Peter Pan * J.M. Barrie

Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie

Come away! Come away! The darling children are all tucked up in there beds when Peter Pan bursts into their nursery. Peter and his mischievous fairy Tinkerbell entice Wendy and her brothers to fly away to a magical world called Neverland. There you can do all mystical and magical things, that no one would of every thought you could do.  

The Darling children we're not like most children, they had one bedtime story like any other, and what made it different was that they believed. Wendy was the eldest of all three children, there we're her brothers John and Micheal too. 

After Nana, the big St. Bernard dog had given them their medicine and tucked them all into bed, the children would dream of flying away to one place in the world that all children wish they could go. Neverland. Filled with sparkling fairies, beautiful mermaids in their colourful lagoons and we can't forgot about the dangerous and vicious pirates ever to have walked the earth. 

So when a young boy creeps in through the window one night in a quest to find his lost shadow, Wendy is awoken by the sounds of a distressed boy, crying. Soon she realises that this is Peter Pan from the bedtime stories and she immediately wakes her brothers to show them. 

After sewing Peter's shadow back on seeing as the soap he tried to use didn't work, all three children are swiftly taken to Neverland where there flying through the air by fairy dust, with the help of a stubborn little fairy known as Tinkerbell. Towards the second star on the right and straight on till morning. 

With living in a house underground, a little hutch made out of twigs, leaves, mud and wood. With mermaids swimming all over the blue lagoon, fierce native redskins and the pirates lurking about. Things aren't what they seem to the Darling children and they start to forget who they are, the longer they stay in Neverland. 

Getting rid of the dreaded captain Hook is one thing, his crew another. But when the Darling children, soon start to forget where there real home is, where they actually live and who there real mother and father are, things start to seem weird.  Though they battle on to help beloved Peter towards his great achievement of getting rid of Hook once and for all. 

Peter Pan by J.M Barrie, is a childhood memory for a lot of children and adults alike. Though to compare the book to the actual Walt Disney adaptation and the films to follow, are nothing of the sort. 

I remember watching the film when I was younger and thinking what a magical place it would be to live! To see the mermaids and the pirates and most of all the fairies. I thought the same for the real life adaptation also, but after reading the book. Peter Pan in my mind has become a lot darker than what it appears to be with Disney. 

The films for me don't really fit to the book, though there is a Peter Pan in a TV show called Once Upon a Time. Peter Pan in that is what he is really like in the book, dark. Which after watching the programme I thought "God, they've made that awfully dark to what it really is" But alas! I was mistaken. 

A lot of people don't know that J.M Barrie based this book on someone in his family losing a child. Thus Peter is the lost child to Mrs.Darling who she longs to see again but never will, which is who the Kiss on the corner of her mouth is saved for. 

I think this is such a sad part towards the story as it is just about a mother longing to see her lost child again, and in some ways Peter Pan trying to see his siblings again, yet he doesn't really know it. He is forever trapped being a child who will never grow up, because that is how Mrs. Darling saw peter last, and how she will always see her little boy.

Same as Mr. Darling is actually Captain Hook, who in a way tries to get rid of Peter so they can move on with their lives as they should. Or so how I see it, they have quite a big resemblance. On the other hand, Hook despises Peter because he also in a way doesn't want to grow up himself, and is jealous that Peter doesn't have to and he can remain a boy for eternity. Though with Mr. Darling he See's his other children, and secretly doesn't want them to grow up because he wants them to stay his babies forever, just like Peter will.  

I do like the darker meaning behind Peter Pan, rather than just that he is the boy that will never grow up. Yet at the same time, find it really saddening and heartbreaking.  I liked that it was portrayed in a darker light, though I must admit it did sometimes bore me and I didn't get the same feeling reading it as I did watching the cartoon adaption years ago when I was younger. 

Still, it remains a big part of my life and childhood and some of the sayings in the book are just too beautiful to forget. 

"To die, would be an awfully big adventure" - Peter Pan. 

I will give this book 6 out of 10 

A year on: Kobo e-reader review.

Hey everyone!

I thought I would do a quick review on the Kobo I bought a while back and the purchase, which you can see below: 

Welcome Kobo Mini

Well, I say it's a year on. It will be within a month haha, but I just wanted to do a quick update on how I've gone on with it and would love to know what other people think of them if they have them. So tell me what you think? 

I love  the fact that you can get changeable covers for the Kobo mini, so you can have your own style with :) There are four colours that I know of, which are Teal, Pink, Purple and black. The green cover that is around my kobo is a cheap cover I bought off of ebay and I love it. 

To say that the Kobo Mini is quite slim, having the green book case for it, gives it that little extra thickness. It's a lovely fit and well made, if anyone would like the link please let me know and I shall add it on :) They come in a range of different colours too. 

Reading with Kobo: 

Reading with the Kobo is bliss, I never thought I would actually say that since I was sceptical after buying it let alone before. I still love buying books in paper form and always will, though since having the kobo for a year I have found it much more easy. 

Key Points: 

• I can now read on public transport without getting travel sick, so that's a BIG bonus!
• The charge on the Kobo still lasts up to a month, after a year gone since I bought it
• Kobo has sent me an anniversary 30% off voucher for being with them a year, which is awesome!
• The books are cheaper than in store, which is wonderful but still doesn't beat reading old books. 
• The Kobo was easily worth £30 and I would of happily pay £60 at it's full price (But I'm glad I got it in the sale!) 
• I now want another Kobo.
• You can have up too 1,000 books 
• I can highlight the parts I love in books and it saves it for me to go back to later on
• And last but not least, if you are reading a book but want to read something else for a bit, you can just save the page your on and start a new book. Then go back to your old one! Which is ace!

Downsides: 

• It is a tad slow when turning pages
• There isn't much light on the screen and would be wise to buy a little light to attach to the top of the ereader as it is a little dim in darker light. 

All in all the Kobo is a great devise and I am very happy with the product and their service actually. I still enjoy reading and have possibly enjoyed it a little more as the Kobo has given me more time to read, like on public transport etc which I couldn't do before. 

The Kobo Mini is easily one of the best things I have ever bought and I am thrilled and happy with it. Another thing that is great is that you get Rewards for reading. There's a bunch of different ones from Night Rider, Better In Bed, Not An Open Book and Once Upon a Time. 

They all have different meanings and some of them are for reading so many times at certain times in the day. Or reading so many classic books etc. I think this is a  great way for people to read more, as in a way it's a little game. The more you read the more rewards you get and the more you read the more you enjoy and learn. I think Kobo have been very clever with this feature and think it is a wonderful Idea and I love it! 

I don't think it shows a bad way at all about reading, with reading more and earning badges. I think it's a clever and great way to motivate more people to read, especially younger people of today as most people don't read anymore and I find that quite sad. 

But on a happier note, I highly recommend the Kobo Mini and I think it is a smashing product and has been much help and use to me over this past year.

I will give the Kobo Mini ereader 9 out of 10

Pear Shaped * Stella Newman

Pear Shaped by Stella Newman

Girl meets boy, girl loses boy, girl loses mind. 

Sophie Klein walks into a bar one Friday night and her life changes. 
She meets James Stephens: Charismatic, elusive and with hosiery model ex, who casts a long, thin shadow over their burgeoning relationship. He's clever, funny and shares her greatest pleasure in life - too eat and drink slightly a bit too much and have a little lie down. 

Sophie's instincts tell her that James is too good to be true - and he is. And exploration of food, love and heartbreak. Pear Shaped is in turns, smart, laugh-out-loud funny and above all recognisable to women everywhere. 

When Sophie walks into her local pub with her best friend, she doesn't expect to be hit on by a stuck up man who thinks he has a shot. Which he doesn't, but his best friend James definitely has a shot with her. He's everything Sophie has ever dreamt of in a man and she couldn't be happier when they soon go out together on their first date. 

What do you know! They have so much in common and are totally smitten for each other, Sophie is over the moon that she has finally found a man who treats her right and who really likes, who knows this could possibly be love. But everything is not so perfect in dear Sophie's dream man, not after when he says that she's a bit on the "tubby" size and would look a little better a little slimmer. 

Soon Sophie and Jame's relationship is in full swing, with glamorous sunny holiday's to Italy, sharing a large vast home together, a new top of the range fridge and blender and of course the sex is amazing. But Sophie realises that their relationship is too good to be true and she can't shake the feeling that James is lying, and that he doesn't like her natural body. 

But she still has a fantastic job that she loves, who could not love designing and creating new deserts for the leading food stores Fletchers. Not forgetting working with the most lovely company ever, Appletree. But there's Will, the most lovable and charming man Sophie has ever met, though it simply couldn't work as he's divorced and has an ex wife. 

Will Sophie confront James about them before it's too late? Or will she let things spiral out of control, including her friendships, her dating life and not forgetting her mental health. 

Pear Shaped by Stella Newman, is the first book I have read by this author and I honestly and personally don't know if I want to read anything else she has written, certainly if it is anything like Pear Shaped. 

I really couldn't get on with this book, I think the only thing was okay about it, was that Sophie had quite a witty humour which was good and funny in some places but that's all, and that she got to design new puddings. Though everything else in the book I didn't like, I tried to enjoy it but just couldn't. 

I found Sophie's character in general a bit of a let down and quite a shallow person. She was going out with James who treated her like rubbish, she knew this and she still went out with him. He was horrible to her, yet she still stayed with him! I couldn't stand that part, if he's horrible and you can't trust him why stay with him? 

I personally don't think the ending is very good either, you don't really get to know what happens between Sophie and James and then with Will also. So it's all a bit wishy washy. 

All in all I will give this book 3 out of 10.