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A review by niamhbereading
Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise
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 stigma