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 Imagine if Peter Pan took place in a remote beach in California and Wendy was caught up in a love triangle with Peter and a drug dealing Captain Hook. One of the biggest challenges of retelling such a beloved story is that readers already have preconceived notions about their favorite characters. I think readers' enjoyment of Second Star will hinge on whether they can stomach the adulteration of beloved characters and if they are fine with the major plot twist at the end. 
 Second Star follows our Wendy Darling as she tries to find her brothers John and Michael who mysteriously disappeared one day. Wendy meets Peter one day on a random beach and she becomes entangled in the Lost Boys' lives. Peter falls for Wendy, but so does Jaz (Captain Hook), the local drug dealer. Who will Wendy fall for? How long can she avoid growing up? 
 Poor Wendy and Hook. Their characters were completely ravaged by Scheinmel and I can't ever think of them the same way ever again. Wendy's character arc felt true to Barrie's Peter Pan for the first half or so, but after that her character became unlikable and unrecognizable. Who is this girl and what happened to her common sense? Where is the lovable girl who wanted to fly? I never expected to see such a side of Wendy in Second Star, while it was a bold move, it clearly didn't work for me. Scheinmel's Hook is about as far as you can get from the classic antagonist, his character shares very few similarities with Barrie's character. Honestly if I didn't already know that Jaz was Captain Hook, it probably would've taken me nearly the whole book to figure it out. Jaz's character lacks the depth that reincarnations of Hook usually share and it feels like it's a fallacy to say that Jaz is based off Hook. Jaz is Peter's enemy because he gets people "hooked" on fairy dust and as a result, he leaves isolated on the beach. There really never seems to be a point to Jaz's character and he doesn't really fit Hook's shoes and the only purpose of him is to provide an obstacle for Peter and Wendy's relationship. 
 I wish I could say that the other secondary characters are fleshed out better and are more magical, but then I'd be lying. Second Star's [Tinker]Belle is extremely bland and doesn't have much personality beyond her jealousy and hostility directed towards Wendy. The Lost Boys are paper-thin characters who are truly given the short end of the stick and their characters aren't even given the opportunity to be developed. Each of the Lost Boys have few lines of dialogue and their presence in the story feels arbitrary and John, Michael, Smee and Tigerlily are all characters missing from this story and their lack of presence feels noticeable. 
 The plot of Second Star isn't very magical, but it does make for an entertaining read with it's simple, straight-forward story-line. I really appreciated the small sprinkles of Peter Pan references that were scattered throughout Second Star and these allusions were pleasant surprises. Second Star isn't very complex and it's pretty easy to discern where the story-line is going for most of the story. The final plot twist wasn't a complete surprise, but it was a bit disappointing way to end this book, especially considering it's a stand-alone. The ending didn't really fit Second Star and it wasn't the best way to wrap up the book. I was a bit frustrated with the ending, but I feel that some readers will find it fitting. 
 The highlight of Second Star for me was reading about Scheinmel's version of Neverland, Kensington. Though I wasn't so enthusiastic about the characterization in Second Star, the atmosphere Scheinmel creates is absolutely incredible. Readers are truly transported to California and are treated to gorgeous, vivid imagery of beaches and sunsets. I loved the way Scheinmel used the California setting to her advantage and incorporated surfing into the story. One thing that bothered me was how the characters didn't sound like they were from California; there at least should have been some surfer slang used considering how surfing is such a predominant aspect of the story. 
 Second Star isn't a perfect retelling and it suffers from poor characterization, plotting and an unnecessary romance. Thankfully the gorgeous setting and fast-pace nature of the story helped offset some of Second Star's flaws. Second Star isn't a high quality retellling, but it is fun and entertaining at times, but I don't think it will work well for Peter Pan fans.