Peter and the Starcatchers

Peter and the Starcatchers (2004) is a children’s fantasy adventure novel by humorist Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson. Barry won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1988 and the Walter Cronkite Award for Excellence in Journalism in 2005; Pearson is an author of several bestselling adult thriller novels and children’s adventure stories. Though sometimes considered a prequel to J.M. Barrie’s classic children’s novel Peter and Wendy, Peter and the Starcatchers is an entirely new re-imagining of the iconic character with its own internal logic and magical lore. Barry and Pearson examine similar themes of growing up, bravery, and friendship, but through more psychologically sophisticated characters.

In 2012, a stage adaptation of Peter and the Starcatchers written by Rick Elice and directed by Alex Timbers and Roger Rees opened on Broadway, later winning a TONY Award. This guide refers to the 2006 paperback edition of the novel, published by Hyperion.

Plot Summary

In 19th-century London, Peter and four other orphans from St. Norbert’s Home for Wayward Boys arrive at a wharf. The boys are to travel to an unknown destination on the Never Land, a decrepit old ship run by the cruel first mate, William Slank. Peter notices a black trunk loaded onto the Wasp, a much nicer ship, and a wooden trunk onto the Never Land.

Aboard the Never Land, Peter meets Molly Aster, a pretty girl about his age, and her governess Mrs. Bumbrake. The Wasp and the Neverland are sailing to Rundoon, where Molly’s father Leonard is to be the new ambassador to the evil King Zarboff III. Peter and the other orphans are going to be the king’s new servants. From a dangerous reef across the bay, the fearsome pirate Black Stache and his first mate Smee watch as the Wasp and the Never Land set sail. There is a rumor that the Wasp carries a great treasure and Black Stache wants it.

While searching the ship for food one night, Peter finds Molly in a room where a sleeping sailor guards the wooden trunk. The sailor wakes up; he and Peter see a rat floating in midair above the trunk just before Peter and Molly flee. One night, Peter sees Molly communicating with a porpoise named Ammm. Peter confronts Molly, but she evades his questions. Peter resolves to find out what is in the trunk.

Meanwhile, Ammm carries Molly’s message to her father on board the Wasp. Leonard and Molly Aster are Starcatchers, a secret order that protects the world from the Others, evil people who use a powerful magical substance called starstuff to acquire power and wealth. The Starcatchers try to capture and contain the starstuff when it falls from the sky before the Others find it. Unknown to anyone, Slank is in league with the Others.

In a battle at sea, Black Stache captures the Wasp and renames it the Jolly Roger. Leonard Aster escapes with the help of Ammm. Black Stache discovers that the trunk on the Wasp is filled with sand and decides to attack the Never Land, deducing that the real treasure is there. Peter agrees to help Molly hide the trunk. During a bad storm, Black Stache attacks the Never Land. Peter and Molly escape by using starstuff to fly and wash up on nearby Mollusk Island. The trunk lands in a lagoon where the starstuff transforms fish into mermaids. The Never Land is destroyed, but Alf, Peter’s friends, Slank, and Black Stache survive.

Peter and Molly find Alf and the boys just in time to save them from Mr. Grin, a giant crocodile; Fighting Prawn, the Mollusk people’s leader, feeds all outsiders to the reptile to protect the island. Black Stache watches from the jungle as Peter, Molly, Alf, and the boys fly with the help of starstuff. Meanwhile, Slank fights mermaids to take possession of the trunk, severely injuring their leader, Teacher.

While the pirates hike to the beach, Ammm leads Molly, Peter, and their group to the lagoon. Peter takes a shortcut and finds Teacher wounded. He heals Teacher with the last of Molly’s starstuff, and the mermaids lead him to the trunk. Slank knocks Peter unconscious, takes the trunk, and leaves Peter to drown, but Teacher rescues Peter. Molly and Alf fight Slank, and Peter takes back the trunk, hiding the starstuff. Peter tricks Slank into accepting the empty trunk. When Slank attempts to kidnap Molly, the mermaids attack him, leaving him stranded at sea.

Leonard Aster arrives with a team of Starcatchers to collect the starstuff. Peter’s high exposure to starstuff gives him the permanent ability to fly, but he can no longer age. The Mollusk people and the pirates fight over the starstuff. Peter cuts off Black Stache’s hand and saves Fighting Prawn’s life. Black Stache and the pirates flee; Mr. Grin eats Black Stache’s severed hand. Leonard offers Peter a home with him and Molly, but Peter decides to stay on Mollusk Island, as he feels too different to return to England. The other boys stay with him. Peter finds a washed-up piece of the Never Land with the ship’s name painted on it and thinks it is a fitting name for his new home.