Reviews

Darling by K. Ancrum

itsmechelly's review

medium-paced

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

1.0

chaosandbooks's review

4.0

If you like dark retellings, this definitely fits the billing. I love how the author wove in the original elements of the story with a very modern retelling. I think what's interesting is that in modern retellings, authors tend to leave out bits of technology and state of the world in order to fit their narratives. Ancrum perfectly includes them and uses them to craft a very realistic story. The only critique that I have is that the so many things happens it almost feels impossible that it happened in the span of night. I can see why it's set that way, but it does have drawbacks.

indigoivee's review

4.0

A fucking modern day retelling of Peter Pan? Sign me up dude. I remember seeing the cover of the book and already being so enticed by it. Then, when I read the synopsis I just knew I had to read it.

If you truly knew me, you’d know that every year on my birthday I religious rewatch the 2003 Peter Pan movie. It is my favourite story – despite what people have said and theorised what the stories true meaning is. Just something about a boy who never wanted to grow up but falling in love with a girl who tells stories, makes me really happy.

But I’m sorry what – and I ask this most respectfully – the fuck did I just read? I need a couple of hours to recoup and actually comprehend what the fuck I just happened. My fellow readers, I’ve loved the story of Peter Pan my whole life. Jeremy Stumper was like my first childhood crush, but I can never look at the story of The Lost Boys again the same after this. Ms. K. Ancrum, fuck you – respectfully – for this twisted retelling of the classic story I loved so much. I mean, Wendy Darling, strong, brave yet so naive to the entire situation and Tinkerbelle and all the others we have come to know and love stuck in a trauma bond and fearing their lives? Are you insane. I have never loved and hated a book as much as I do this one. It was perfect and it was horrible to read. I loved how genuinely everyone loved one another and truly cared for one another. I loved everyone’s individuality and how they took Wendy under their wing without so much as a second thought. But fuck your Peter Pan, you know what you did.

And even though I finished this book in one day, I still truly believe this book, in fact, finished me. I think I need 3 to 7 business days to recover from this. Truly have a whole new perspective on the Peter Pan syndrome, but in the most amazing and yet terrifying way I’ve ever seen written. I’d honestly give this book 20 million stars, but I need therapy after this.

Favourite Quote: “It was strange how quickly being in situations out of your control made you crave parental restrictions.”

j3mm4's review

mysterious tense fast-paced

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

4.5

I found this book through a favorable comparison in a Booktuber's negative review about another YA Peter Pan reimagining, and I agree that it's a pretty good YA book. It's also a compelling reimagining - what, in the real world, is a boy who refuses to grow up? what, in the real world, does a lost boy look like? - and I can absolutely see the appeal. Wendy is a caring and stubborn teenage girl who feels very real, and Ancrum's teen protagonist voice feels very grounded in contemporary teenage communications, albeit those from the mid-late 2010s rather  than the early 2020s. For my own tastes, it was also pretty young stylistically, but I'm an adult, so that's to be expected. My biggest bugbears with this book are the pacing - the revelations about Peter come really late in the game - and how ultimately passive Wendy is throughout much of the plot. The idea that she can manipulate Peter because of who her mom is is barely set up through either backstory or her personality, and if we had seen her be a little more observant, a little more willing to cling onto the flashes of Peter's manipulations, a little more adept at social manipulation, that would've gone a long way to emotionally setting up the climax even if we couldn't, say, have her mother be more explicit about her fears for Wendy in Chicago or even express her seeming-paranoia through educating Wendy on what these kinds of predators are like and how they operate. The happy ending was foreshadowed so well as to almost feel like it was hitting me over the head, but with the context of everything happening between the setup and the epilogue's payoff, it felt earned and a little special, and I appreciate that hindsight reveals Peter's reaction to its foreshadowing as bitterly possessive and provides more depth to the exchange. It's a good book, and I think I could've had more fun with it when I was in its target audience, but I also think I would've had the best time with it as a middle schooler because of how young it feels and how uninterested it is in the stakes between zero and serial killing.

k_lenn's review

5.0

Wendy Darling is new to Chicago in this diverse, modern day retelling of Peter Pan. Told over the course of one night, a charming and magnetic boy named Peter breaks into her new bedroom and whisks her away on a dangerous adventure where dark secrets unravel. Who is this mysterious boy, and why is everyone scared of him?

Unique and clever with wonderfully diverse characters; Darling is hard to put down. It was a wild, creepy ride and I loved every minute of it.

K. Ancrum did a remarkable job incorporating the original plot in her retelling. I also LOVE that Wendy and Tinker Bell didn’t have any unnecessary drama, especially over Peter’s attention! I was expecting (and dreading) that plot line and was very happy with its absence.

Will be reading more K. Ancrum books!!

stingrayafflictlon's review against another edition

adventurous dark mysterious tense fast-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? It's complicated

5.0

loreta_lat's review

adventurous challenging dark mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

honeybun_06's review

adventurous dark tense medium-paced

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

3.5

nettles's review

2.0

You say Peter Pan, I expect magic and adventure. Perhaps that was my mistake. Set in modern day Chicago with no magic, it was definitely a take on the classic that I hadn’t imagined before, but not one I had fun reading.

The resolution felt too easy. Wendy literally showed up at the tail end of a nightmare to quickly finish off everyone else’s hard work.

I liked the representation in this book, however. The kids felt like real people.

mweis's review against another edition

challenging dark mysterious tense fast-paced

• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25