The Wendy Project

Gr 7 Up—This poignant modern retelling of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan is heavy on magic and teen angst. Wendy is a typical adolescent until she accidentally drives off a bridge with her brothers in the backseat. When they're rescued, Wendy is told that although John has survived, her youngest brother Michael's body cannot be found. He's presumed dead, but the teen knows he can't be, because she saw him flying off into the sky holding someone's hand. While her family members grieve around her, Wendy is committed to finding out where Michael went. And somehow she knows that his disappearance has something to do with Eben Peters, the enigmatic hunk who attends her school. Concerned by Wendy's insistence that Michael is alive somewhere, her parents send her to a therapist, who encourages her to draw her feelings (the result of her art therapy is the book itself). Fish's expressive illustrations are gorgeous watercolor auras that show Wendy's hopeful glimpses of magic among the otherwise banal gray of grief. Osborne's story and dialogue are well written, deftly conveying Wendy's feelings of confusion, love, unhappiness, and guilt.