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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
3.5/5
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, misogyny, bullying, physical abuse, torture, racism,
Wendy, Darling is a unique twist on the story of Peter Pan. It follows Wendy as an adult as she navigates life after Neverland. Wendy, Darling also follows Wendy’s daughter Jane as she is taken away to Neverland by Peter Pan. I was so intrigued by the premise of this story, and I liked how it captured the darkness of the original Peter Pan story by J. M. Barrie. However, I felt the ending was drawn out, and the climax scene lost some of the tense atmosphere that had been building up throughout the story. Jane and Wendy were interesting characters to read about; they both had different approaches and feelings regarding Neverland. It was heartbreaking to read about Wendy’s life after Neverland at St Bernadette’s. I liked how Wendy, Darling touched on important topics such as motherhood, friendship, mental health, sexuality and misogyny.
Overall, If you are looking for a dark reimagining of Peter Pan, I recommend picking up a copy of Wendy, Darling.
Thank you to New South Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Trigger Warnings: homophobia, misogyny, bullying, physical abuse, torture, racism,
Wendy, Darling is a unique twist on the story of Peter Pan. It follows Wendy as an adult as she navigates life after Neverland. Wendy, Darling also follows Wendy’s daughter Jane as she is taken away to Neverland by Peter Pan. I was so intrigued by the premise of this story, and I liked how it captured the darkness of the original Peter Pan story by J. M. Barrie. However, I felt the ending was drawn out, and the climax scene lost some of the tense atmosphere that had been building up throughout the story. Jane and Wendy were interesting characters to read about; they both had different approaches and feelings regarding Neverland. It was heartbreaking to read about Wendy’s life after Neverland at St Bernadette’s. I liked how Wendy, Darling touched on important topics such as motherhood, friendship, mental health, sexuality and misogyny.
Overall, If you are looking for a dark reimagining of Peter Pan, I recommend picking up a copy of Wendy, Darling.
Thank you to New South Books for sending me a copy in exchange for an honest review.
Not for me. Read it on recommendation. Ultimately just didn’t like the story and the writing felt slow for me.
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
I'm quite torn on this one. It was an entertaining and quick read, but I feel like it's one of these books, that want more than they manage to do. Didn't help that I went at it with different expectations.
The premise is intriguing, Wendy is now an adult and Peter kidnaps her daughter so she once again travels to Nimmerland to rescue her. And I thought that would be all of the plot. But Wise chose to explore Wendys past too. How she was put in an Asylum when she didn't want to forget Nimmerland and was basically abusive to her brothers, one of them traumatised by the Great War. And honestly that in itself is also very intriguing. But it lacked the needed care to properly work and destroyed the pacing too.
Having heard about the horrors of early 20th century asylums mixed with what Wendy tells us about it, I expected a gruesome time for her. And in part it was, her hair is cut, she is waterboarded, but somehow I expected... more. It just felt flat. Like breed with butter when you were promised a sandwich with sausage, cheese and pickles. Not bad but it could have been so much more. Sadly the same goes for the new adventure in Nimmerland.
It basically retcons the original story to one of abuse and violence. Peter is not just a ageless boy, but a spoiled, bratty monster, taking joy in the misery and pain of others. No Problem with that, but how it's done just irked me. Also his secret and the final confrontation was not as epic as I imagined and didn't quite work for me. There was no real struggel, no setback just Wendy flying in and saving the day. For a book about Dark Nimmerland, there was not enough Darkness in it.
So either Dark Nimmerland or Asylum would have worked but both together in a book with not even 300 pages left a lot to desire. But I have to say it was a nice read and I was very excited about the secret before it was revealed. Also that Wendy tells her daughter stories about a Little White Bird to somehow prepare her for Nimmerland is a nice detail, when the original story about Peter Pan was called Little White Bird.
So Wendy, Darling was quite entertaining, but not good. It was okay. Like frozen pizza compared to fresh made italian pizza.
The premise is intriguing, Wendy is now an adult and Peter kidnaps her daughter so she once again travels to Nimmerland to rescue her. And I thought that would be all of the plot. But Wise chose to explore Wendys past too. How she was put in an Asylum when she didn't want to forget Nimmerland and was basically abusive to her brothers, one of them traumatised by the Great War. And honestly that in itself is also very intriguing. But it lacked the needed care to properly work and destroyed the pacing too.
Having heard about the horrors of early 20th century asylums mixed with what Wendy tells us about it, I expected a gruesome time for her. And in part it was, her hair is cut, she is waterboarded, but somehow I expected... more. It just felt flat. Like breed with butter when you were promised a sandwich with sausage, cheese and pickles. Not bad but it could have been so much more. Sadly the same goes for the new adventure in Nimmerland.
It basically retcons the original story to one of abuse and violence. Peter is not just a ageless boy, but a spoiled, bratty monster, taking joy in the misery and pain of others. No Problem with that, but how it's done just irked me. Also his secret and the final confrontation was not as epic as I imagined and didn't quite work for me. There was no real struggel, no setback just Wendy flying in and saving the day.
Spoiler
That Wendy just flies away and leaves Tiger Lily and the boys to their fate doesn't sit right with me either.So either Dark Nimmerland or Asylum would have worked but both together in a book with not even 300 pages left a lot to desire. But I have to say it was a nice read and I was very excited about the secret before it was revealed. Also that Wendy tells her daughter stories about a Little White Bird to somehow prepare her for Nimmerland is a nice detail, when the original story about Peter Pan was called Little White Bird.
So Wendy, Darling was quite entertaining, but not good. It was okay. Like frozen pizza compared to fresh made italian pizza.
I loved the plot, the depth of character development and the timely themes of “Wendy, Darling.” (Gaslighting, feminist issues, racism, toxic masculinity, mental health, LBGTQ+ issues to name a few.)
I don’t want to include spoilers, so I’ll just say that the climax of the story fell off for me, personally. I felt as though the build up and arch were wonderful but something about the last few chapters felt lacking. Perhaps that the energy shifted in a way I didn’t really want it to, or that I felt it lacked the power that matched what I read up to that point. Regardless, I may process further and update, I believe it’s more of a personal opinion than a note of criticism towards the author.
“Wendy, Darling” definitely captured my attention and kept me engaged to the last page. I really loved the dark realities brought to light in this retelling of a classic children’s fantasy.
I don’t want to include spoilers, so I’ll just say that the climax of the story fell off for me, personally. I felt as though the build up and arch were wonderful but something about the last few chapters felt lacking. Perhaps that the energy shifted in a way I didn’t really want it to, or that I felt it lacked the power that matched what I read up to that point. Regardless, I may process further and update, I believe it’s more of a personal opinion than a note of criticism towards the author.
“Wendy, Darling” definitely captured my attention and kept me engaged to the last page. I really loved the dark realities brought to light in this retelling of a classic children’s fantasy.
Loved this darker take on Peter Pan. Anyone who has read the original knows that Barrie’s Peter was far more complex than Disney had us believe as children.
Wendy and Jane’s journeys, both literal and those of self-discovery, kept me up reading long after I should have been in bed.
Wendy and Jane’s journeys, both literal and those of self-discovery, kept me up reading long after I should have been in bed.
This was a little too dark for me. I probably should have stuck it out further, but I could see where it was going and I didn’t want to go there. Also, a tad too wordy and I found myself skimming. Skipped to the end, and called it a day. Just not the book for me.
4 stars. The first 3/4 or so was an easy 4.5 stars. While I did leave the book feeling a little disappointed, I had a hard time putting this one down and would recommend to anyone even slightly curious in a unique addition to the Peter Pan universe.
One of the things I love about the original Peter Pan novel is that when I revisited it as an adult, it was like reading a completely different novel than the one I read in my youth. The themes I took from the story were not the same and the entire book was much darker than I had remembered it. Wendy, Darling capitalizes on this darkness and offers a feminist perspective that was breathtaking and unforgettable. What if, when J.M. Barrie's original work ends, there is no actual happily ever after? Because, you know, in the real world there really isn't such a thing.
What if, shortly after the Darling children return from Neverland, their parents unexpectedly pass away and Wendy takes on even more of the motherly duties that she already had thrust upon her in Barrie's novel? What if the Darling children grow up and because of this trauma and their younger ages, John and Michael have difficulty separating fact from fiction as to what happened in childhood games and what ACTUALLY happened? What if Michael enlists in WWI and comes back a broken man, and to cheer him Wendy reminds him about Neverland, and John is furious with his sister for confusing Michael further by insisting that imaginary childhood stories actually happened? What if this leads to Wendy being committed and spending years in a mental institution? What if Wendy escapes this by marrying a man she doesn't know, has a daughter of her own, and then one day Peter returns to bring Wendy back to Neverland but is angry she grew up and takes her daughter instead? What if Wendy can't tell anyone the truth of where her daughter has gone because she is sure to be thrown back in the mental institution if she does, and so she single-handedly needs to find a way back to Neverland to rescue her daughter?
So freaking good. I was disappointed in the lack of Tinkerbell and the insinuation that we might see Hook but never did. I loved the imagery of adult Wendy running around with Hook's sword SO MUCH. I loved the return of Tiger Lily. This book had so much reference to otherness, the treatment of women in the Victorian age, imperialism, racism, and even some homophobia. At the end though, I was left with questions - where are the fairies? What happened to the pirates? Where did Peter get his magic from exactly? With these questions being answered, I think this would have been a 5 star read.
Still well worth it and recommended to my friends so that we can discuss/create our own ending for these missing characters.
Thank you Titan Books and Edelweiss for the ARC!
One of the things I love about the original Peter Pan novel is that when I revisited it as an adult, it was like reading a completely different novel than the one I read in my youth. The themes I took from the story were not the same and the entire book was much darker than I had remembered it. Wendy, Darling capitalizes on this darkness and offers a feminist perspective that was breathtaking and unforgettable. What if, when J.M. Barrie's original work ends, there is no actual happily ever after? Because, you know, in the real world there really isn't such a thing.
What if, shortly after the Darling children return from Neverland, their parents unexpectedly pass away and Wendy takes on even more of the motherly duties that she already had thrust upon her in Barrie's novel? What if the Darling children grow up and because of this trauma and their younger ages, John and Michael have difficulty separating fact from fiction as to what happened in childhood games and what ACTUALLY happened? What if Michael enlists in WWI and comes back a broken man, and to cheer him Wendy reminds him about Neverland, and John is furious with his sister for confusing Michael further by insisting that imaginary childhood stories actually happened? What if this leads to Wendy being committed and spending years in a mental institution? What if Wendy escapes this by marrying a man she doesn't know, has a daughter of her own, and then one day Peter returns to bring Wendy back to Neverland but is angry she grew up and takes her daughter instead? What if Wendy can't tell anyone the truth of where her daughter has gone because she is sure to be thrown back in the mental institution if she does, and so she single-handedly needs to find a way back to Neverland to rescue her daughter?
So freaking good. I was disappointed in the lack of Tinkerbell and the insinuation that we might see Hook but never did. I loved the imagery of adult Wendy running around with Hook's sword SO MUCH. I loved the return of Tiger Lily. This book had so much reference to otherness, the treatment of women in the Victorian age, imperialism, racism, and even some homophobia. At the end though, I was left with questions - where are the fairies? What happened to the pirates? Where did Peter get his magic from exactly? With these questions being answered, I think this would have been a 5 star read.
Still well worth it and recommended to my friends so that we can discuss/create our own ending for these missing characters.
Thank you Titan Books and Edelweiss for the ARC!