Piper Pan really for adults?

Over the course of the last 10 days, I’ve had several conversations that have added up to a new possible twist for Piper Pan and Her Merry Band.

A reviewer, a mentor, and a friend all told me (or implied) that these books are not really children’s books. One argued that the dark emotional tone and the painful backgrounds of the foster girls are not a match for “pixie dust.”

Without engaging in that debate, (because I can see both sides of it), I’d like to explore this and ask your opinion.

I’ve taken a close look at Piper’s journey. It’s very much a “coming of emotional age” story. Piper and her friends carry heavy emotional burdens. Over the course of the first two books, they have to learn to let these burdens go, to accept and forgive themselves (and others), to uncover their lovely wonderful thoughts and their dreams, and finally, to discern who they really are, and take steps to become who they are meant to be.

To me, this process is one most of us go through in mid-life (or sometime in the second bloom of life). Rarely are we actually capable as children of doing anything with our emotional burdens other than finding ways to carry them more adeptly. The story of Piper Pan represents the resolution of a problem faced by adults in emotional crisis or transitions.

I see Piper Pan and Her Merry Band as “A Shero’s Journey to Joy.”

Now to the meat of it: What do you think? Is Piper Pan really for adults? I’m interested. I know there will be no consensus, but I would like to know how this strikes you. Please leave me a comment below with your opinion!

In case you are interested, here’s what the critic at “BookLife Prize in Fiction” Contest (through Publisher’s Weekly) had to say about The Curse of the Neverland:

Assessment:

“Peter Pan’s granddaughter Piper must save Neverland with the help of a merry band of fellow foster girls in this middle-grade series-opener. Piper and her sidekicks are well drawn characters, but the foster girls’ backstories are a little too harsh to blend well with fairy dust, making the book’s tone inconsistent. However, the girl-power update works and the unreliable Tinker Bell is an effective connection with Peter Pan that also moves the plot forward.”