Reviews tagging 'Forced institutionalization'

Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise

33 reviews

silvernfire's review

adventurous challenging dark sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Violence, Kidnapping, and Child death

Minor: Death of parent and War

anwade88's review

dark slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? No
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.5

A dark Peter Pan retelling that didn’t quite hit the mark for me.

Let’s start with the fact that the title and cover does not convey the tone or style of this book at all. It’s very dark and has some of the creepiness of horror.

Wendy refuses to forget Neverland and, as an adult, is placed in a sanatorium. 

Every single character in this book has major trauma and hardships. There’s no respite from the onslaught of sadness, no bits of humor. It’s one tragic event after another.

The writing was very flourished—maybe too much so for the dark material.

There were some ideas I found intriguing—such as the folklore crafted about Neverland and Wendy’s adult relationships. Nonetheless, the story (and the ending, especially) fell flat for me.

 

There is the hero’s journey (where a character starts with a large group and ends up facing the big bad alone in the end, but overcomes) and the heroine’s journey (where a lone character starts out with no one and ends up fighting the big bad and overcoming with a big group they found along the way), and then there’s this.

I’d argue this is a heroine’s journey except instead of ending on triumph, it ends with everyone more broken then ever.

Ned and Wendy have something between them for the first time ever.

Mary tells Wendy (48 hours after she recovered her missing child!?!?) that she’s leaving to start a baker but they’re “still family.” (I literally hated this.) 

Jane has a distrust and wariness with her mother. 

Timothy died! (And off page which was honestly ridiculous.)

And then the last paragraph is a hint that Wendy is going to come clean with Ned but we’re left wondering if it goes well or if she’s starting the cycle all over again. 

I hated the ending. There was no resolution to Wendy’s over all story—we’re still left wondering. Very annoyed.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

chaptersofamylea's review

DNF @ page 97

While I like the idea of this book and how it was imagined, I just couldn’t gel with the writing style. There was nothing gripping about it and I’ll be honest and say that I’m genuinely gutted about it as I had high hopes for this. 

TWs up until this point: death of a parent, kidnapping, non-consensual hospitalisation, abuse, ref to PTSD

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization and Kidnapping

Moderate: Physical abuse and Emotional abuse

Minor: Death of parent

kadtide's review

adventurous emotional reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Confinement, Gaslighting, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, and Child death

Moderate: Grief and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Blood, Racism, War, and Sexism

bookmark3brodi's review

adventurous mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Pregnancy, Abandonment, Animal cruelty, Bullying, Blood, Death of parent, Emotional abuse, Grief, Physical abuse, Torture, Toxic relationship, Violence, War, Forced institutionalization, Kidnapping, Misogyny, Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Confinement, Gore, and Racism

elena2000rr'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.

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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

ehparrish's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional mysterious

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization, Physical abuse, and Child death

natashaleighton_'s review

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Forced institutionalization, Confinement, and Physical abuse

Moderate: Racism, Grief, and Death

Minor: Death of parent, Child death, and Colonisation

abitahooey's review against another edition

dark sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

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.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Forced institutionalization

Moderate: Racism and Mental illness