Reviews - Wendy, Darling | The StoryGraph

697 reviews for:

Wendy, Darling

A.C. Wise

3.58 AVERAGE

samanthamoore's review against another edition

3.5

adventurous dark mysterious slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: A mix

Strong character development: Complicated

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

Content Warnings

reginamea's review against another edition

4.0

adventurous dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

Plot or Character Driven: Character

Strong character development: Yes

Loveable characters: Yes

Diverse cast of characters: Yes

Flaws of characters a main focus: Yes

jillianzacchia's review against another edition

3.0

I really wanted to love this novel. I heard it was a feminist sequel to Peter Pan, focusing on Wendy's life as an adult, and while there were good parts (loved the queer representation) I found myself struggling to get through it because of how the story stripped away the whimsy of the original and replaced it with something far darker and more sinister. If you like Peter Pan as a villain (I'm thinking Once Upon a Time style) this just may be your style. Essentially, this story turns a fantasy into a horror. Peter as a monster is at the root of this book.

It didn't help that I read Peter Pan recently so it was fresh in my mind. What made the original story beautiful and memorable was the juxtaposition of silly magical elements with deeper and darker moments of fighting and killing. Overall there are areas that weren't explored in the original, like how Peter lost his shadow, which are explored at great length in Wendy Darling. I can respect the idea and work that went into this novel, but I was happier not thinking about some of the specifics from the original.

This was the first novel I received for free from @netgalley in exchange for an honest review. I was really excited at first, but one reason it took me so long to finish was because of how much time we spend in Wendy and her daughter Jane's head. They're both strong protagonists, but between speech and action there were paaaages of introspection, and if I had any hope of finishing the book I had to skim or skip paragraphs altogether.

Overall, I'd recommend this to people who want a darker version of Neverland or to those who really like to get into the speaker's mind. It ended up being a pretty solid read for October given how spooky it was.

michely66's review against another edition

5.0

This story was even better than I expected! I love Peter Pan retellings and this is one of my favorites. It was dark, gripping, and much different than other retellings. I loved that I not only got Wendy’s POV, but her daughter, Jane’s, as well. Wendy is a strong heroine in this and I loved that too! Thank you NetGalley for this ARC!

kristarhanner's review against another edition

5.0

"An enduring tale of a boy who refuses to grow up and all the threat and darkness that implies."

Wendy, Darling is the very dark and gothic retelling of what happened to Wendy after her visit from Peter and to Neverland. It's twisted, it's dark, it was hard to put down.