peter and the starcatchers - dave barry and ridley pearson
★5/5BOOKS
published by disney hyperion (2001)
i think i first read this when i was 9 years old. at that time i did not have a phone and in fact touched grass from time to time, but my favourite hobby was reading. i ate through so many junior novels as a kid, and peter and the starcatchers was by and far my favourite of them all. it was made even more special because it was a very close family friend who recommended and then gifted me her copy, and in one of the final chapters, i found a pressed rose. books are such treasures. (and i didnt event know this was the first in a whole series until the writing of this review!!!! imagine my delight!!! we eatin good fellas)
nostalgia aside, i think this book has held up over the test of time. in fact, it aged like a fine wine. every single word and every single sentence is so intentional; i think that is what i like best about it. i have a bad tendency of reading too fast, skimming over sentences i deem unimportant, but this book leaves no room for that. every single verb, adjective or noun is critical to the setting and plot, and there is so much action and adventure injected into the text that you really WANT to give each word your time of day. this book is really special and a rare gem for that reason. i dont want to sound like an old man shaking my fist at technology, but our digital landscape has mutated our cultural understanding of what written media's purpose is. reading isn't an activity, its a function, and it is hard to find the joy in reading when the brain is always looking for an optimized way of receiving the information. peter and the starcatchers was a genuine joy to read, to take my time with, to drink in, and adoringly follow the many stories each and every character has.
on characters, i have to applaud what an incredible job the authors have done creating fleshed out characters with surprisingly minimal backstory. it only makes sense, when a superteam like comedy writer dave barry and mystery writer ridley pearson are the culprits of a novel like this. each character only reveals what is in the MOMENT relevant, like any part of molly's experience as a young starcatcher, or peter's life as an orphan. in fact, at the end of the day, i could tell you very little about what i know to the extent of the full lives of each characters, and yet i feel they are all so fleshed out. the amount of showing without telling, and the painstaking love and care gone into drawing out these characters has created a story that, to an extent, almost feels like a dramatic play or other oral storyform. there are few books that access suspension of belief this easily, and i think a lot of that has to do with the dry and subtle, matter-of-fact british humor; a lot of "this is that way because it is". i just love that.
overall, all i can say is 9-year-old me clearly had great taste in books. i have absolutely adored reaching into my childhood for books, movies and music to fill my time with, it has brought so much warmth and gratitude for my inner child, and i think i honestly needed something more healing after reading a lot of Really Heavy philosophy and politics. HUGE recommend for anyone who wants to get back into reading because they haven't read a book since childhood and don't know where to start. this is an easy read, but a really really vitamin-filled one.
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