**See this full review and more at http://bookbriefs.net**

As soon as I heard that this was a re-telling of Peter Pan I was excited to read Second Star. When I started to see reviews saying this was a unique take on the story, I was even more intrigued. Second Star is the story of Wendy Darling. And I have to say, this is a pretty incredible book. It is a very quick read. I easily devoured it in a couple of hours. I was so impressed with the story that Alyssa B. Sheinmel came up with. Yes, it is a re-telling of sorts of Peter Pan, but it seemed like way more than that to me. The character names are the same, and there are loose similarities in themes, but overall this is a wonderfully executed story. I am still not 100% sure what exactly happened at the end of the story. Was it completely contemporary or was there a touch of magic? It could have been either and I applaud Alyssa for how she pulled it all off.

Wendy is just graduating high school. My heart completely broke for her. Her twin brothers were surfers and one day they just disappeared. The police found their surfboards and declared them missing and then dead. But Wendy doesn't think that is what happened at all. So she sets out in search of them. No one believes her, not even her best friend. When Wendy found Pete and Belle and the boys down on Kensie beach, I truly felt her despair and loneliness. She was a little like a lost boy. I really liked Pete, but I never really fell in love with him. I'm not sure why. He seems like a really great guy. Very caring and I really do think that he likes Wendy a lot. But something just felt off. Even after reading the whole story, I can't be sure what it was. Even before Jas showed up, I wasn't completely on board with Pete and Wendy. I loved Jas. He seemed like he cared more about Wendy in his own weird way. It certainly seemed like he went more out of his way to look out for her. I didn't approve of too many of his other decisions, but when it came to Wendy I found him strangely endearing. I really want to read more about him.

Second Star is a story about getting answers. Wendy wants answers about what happened to her brothers. And Wendy ends up finding out answers about herself. This is a personal growth journey that will make you smile, laugh, and maybe even cry. It is beautiful, sad and happy all at once. Wendy's story is compelling and I wasn't ready to say goodbye to her when the book ended. I loved Second Star. It took me by surprise many times. It really blew me away.