A review by kari_f
Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

dark emotional tense
  • Loveable characters? No
  • Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
  • Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0


I honestly went into this book fairly blind, knowing only that it was a darker take on the Peter Pan story. I have enjoyed screen adaptations showing Peter as something other than the delightfully mischievous, child-like sprite, so I was excited to dive into a literary version of this. On the whole, I'm glad I didn't have a ton of background on what the plot would be, and I enjoyed figuring it out along the way.

I was drawn in pretty immediately, trying to meld in my mind the traditional Peter Pan story and the protagonist's current reality. I loved how the plot progressed and we learned more about this highly dysfunctional and misunderstood family as we kept reading. There was so much secrecy and deception throughout the entire book (thus, the dysfunctional family aspect), and I found myself wanting to throttle each of the characters at some point in time. Because there were some tragically flawed and morally dubious characters, we also got a good amount of deep character development. 

I enjoyed that so many characters from the original story were present and how each of them was represented in a unique way. The tone was dark and suspenseful, and I found myself intrigued enough that I didn't want to put it down! Though the book is pretty dark throughout, there were several enchanting and magical moments! The descriptions of the gardens and homes were beautifully done, and the depictions of magic had both whimsy and a sense of foreboding. There are definitely scenes where the reader will need to suspend belief, but isn't that what the Peter Pan story is all about in the first place?

There are multiple terrible decisions made by a variety of characters, and I wish we'd had a bit more resolution as far as making amends for those. We see a lot of guilt from a few of them, but reconciliation happens so quickly that it felt a bit surface level. Also, be aware that there are a few trigger warnings, including sexual assault, abandonment, abuse, and suicidal ideation. 

Overall, I enjoyed this dark reimagining of the classic, whimsical tale!
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