This is Nolegirl6, back with another review. I am reviewing the sequel to "Peter and the Starcatchers." Like the first book, "Peter and the Shadow Thieves" was written by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson (who you might remember from my review on "The Kingdom Keepers"). This book starts off on Mollusk Island, where you last saw Peter and the "Lost Boys". This is when Captain Black Stache starts being called Captain Hook.

Peter must soon depart from his friends and set sail on an adventure to London, to warn the Asters. The Asters are Molly's family. Peter has to travel for a long time, being short on food and water the entire time. He faces obstacle after obstacle trying to find Lord Aster's house. But when he finally gets there, Molly and her family are already in danger, and so is Peter.

Luckily, the starstuff wasn't at their house, because Lord Aster had already set off to the return. The return is where the starcatchers take the starstuff to "send it back to the heavens". Molly feels she needs to warn her father, so she and Peter set off to find him. But first, they must figure out where he is, for he didn't tell anyone where he was going.

There is a new character added to this book, actually two. One of the is George Darling, Molly's friend and neighbor. He hides Molly and Peter in his house, since they can't go back to Molly's, and he also lends them money and goes with them when they seek the return. The other new character is a villain. His name is Lord Ombra. I'm going to let his secrets be a surprise, when you find them on your own.

I loved this book. I didn't like it as much as the first one, therefore I give it a 4 1/2 star rating. "Peter and the Shadow Thieves", along with "Peter and the Starcatchers", is a very good story revealing what could have possibly happened to get Peter Pan stuck on this island, how he can fly, what was Captain Hook called before he lost his hand, and something I didn't know I wanted to know, why did he choose that house? The one thing it didn't reveal to me was, since Peter didn't know his last name, as he said in "Peter and the Starcatchers," then why is he called Peter Pan? I think this book is good for everyone in the fourth grade or up. The website Amazon.com has given this book 4 1/2 stars. School Library Journal suggests this book for grade 4-7, and Book-List suggests it for grades 5-8.

The reading level on this book is for ages 9-12. If you want to find all of the secrets about Lord Ombra, if Molly, Peter, and George ever find Lord Aster, or if the starstuff ever gets "returned to the heavens," you will have to read "Peter and the Shadow Thieves" to find out. And no cheating, make sure you read "Peter and the Starcatchers" first.

This is Nolegirl6, signing off, with another review.