Reviews with content warning for Sexual assault - Darling Girl

Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

105 reviews

ekmurphey's review against another edition

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dark emotional mysterious tense medium-paced

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

4.0

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greek_book_wanderer's review against another edition

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challenging dark mysterious medium-paced

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

3.0

Sometimes it’s easier to remember sorrow than joy… Sorrow doesn’t hurt as much.

When I heard about this novel, I was very interested to read it. I was curious to see how the author handled the story, considering that she gave a darker tone to the classic one. The premise sounded intriguing and I dived into the book rather quickly. I must warn you that the book contains scenes or mentions of sexual assault and r*pe so please, if you want to read the book, do it at your own risk.

The story was overall very interesting. The mystery aspects made the book more engaging and I wanted to find the answers to the secrets behind the Darling's family's story. As sick as it sounds, I liked the idea of portraying Peter Pan as a sexual predator and that was an interesting take on the original story. There was something twisted, yet appealing about his character that motivated me to continue reading the book in order to discover more about him and his past with the Darlings.

The writing style was simple and atmospheric. I could almost feel Peter's presence, whether it was faint or not and there were some parts which made me pause for a moment before I continue my reading. At times, the writing became kinda dull and bland but all in all, it was easy to get into.

Although the book, for the most part, was enjoyable, I expected something more. The idea to turn a classic children's book into such a dark story was clever, but the execution was not good. During the middle, the plot became repetitive and lackluster. Holly tried to find ways to protect her children, she had to face her own demons, she reflected on her past and so on. There's nothing wrong with plots with books that follow the same structure, but because of that, the book was boring and monotonous. When I reached the ending, I was underwhelmed and even though it was not bad, it felt rushed and poorly written.

The way the author revealed some of the secrets behind Holly's family and Peter Pan was lackuster as well. Throughout the book, she was building suspense but the answers that were given were poor and the revelations were anticlimactic. Until the very end, there were still some questions left about Neverland and the Darling family, which were never answered. It's not bad if an author chooses to leave something to the imagination of the readers and interpretation of different topics is very welcome. However, in this book it seemed like the author didn't know what answers she should give in order to explain all of the queer events that happened and thus, and many questions were left unanswered. There was more telling that showing and unfortunately, the reveals did not live up to the suspense. Such a pity since I was invested to the mystery and I realy wanted to learn more about Peter Pan, the past of the Darling family and Neverland.

The characters were overall poorly written. As much as it hurts to say this, I couldn't feel anything towards Holly. No, I do not say that she didn't suffer and I am aware of her mentally state and her grief, but she was very bland. She cared deeply about her children, which was understandable, but beyond that, she was nothing more. Some of her decitions were irrational and although they could get excused to some degree, it was frustating to see her behaving in a stupid and immature way for the most part of the book and she irritated me alot. It is clear that she is not supposed to be a good character and I appreciated her gray-moraliy aspects, but that doesn't change the fact that she was a poorly written protagonist. Had she had written more in depth, I would have found her far more interesting.

As for the other characters, I don't have much to say, with the exception of Peter. Holly's son, jack, was a typical teenage boy with almost no personality, Jane was bland as well and she was also quite irritating (it seem that it runs in the family) and I couldn't form a full opinion about the others. There was a character who was a resemblance of Hook and although he was the most entertaining character in the book, he was a wasted opportunity. So much could have been done with his character but he was not fleshed out, just like the rest of the others.

Although it may sound sick and I may seem like a weirdo, the only character who picked my interest was Peter Pan. I don't have to clarify that I by no means support him in the book, but his dark nature intrigued me and I wanted to discover the reasons behind his motives. When the plot would center around him, it became more interesting and I was more invested to it. He was brought up many times in the book and the author placed great emphasis on his name, but I was let down when I saw that he appeared only a few times. Considering that Holly was supposed to be after him, the story didn't focus on him as much as it should have and despite him being described as dark and twisted, he too suffered from the poor characterisation.

All in all, the book was entertaining and I did not regret reading it. I admit that I expected more from the plot, but nevertheless, this was an interesting retelling with suspense and mystery. I would recommend to someone who is looking for a dark Peter Pan retelling, however, proceed with caution and make sure to check the trigger warnings before you dive into it.

Content Warnings

amandaviljanen's review against another edition

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dark 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? Yes

2.75

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jaylee_books's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional tense medium-paced

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

2.75

Content Warnings

prof_pelon's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

3.0

Content Warnings

sfbookgirl's review against another edition

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dark mysterious tense slow-paced

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

2.0

I am sad to report that Darling Girl missed the mark for me. And while Peter Pan is my favorite children's fantasy story, evil Peter Pan just doesn't do it for me. In this tale, we learn more about Wendy's granddaughter Holly and her daughter Eden who suffers from a rare aging disorder. After Eden mysteriously disappears, Holly knows immediately who is responsible: the one and only Peter Pan. Sent on a wild goose chase, Holly frantically looks for her daughter with the help of a private detective named Christopher Cooke (hmm look at that coincidence).

I found the plot of Darling Girl to be all over the place and ultimately, boring. There are quite a few trigger warnings like kidnapping, rape, and abuse that just did not sit well with me, nor do they seem necessary. The elements of romance were downright strange and oddly disturbing...and also did not seem necessary. Other readers have enjoyed Darling Girl, but this retelling of Peter Pan just didn't sit right with me. I am curious to hear your thoughts if you have read it!

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mandaleigh's review against another edition

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dark fast-paced

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

2.0

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haileybones's review against another edition

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slow-paced

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

1.0

I didn't like much of anything about this book. The premise has promise and the prose is fine, but it ends up being a slow, somewhat nonsensical trod with an insufferable main character. She is very "upper class white lady" and it is not sympathetic. A lot of plot threads are left loose or resolved by telling, not showing -- you're told about the climax, but don't experience it. You only get a taste of the characters you're excited to see reimagined and never go to Neverland itself. (A lot of these issues could have been solved by having multiple POV characters.) And the whole thing read as ableist to me. Would a disability really make Jack's life not worth living? His ultra wealthy CEO/brilliant research scientist mother couldn't make any accommodations to improve his quality of life? To the extent that she'll nuke their lives over and over with childish lies that benefit no one? And then not face any lasting consequences for it? And that's only the tip of the icber-- /rant

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wellreadjill_'s review against another edition

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adventurous dark slow-paced

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

2.0

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emcstjo's review against another edition

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adventurous dark emotional mysterious slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes

3.0

✨ Second star to the right, and straight on till morning… ✨

Or maybe not.

As a Peter Pan-aficionado, I was thrilled to hear about the release of this book. I tend to prefer the retellings that portray similar qualities to the original story, but dark tale is hard to resist. Before we dive in though, I must warn you, dear reader. This is a story about grief, loss, adventure (or the lack thereof) — but it isn’t really about Peter Pan.

I’m not sure if this is anywhere to be found, but as someone who believes its better to be overly sensitive than under, I think a TRIGGER WARNING (SA) should be present somewhere??

Synopsis:

Our story centers around Holly Darling, the granddaughter of Wendy. While the whole world knows of the Darling family and their encounter with Peter Pan, it remains — at least to the outside world — fiction.

Holly now lives in New York, is the owner of Darling Skin Care, along with her partner Barry, and is the mother a sixteen year old, spitfire son, Jack. What Barry, Jack, and (again) most of the world doesn’t know, is that she has another child.

No, I am not in fact referring to Jack’s twin, Isaac, who lost his life in a car accident along with her husband. I’m talking about Eden — her thirteen year old, comatose daughter. She has a rare condition that causes her to age rapidly, causes her blood (and its healing abilities) to be a rarity in itself, and also happens to be the daughter of Peter Pan.

When Eden suddenly goes missing, Holly drops everything to fly overseas and investigate herself. Outside of Holly, her mother Jane, and the staff that attends to Eden, no one even knows about her. Not Jack, who was too young to remember the tragic accident that left the toddler comatose. Not Peter Pan, who would never acknowledge, admit, or understand the horror in which she was conceived.

Desperate, Holly attempts to enlist the help of her mother, the only person who knows the story of Peter Pan isn’t just one of fiction, but also the one who refuses to accept her hero is far from just that. She hires an ex-solider turned private investigator, Christopher Cooke (Yes, the names aren’t lost on me — nor are they lost on the author!), determined to find Peter.

This isn’t your average Peter Pan retelling. It’s a story of high-stakes, grief, sacrifice, and motherhood. Holly is in a race against time (literally) to locate the boy who never grows up (or refuses to), and save her children, before it’s too late.

Review:

*Indirect spoilers — topics mentioned but no details or revealings*

Like I mentioned above, I’m a HUGE Peter Pan fan. With that said, I have a certain protectiveness and harsh judgement over any retellings, too. I don’t usually love the ones similar to Darling Girl that portrays Peter as the villain (Dark and twisty qualities though, one of my guilty pleasures). The original story of Peter Pan always brought such a sense of light and comfort to me growing up, that it’s hard to convince me otherwise.

Overall, I REALLY enjoyed Darling Girl. I loved getting a “Peter Pan” story that, while he was technically one of the main characters, wasn’t really about him. It was a story about Holly, about the Darlings, and especially the idea that everything isn’t as it seems. You can’t believe every story you’re told, even if it’s one the whole world thinks they know. Peter’s characterization made for a wonderful villain. I loooooved how Wendy, her brothers, and J. M. Barrie were incorporated, and twisted to match Michalski’s vision. All of the characters were written and portrayed beautifully, and believable with how one might imagine the Darling family to be in modern times.

I’m never one to complain about how long a book is, and with Darling Girl, the length wasn’t necessarily the issue. But, again, this book isn’t about Peter Pan. It’s about Holly, Jane, the Darlings. I don’t know if that aspect was made very clear. For someone like me, who will read just about anything related to Peter Pan, it’s a little misleading. That doesn’t mean the book isn’t entertaining, because it definitely is — it just isn’t Peter’s story.

What I’m trying to say is that the end wasn’t very climactic. Throughout the whole book, I felt like we just kept getting closer and closer to something, and when we finally got there, I was left feeling a little dissatisfied. 350 pages dedicated towards a lot of build up for an anticlimactic ending.

The way Michalski ENDED the book though was beautiful. I thought it was very endearing and I closed the book feeling more satisfied than I had a few pages before.

All in all, this is a dark, modern thriller with fantastical elements. I don’t know if I would ever feel the need or desire to re-read, to be completely honest, but I did enjoy it enough the first time around that I’m glad it made the move off of my TBR list!

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