Betwixt and Between

“At turns happy and unbearably sad, Betwixt and Between is a beautifully realized reimagining of a classic story that will enchant readers as the original did.”—Booklist (starred review)

“…provocative and poignant, rich with emotion and powerfullydescribed, laced with profound contemplations about dying too soon and growing up too quickly.”—Publishers Weekly

“This notable debut novel introduces an author with the instincts of a natural story-teller and the preoccupations of a truly literary mind: memory, time, love, loss, and the mystery of eternity.”
—Linsey Abrams, author of the novels Charting by the Stars, Double Vision and Our History in New York

After eating a poisoned cookie given to him by a neighbor, ten-year old Preston Tumbler awakens in Neverland, a fantastical place where dead boys go before heading on to “the after.” In Neverland, Preston is taken under the wing of a boy named Peter, a playful, enigmatic figure who flies, hunts Indians and keeps watch over the other boys. Despite missing his mother Claire, who is grief stricken over the death of her son, Preston comes to enjoy the life of perpetual play in Neverland. But when his best friend Peyton arrives one day, Preston realizes that the wrong man was arrested for his murder, and that a killer is still on the loose. Desperate to get a message to his mother to prevent more children from being killed, but unable to leave Neverland, Preston discovers that Peter once traveled back to Victorian London in search of a girl he loved named Winifred (or Wendy, as Peter called her), who years ago had vanished from Neverland on the eve of their marriage. Can Preston convince a still heartbroken Peter to return to the real world one more time to prevent more children from dying?

A beautifully rendered and emotionally powerful story of life, death, life after death and the unbreakable bond between parent and child, Betwixt and Between is a remarkable literary retelling of the classic story of Peter Pan.

JESSICA STILLING has taught writing at a number of universities, including The City University of New York, SUNY – Old Westbury and The New School. She lives in New York City with her family.