Scan barcode
bellebookstitch666's review
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Injury/Injury detail, Forced institutionalization, Violence, Medical trauma, and Mental illness
Moderate: Animal death, Child death, Animal cruelty, Torture, and Body horror
Minor: Bullying, Kidnapping, and Death of parent
_annabanana_'s review against another edition
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
medium-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
4.0
Content Warnings
Graphic: Toxic friendship, Sexism, Mental illness, Misogyny, Confinement, Forced institutionalization, and Gaslighting
Moderate: Death of parent, Child death, Animal death, Grief, and War
Minor: Physical abuse, Suicide attempt, Self harm, and Cultural appropriation
thebooksanctum's review
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
4.0
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: Physical abuse, Mental illness, Injury/Injury detail, Child death, Child abuse, Grief, Pregnancy, War, Kidnapping, Murder, and Racial slurs
vi_holmes's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
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? Yes
5.0
Recently, I have fallen down the rabbit hole of fairytale retellings and recently picked up Hook at a shop not knowing it was a prequel/sequel. I quickly ordered this one and boy I was not disappointed!
Wise takes the story of the boy who refuses to grow up and found all the places to fill in and add lore and context in the most brilliant fashion!
The story bounces between the view points of Wendy and her daughter, Jane, who has been stolen by Peter from her room believing her to be Wendy. Demanding her to be. Wendy must venture to Neverland to rescue her daughter while battling the PTSD she suffers from her time in Neverland and more so from the aftermath of it.
Wise does an amazing job of depicting Wendy as a feminine heroine, battling mental illness while not letting that illness make her weaker for it, but rather more determined to protect Jane from the same fate. And bring an end to Peter's evil ways.
<spoilers below>
The scenery of the story is beautifully depicted, I felt captivated by the magical and dark world reimagined in this book. And there are so many amazing characters with so much depth, you will certainly fall in love with many, especially Mary and Ned!
I will say that there were parts that felt very slow to get to. However, I very much get the impression that this was intentional. It added so much suspense to the scariest and most mysterious bits of the story and honestly made it so thrilling when the pace suddenly picked up towards the end of the second act.
Also have to mention the LGBTQIA+ representation cause it is so amazing! I was struggling not to cry during those reveal scenes.
Definitely read all the trigger warnings that come with Wendy, Darling -- it is truly very dark and disturbing at times -- but I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys dark fairytale retellings!
Wise takes the story of the boy who refuses to grow up and found all the places to fill in and add lore and context in the most brilliant fashion!
The story bounces between the view points of Wendy and her daughter, Jane, who has been stolen by Peter from her room believing her to be Wendy. Demanding her to be. Wendy must venture to Neverland to rescue her daughter while battling the PTSD she suffers from her time in Neverland and more so from the aftermath of it.
Wise does an amazing job of depicting Wendy as a feminine heroine, battling mental illness while not letting that illness make her weaker for it, but rather more determined to protect Jane from the same fate. And bring an end to Peter's evil ways.
<spoilers below>
The scenery of the story is beautifully depicted, I felt captivated by the magical and dark world reimagined in this book. And there are so many amazing characters with so much depth, you will certainly fall in love with many, especially Mary and Ned!
I will say that there were parts that felt very slow to get to. However, I very much get the impression that this was intentional. It added so much suspense to the scariest and most mysterious bits of the story and honestly made it so thrilling when the pace suddenly picked up towards the end of the second act.
Also have to mention the LGBTQIA+ representation cause it is so amazing! I was struggling not to cry during those reveal scenes.
Definitely read all the trigger warnings that come with Wendy, Darling -- it is truly very dark and disturbing at times -- but I highly recommend it to anyone that enjoys dark fairytale retellings!
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness, Abandonment, Blood, Torture, Bullying, Forced institutionalization, Colonisation, Child abuse, Kidnapping, Physical abuse, Violence, and Racism
niamhbereading's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated
5.0
oh my gosh............ damn........ what a book
this book alternates between three stories: wendy's search for her daughter jane, jane in neverland, & the aftermath of wendy's life post her first visit to neverland as a child. wise does a really good job of balancing these stories because they all feed into each other: what we learn from one story informs the others. this made the book an absolute page-turner, because every new exciting revelation made me want to keep reading to see where it would lead the story, which would lead me to another revelation, etc etc. the stories also add layers to the characters & their relationships, making the overall story dynamic and unique.
peter is so interesting omg....... he becomes more & more evil w/ every page & it is both horrifying & exhilarating! horrifying bc this cherished fictional children's character is suddenly dangerously magical in ways his original story never explored, & exhilarating because damn wise knows how to write a villian!! his character gets more twisted & more captivating w/ every page. it's hard to reimagine a children's character like that, but wise does it phenomonally.
this book is set between the late 1910s & 1920 to 1930, & wise has done a very good job immersing the reader into that era. wendy's brother michael faught in ww1 (though it's never actually called ww1) and the politics of the time (gender roles & mental health care) are present. wise clearly knows her stuff.
i just couldn't get enough of this book. a very enjoyable read despite how insanely dark it is. i can't wait to see what wise writes in the future <3 i would recommend this book to enjoyers of old story retellings, for this is a perfect example of the form
this book alternates between three stories: wendy's search for her daughter jane, jane in neverland, & the aftermath of wendy's life post her first visit to neverland as a child. wise does a really good job of balancing these stories because they all feed into each other: what we learn from one story informs the others. this made the book an absolute page-turner, because every new exciting revelation made me want to keep reading to see where it would lead the story, which would lead me to another revelation, etc etc. the stories also add layers to the characters & their relationships, making the overall story dynamic and unique.
peter is so interesting omg....... he becomes more & more evil w/ every page & it is both horrifying & exhilarating! horrifying bc this cherished fictional children's character is suddenly dangerously magical in ways his original story never explored, & exhilarating because damn wise knows how to write a villian!! his character gets more twisted & more captivating w/ every page. it's hard to reimagine a children's character like that, but wise does it phenomonally.
this book is set between the late 1910s & 1920 to 1930, & wise has done a very good job immersing the reader into that era. wendy's brother michael faught in ww1 (though it's never actually called ww1) and the politics of the time (gender roles & mental health care) are present. wise clearly knows her stuff.
i just couldn't get enough of this book. a very enjoyable read despite how insanely dark it is. i can't wait to see what wise writes in the future <3 i would recommend this book to enjoyers of old story retellings, for this is a perfect example of the form
Content Warnings
Graphic: Mental illness and Physical abuse
wendy is sent to an insane aslyum after first going to neverland because she refuses to forget. in the aslyum, she is mistreated. do not read if you are sensitive to medical abuse & mental health stigmaelena2000rr's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
inspiring
mysterious
reflective
sad
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
Very good book with an interesting twist to the story. Well written, although it gets a bit heavy with the constant time jumps and the same repetitives ideas of the brothers' personalities, which makes you feel that the characters don't have much background and they end up a bit flat. It is somewhat slower at first but little by little you get more and more hooked. I recommend it, I especially liked the different experiences of Jane and Wendy and how, despite being mother and daughter, the author makes each one have their own personality.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Child death, Medical trauma, Violence, Mental illness, Bullying, Racial slurs, Blood, Emotional abuse, and Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Sexism, Misogyny, Xenophobia, Animal death, Racism, and Torture
Minor: Injury/Injury detail, Homophobia, and War
lrose02's review
adventurous
dark
emotional
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
3.5
Content Warnings
Moderate: Mental illness, Emotional abuse, and Kidnapping
littlewishling's review against another edition
adventurous
emotional
mysterious
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
A really interesting take on Peter Pan that gives consequences to the events of the original novel. Wise’s way of writing is really captivating and had me eager for more from the get go.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Moderate: Racism and Mental illness
eed8's review
adventurous
emotional
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
4.0
Okay, I'll be honest: as far as Peter Pan retellings go, this was a mixed bag. There were a lot of really amazing ideas in terms of Neverland's hidden darkness (the revelation about how Peter manipulates the memories and behaviors of the Lost Boys was MESSED UP), and Wise did a really nice job of showing the consequences of what happens when Peter gets bored of something rather than simply saying "he lost interest so these creatures died a horrible death by starvation". mYet for all of these intriguing dark ideas that toed the edge of outright horror, I didn't feel overtly connected to the Neverland sequences. Part of me feels like Wise wasn't completely sure what to do with the story between Jane's kidnapping and Wendy's guaranteed reunion with her in Neverland, so the plot was too rambly for my liking during the "present."
I would have definitely liked to have had more insight into Wendy's bond with Jane. There's no question that she loved her daughter more than anyone else and would have torched the earth to get her back safely, but I really couldn't get a read on their actual relationship beyond "you're my child/mother and I love you." I can chalk this up to them being so different (equally delightful, but very different), but it was odd to see Wendy pivot from being so ambivalent about marriage/motherhood as a social construct to agreeing to have a child in the first place.
But - I read in an interview with Wise that she was most interested in the "what comes after" part for the Alices and Wendys of the literary world, and it absolutely shows. Though I felt like Wendy's experience in the asylum was a bit tame compared to what we know about turn-of-the-century mental institutions, her agony over being gaslit by everyone she knew was palpable, particularly when juxtaposed with her brother's PTSD from the trenches, and there was some interesting exploration in the differing ways that Wendy and Michael were treated for their mental health issues. The Darling family dynamic was seriously fascinating, and I especially ADORED how Wise turned Wendy's maiden name on its head to be coddling and childish. I figured from the title that this would be a bit cloying, but it really, really worked.
Now, on to my favorite part of this book: I loved, loved, LOVED the representation here. 100% did not expect to find this sort of representation in a fairy tale retelling. The criticism - subtle and not-so-subtle - of the treatment of Indigenous peoples both in the real world and in Neverland was astonishing. We had two fully developed Indigenous women in this story: Mary White Dog, Wendy's gal pal (more on that in a second), who was taken from her Canadian tribe by her white stepfamily as a child and clearly wrestles with her identity after spending a lifetime away from her people, and Tiger Lily, the Indian Princess from the original story whose quiet rage at being willfully forgotten/left for dead by Peter as the last survivor of the Neverland Indians flies off the page. Wendy's horrified ruminations on the similarities between Mary and Tiger Lily - namely the eradication of their respective cultures, and the meaning of Tiger Lily's existence as a stereotype invented by a spoiled little boy - was shocking in its frank timeliness. Wendy may have been the clever tailor who saved Neverland from the monster at its core, but it's clearly Mary and Tiger Lily who are responsible for this.
Finally, ALL of the kudos to Wise for so lovingly and authentically giving us an aro/ace Wendy, who clearly loves her husband as a friend and partner but EXPLICITLY does not feel romantic or sexual attraction to anyone. The closest she comes to such feelings is in the form of her relationship with Mary - and this is discussed! Explicitly discussed! There's not even a trace of the usual "Wendy-had-a-crush-on-Peter-in-Neverland" scenario. Wendy agrees to become a beard for her husband (who is gay! Cue a really fascinating exploration of the ways that he and Wendy are both forced to repress core parts of their histories/identities to be more palatable for their families and society at large!) and he's totally down with having Mary live under their roof as an unusually close friend of his wife's. This is a poly-queerplatonic household. WENDY DARLING IS QUEER, y'all, and it's BEAUTIFUL.
So yeah. The actual Neverland parts of the book? Below average. Everything else, which is really the heart of this book? Exquisite.
I would have definitely liked to have had more insight into Wendy's bond with Jane. There's no question that she loved her daughter more than anyone else and would have torched the earth to get her back safely, but I really couldn't get a read on their actual relationship beyond "you're my child/mother and I love you." I can chalk this up to them being so different (equally delightful, but very different), but it was odd to see Wendy pivot from being so ambivalent about marriage/motherhood as a social construct to agreeing to have a child in the first place.
But - I read in an interview with Wise that she was most interested in the "what comes after" part for the Alices and Wendys of the literary world, and it absolutely shows. Though I felt like Wendy's experience in the asylum was a bit tame compared to what we know about turn-of-the-century mental institutions, her agony over being gaslit by everyone she knew was palpable, particularly when juxtaposed with her brother's PTSD from the trenches, and there was some interesting exploration in the differing ways that Wendy and Michael were treated for their mental health issues. The Darling family dynamic was seriously fascinating, and I especially ADORED how Wise turned Wendy's maiden name on its head to be coddling and childish. I figured from the title that this would be a bit cloying, but it really, really worked.
Now, on to my favorite part of this book: I loved, loved, LOVED the representation here. 100% did not expect to find this sort of representation in a fairy tale retelling. The criticism - subtle and not-so-subtle - of the treatment of Indigenous peoples both in the real world and in Neverland was astonishing. We had two fully developed Indigenous women in this story: Mary White Dog, Wendy's gal pal (more on that in a second), who was taken from her Canadian tribe by her white stepfamily as a child and clearly wrestles with her identity after spending a lifetime away from her people, and Tiger Lily, the Indian Princess from the original story whose quiet rage at being willfully forgotten/left for dead by Peter as the last survivor of the Neverland Indians flies off the page. Wendy's horrified ruminations on the similarities between Mary and Tiger Lily - namely the eradication of their respective cultures, and the meaning of Tiger Lily's existence as a stereotype invented by a spoiled little boy - was shocking in its frank timeliness. Wendy may have been the clever tailor who saved Neverland from the monster at its core, but it's clearly Mary and Tiger Lily who are responsible for this.
Finally, ALL of the kudos to Wise for so lovingly and authentically giving us an aro/ace Wendy, who clearly loves her husband as a friend and partner but EXPLICITLY does not feel romantic or sexual attraction to anyone. The closest she comes to such feelings is in the form of her relationship with Mary - and this is discussed! Explicitly discussed! There's not even a trace of the usual "Wendy-had-a-crush-on-Peter-in-Neverland" scenario. Wendy agrees to become a beard for her husband (who is gay! Cue a really fascinating exploration of the ways that he and Wendy are both forced to repress core parts of their histories/identities to be more palatable for their families and society at large!) and he's totally down with having Mary live under their roof as an unusually close friend of his wife's. This is a poly-queerplatonic household. WENDY DARLING IS QUEER, y'all, and it's BEAUTIFUL.
So yeah. The actual Neverland parts of the book? Below average. Everything else, which is really the heart of this book? Exquisite.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Forced institutionalization
Minor: Racism and Mental illness
anniereads221's review
adventurous
dark
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
4.0
I enjoyed this dark retelling of Peter Pan
Content Warnings
Graphic: Bullying, Child death, Colonisation, Confinement, Death, Death of parent, Forced institutionalization, Gaslighting, Grief, Homophobia, Kidnapping, Mental illness, Racial slurs, Racism, Sexism, Misogyny, Torture, and Toxic friendship
Minor: War