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3.58 AVERAGE
3.58 AVERAGE
I have received this ARC from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.
Wendy, Darling was such a fun Peter Pan retelling book. Well maybe fun isn't the right word but I really enjoyed the darker parts of Neverland this time around. Especially since fall is here and I'm in love with all things spooky.
Wendy is grown up now and honestly her life after Neverland wasn't the same as it was before she went. I didn't like how her brothers treated her and I also feel bad because I don't like her father in law either. So when her daughter, Jane, gets kidnapped by Peter. Well, she isn't taking that one bit. She's going to make her way back to Neverland to save her and take down Peter.
Back at Neverland, things are sort of how we grew up with. Peter and the lost boys. "Wendy" being the mother and taking care of them. As for the eating dirt and stones? Blegh - hard pass. I never would have known that was happening either until Jane stopped eating and drinking whatever Peter gave her. It helped and we saw all sorts of things we didn't before.
Each dark corner filled with twists kept this a page turner for me. I honestly enjoyed this so freaking much and need more retellings in my future. Especially if it's about Peter Pan or Neverland!
I'm definitely happy that I got the chance to dive into this book and look forward to next one this author writes!
Wendy, Darling was such a fun Peter Pan retelling book. Well maybe fun isn't the right word but I really enjoyed the darker parts of Neverland this time around. Especially since fall is here and I'm in love with all things spooky.
Wendy is grown up now and honestly her life after Neverland wasn't the same as it was before she went. I didn't like how her brothers treated her and I also feel bad because I don't like her father in law either. So when her daughter, Jane, gets kidnapped by Peter. Well, she isn't taking that one bit. She's going to make her way back to Neverland to save her and take down Peter.
Back at Neverland, things are sort of how we grew up with. Peter and the lost boys. "Wendy" being the mother and taking care of them. As for the eating dirt and stones? Blegh - hard pass. I never would have known that was happening either until Jane stopped eating and drinking whatever Peter gave her. It helped and we saw all sorts of things we didn't before.
Each dark corner filled with twists kept this a page turner for me. I honestly enjoyed this so freaking much and need more retellings in my future. Especially if it's about Peter Pan or Neverland!
I'm definitely happy that I got the chance to dive into this book and look forward to next one this author writes!
Loveable characters:
No
adventurous
dark
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:
Yes
Gothy Peter Pan sequel. Picked it up at the library and was hooked (no pun intended) within the first few pages. Was incredibly dark so do note the content warnings, but sensitively written so there is a lot of bravery and hope woven in there.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Emotional abuse, Racism, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
adventurous
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
sad
tense
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:
No
A brilliant take on Peter Pan, I loved how creepy the whole thing felt, and the twist around the original tale! Wendy was a badass of a character, and I loved seeing her daughter's POV too!
I'm not entirely sure I understood what Peter was in the end, but such a good book!
I'm not entirely sure I understood what Peter was in the end, but such a good book!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child abuse, Child death, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Racial slurs, Kidnapping, Grief, Murder, Pregnancy, War, Injury/Injury detail
5 stars for the story itself. 1 star for the overly dramatic writing and the way Wendy's written.
Wendy is written as a weird mix of naive yet attuned to everything, totally accepting of things those in her time period wouldn't have been (dark skin, gay men, injustices towards women) and she's bold enough to fight against these injustices. And yet, she's constantly doubting whether she's coming across as ladylike. There's so much drama in places that feel like there shouldn't be any. I can't count how many times the author wrote "she hated herself for ____" (the way she felt, talked, smoothed down her skirts, whatever.)
Maybe others will love this style of writing - for me, the story was dramatic enough. It's almost like the author didn't trust the story to tell itself. She didn't need the added drama to an already excellent story.
Wendy is written as a weird mix of naive yet attuned to everything, totally accepting of things those in her time period wouldn't have been (dark skin, gay men, injustices towards women) and she's bold enough to fight against these injustices. And yet, she's constantly doubting whether she's coming across as ladylike. There's so much drama in places that feel like there shouldn't be any. I can't count how many times the author wrote "she hated herself for ____" (the way she felt, talked, smoothed down her skirts, whatever.)
Maybe others will love this style of writing - for me, the story was dramatic enough. It's almost like the author didn't trust the story to tell itself. She didn't need the added drama to an already excellent story.
adventurous
dark
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
No
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Complicated
Unfortunately, I couldn't get along with Wendy. I found her very meek, her constant two-ing and fro-ing on Peter, her relationships with everyone in her family except Mary, and the repetitiveness of this process left me feeling very uninvested. The Victorian setting and the asylum was a massive missed opportunity to make the whole book much more sinister, and I found Wendy's eventual return to Neverland quite rushed after so much build up.
It was ultimately quite an easy read, but the familiarity of the original tale is what I think kept me going to the end.
It was ultimately quite an easy read, but the familiarity of the original tale is what I think kept me going to the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Confinement, Physical abuse, Forced institutionalization, Medical trauma, Gaslighting
Moderate: Child death, Emotional abuse, Kidnapping
adventurous
dark
tense
medium-paced