Review: It's a Jangle out there...
Rating: 2 out of 5
Date: 12 1, 2013
Tinkerbell, a fairy from Neverland, and a lost and stranded boy named Peter, go back to his home and find themselves in the middle of a mystery full of action, adventure and innocent romance.It's an interesting premise. It has a different take on the classic tale. It's set in modern times and adds a layer of romance that was only hinted at or skimmed over in the original book/playSadly, this is not the Tink you grew up with. She isn't as independent and decisive as she is often portrayed. She's kind of whiny.Peter isn't at all, the fun loving adventurous boy that he normally is. He still kind of has that selfish, ignorant of other peoples feelings thing... but now it's more of a flaw than an eccentricity.Then there's Jangle. This character is basically half Fairy, half plot device. When the author needs someone to fix all the problems that pop up, somehow, some way, this character solves everything. She enables Tink to be as whiny and helpless as she can be. There are even times when you feel that the author became tired of Tink and decided to make Jangle the main character.I got this book after reading the first book in the "Love, Tink"series. I really wanted to like it. I wanted to see Tink and Peter finally fulfil a childhood fantasy of mine. I wanted to see them together. Sadly, these characters weren't my Tink and Peter, not even if they were boiled down to their essence. They were just named the same as the ones in the original book/play.Before I finish my review there was one character that I felt was so strongly abused by the author's whims, to the point where said character, became completely unlikeable. That one was Wendy, who became evil.I loved the original Wendy character just as much as I loved Tink. It would have been great if she was portrayed in a more likeable and human way, instead of a jealous so and so. It would have given Peter more of a dilemma. It would have carried over the original hinted love triangle that these kids had going. The author could have explored their feelings more as well as added another layer of philosophical discussion between the merits of the cerebral Wendy who represents Peter's "Real world", and the intense Tink who represents Peter's "Fantasy world". Not to mention the fact that both Tink and Wendy could have joined forces or something... There's so much material to work with.Honestly, the author could have replaced Jangle with Wendy and made a much more compelling story, in my opinion.All that being said, If you just look at this as a story, not related in any way to the original Peter Pan play/book, it sort of works as a young adult type of fantasy. That is of course if you can get past the Jangle situation.2 Stars. It's a Jangle out there...