lost Boys, Peter searches for the last hope of restoring his crumbling island: a lass with magic in her veins."

The blurb and the glowing reviews from other authors (none of which mentioned the cliffhanger) led me to believe I would enjoy this story, but I didn't. The point of view characters, Claire and Peter, had lots of adventures before and after meeting each other, but they both had too many repetitive inner thoughts, which made the pacing drag for me. Despite all the thinking, the reader never learns why Peter did what he did. (Sorry, no spoilers.) And I need to know why.

My favorite character was Tiger Lily. She sacrificed being Queen of Neverland to help Peter Pan in London. She's also pretty handy fighting off Lost Boys with her staff.

What I liked most about Dust was the theme: "The light in you is far brighter than the darkness." It's familiar to my verse for 2019: "Light shines in the darkness, and the darkness has not overcome it" (John 1:5). I absolutely love the pep talk Tiger Lily gives Claire to help her learn how to fly: "You were created for more than to bear the weight of your shadows - but you have to choose to no longer let them define you. You have to choose to let the light shine through the shattered pieces." Oh my, how I relate to those words.

My least favorite character was Claire. I should've related to her, because she survived emotional and physical trauma (hers from being an abandoned orphan and being in abusive foster homes), but I didn't. Throughout most of the story, she was depressed and had no joy about anything, except for her brother. Maybe, if the author had given her an interest besides listening to music (who doesn't), I might've liked Claire more.

Even though Dust disappointed me, I'll probably buy the next book in the series, Shadow, to see what happens to Claire and Peter when they finally arrive in Neverland.

Rating 2 out of 5 stars.

2 stars: I liked some of it.