Review: Ellie Everlasting by Isabel Scheck

Readers are returned to Neverland in Ellie Everlasting, an original new novel from author Isabel Scheck. Introducing a fresh heroine to this classic story, and bending the edges of J.M. Barrie’s original world, this is a well-penned and whimsical dive into a reimagined fairy tale.

When Ellie is brutally murdered in her mint-green dress by her girlfriend’s brother, she discovers that the “other side” is none other than Neverland, and she awakes to find herself face to face with Peter Pan himself, along with Tinkerbell twinkling in her ear.

While Ellie comes to terms with her own death – watching the struggles of her grieving family through the Earthly Observatorium – there is a murder to solve in the land of the living. A mysterious connection between her killer and Peter’s past adds a twist of suspense, as does his growing feelings for Ellie, just like the feelings he once held for Wendy Darling.

When relying on such well-known source material, it could be easy to lean on established tropes and well-worn character details, but Scheck infuses beloved characters with a modern breath of life, making this story feel surprisingly contemporary. The addition of unknown characters, an expansion of the magical rules, and the more intense emotional depth of Peter Pan keep this story unpredictable and unique.

The plot plays out in fits and starts, with some tangential writing and scenes that don’t seem to progress the story, but this does give Scheck a chance for additional Neverland world-building. Bouncing between the two storylines is an engaging structure, and allows for a more direct exploration of religious themes, including heaven, purgatory, and redemption. These ideas are complex, however, and some of the opportunities for more meaningful discussion are missed, often neutralized with juvenile language or vague fairy tale jargon. The target audience appears to be older YA readers, but the language doesn’t always match, and is seemingly more directed at the 12-16 age range.

The central role of mortality vs. reality, and the seemingly flimsy boundary of death, give the tale a magical feel, suggesting a number of thematic messages to readers about belief, love, family and loyalty, but never driving them home in a decisive way. The LBGTQ aspect of the story, including frank discussions of bisexuality and the complexity of love is handled deftly, representing some of the most authentic and genuinely profound moments of the novel. Young love comes with an inherent innocence, and Scheck captures this masterfully.

Despite the originality of the tale and the steady clip of the storytelling, the language feels clunky and uninspired in many sections. Procedural actions and unnecessary physicality slows down many scenes, while the dialogue is stilted more often than not. The narration is also overly explanatory, leaving little for readers to discover “between the lines” for themselves. Less nuanced writing is to be expected for a younger target audience, but young readers are up to the task for more complex writing than can be found in this story.

As a whole, Ellie Everlasting is ambitious and magical, with just as much emotional potential as the legendary story that inspired it, and is recommended for all those who love the original.