A review by emcstjo
Darling Girl by Liz Michalski

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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