Lost in the Never Woods

By: Aiden Thomas

Narrated by: Avi Roque

"There are moments of true tenderness, hope, and grief in this haunting, magical tale, and the narrator makes it all convincing. Teenage listeners will be drawn into this enchanting story." (Booklist, starred review)

When children start to go missing in the local woods, a teen girl must face her fears and a past she can't remember to rescue them in this atmospheric YA novel, Lost in the Never Woods from the author of Cemetery Boys.

It’s been five years since Wendy and her two brothers went missing in the woods, but when the town’s children start to disappear, the questions surrounding her brothers’ mysterious circumstances are brought back into the light. Attempting to flee her past, Wendy almost runs over an unconscious boy lying in the middle of the road....

Peter, a boy she thought lived only in her stories, asks for Wendy’s help to rescue the missing kids. But, in order to find them, Wendy must confront what’s waiting for her in the woods.

A Macmillan Audio production from Swoon Reads

Praise for Aiden Thomas and Cemetery Boys:

“This stunning debut novel from Thomas is detailed, heart-rending, and immensely romantic.” (Mark Oshiro, author of Anger is a Gift)

“Aiden Thomas masterfully weaves a tale of family, friendships, and love in a heartwarming adventure full of affirmation and being your best self." (C.B. Lee, author of Not Your Sidekick)

©2021 Aiden Thomas (P)2021 Macmillan Audio

Critic reviews

2021 Parents Magazine, Best Children's Books of the Year

Peter Pan for grownups

I liked the story a lot, I love anything Peter Pan related. It felt like a story meant for adults but the performance made it feel childish. I still loved it!

One of the best renditions of Pan I've ever seen.

Oh, this book was very, very surprising!

With Wendy as the titular character, I was unsure what to expect but was so, SO satisfied! The story is absolutely riveting; and kept me hooked to continue listening!

The reveal scene, the villain, the ending! All of them were unexpected and perfectly blended into the overall story. I actually want a sequel to this!

Story

Loved it! It was such an interesting and unexpected read. The characters and setting pulled me in right away, and I was really intrigued by the mystery of the missing kids and Peter Pan losing his magic. The whole time, I kept wondering, What happened? Why? It definitely kept me hooked.

The first half was a little slow, but I expected Wendy to eventually find her missing brothers and get a happy ending. Instead, the ending completely surprised me—in a good way! It was emotional and kind of stunning to see everything finally come together.

I do wish there had been more interactions with other characters since the focus was mostly on Wendy and Peter. But overall, it was a really enjoyable read with great writing. A nice mix of love and mystery, balanced just right!

great read!

I really liked the person that read this book. His voices and Inflections were always spot on with how I imagined the story!

This is definitely a spooky twist on the normal Peter Pan story.

I really wanted to like it

Peter is by far the most interesting character, and the story suffers by not having him in it very much for the first half of the book.

I was really interested, I loved Cemetery Boys and the premise sounded good. but I never really got hooked, Wendy is honestly a little dull and it's clear she still needs a ton of therapy. I'm not giving it a terrible rating because I seem to be in the minority and because I didn't finish. it just felt like work to listen to.

maybe you'll enjoy it more than I did, I'm going to try the Sunbearer Trials instead.

What a wonderful book!

I really enjoyed the story and the way characters talk about grief! Amazing!! 👏 👏

decent story

(POSSIBLE SPOILERS)
this was a decent story I enjoyed some parts a lot, though I wish there were more fantastical elements it was a very mundane setting. Peter was the best part of the story for sure and I wish it had focused more on him. Wendy was hard to like as a character. She had the personality of a dried up cheerio you find under a car seat. The male voices in the story were done well but the female voices made me want to quit the book (especially jordans character) I will be having valley girl nightmares for a while but nothing as bad as the children's voices 😬
Side note I was convinced for some time that Wendy's father seemed like such a controlling abusive alcoholic that I suspected he was the killer. He never redeemed himself for me. Just another yelling scotch soaked moustache in the sea of imperfect father characters.

Could Not Finish. Overly Long.

I loved this concept. *Loved* the concept. And it starts out incredibly engaging. But after a solid ten hours, we’re still fully not in the Never Woods and we’ve run out steam.
The performance is great- I really want to stress that- but the material is only semi-engaging. Ultimately it should have been about four hours shorter.

What a great story!

Oh my goodness, if you love Peter Pan you will love this book! It’s such a great read. My fiancé is raving about this book to all of her co-workers and friends.

Interesting turn of events

Enjoyed this book.
It wasn’t what I expected from a Neverland book!
Causally listening to it took about a week, but if you’re a hardcore listener or reader, would take about a Day or two.