Thank you to the publisher and NetGalley for gifting me an e-arc and a finished copy of this book.
I love a dark retelling so was instantly interested in this one as it sounded right up my street. Unfortunately while I did like this, I didn't love it like I expected to. This is also less a retelling and more a continuation as it follows Wendy's life after leaving Neverland.

I enjoyed the multi POV as we got to see the story from both Wendy on her journey back to Neverland to rescue her daughter, and also from Jane's point of view in Neverland. I felt like we had much more of Wendy's past in her POV chapters than we needed; we end up with detailed events of what happened to her during her time in the asylum that her brothers take her to, when she continues to try and make them remember their time in Neverland as children. While seeing some of those events was important to see how she got to where she is at this point, I feel like there was much more than we needed and it left me feeling disconnected from the actual plot of Wendy having to go and rescue her daughter from Peter.

The second half of the book - where Wendy makes it to Neverland, and while Jane is trying to remember who she is and that she needs to find a way home - is much more fast paced and we get to see a truly dark side of Peter and the island. However even with a stronger ending, this was not enough to bring up my overall rating of the book higher than a 3 star.

2.5 stars

This book was a fairly average read for me. It was interesting to see what Wendy's life was like after Neverland, even though it was very sad. And the whole thing about Peter Pan and Neverland not really being how she thought it was when she was a kid, was also interesting. Jane was also a fun character and I liked how smart she was and how easily she figured out that Neverland wasn't a dreamy place with no parents with only fun and games, but that it was so much darker.

The plot twists were kind of predictable most of the time and I didn't really think the ending was all that satisfying. All in all, it was an okay book, and I would recommend it to people who like stories that are like dark fairytales.

Thank you NetGalley and publisher for the e-ARC in exchange for an honest review.

Let me start by saying, if you love Peter Pan, I feel like this is the book for you. I wasn’t sure how I would feel about it because, well, Peter Pan was one of my favourites when I was little and its also now a favourite of Mini Me. Honestly though, Wise does an amazing job of respecting the classic and expanding upon it.

First off, this gets very dark, very quickly. Its all about the aftermath of being removed from Neverland. Wendy was never believed when she talked about her experience, while her brothers simply seemed to forget about Peter and the Lost Boys after a while. Due her inability to let it go, Wendy is treated as mentally ill, and the story goes from there. It weaves back and forth through Wendy’s post-Neverland life, while also being told from the point of view of her daughter (she is nothing like the whimsical Wendy but grew up with stories of the Tailor and their mischievous friend The Little White Bird).

Now I said that Wendy, Darling gets dark very quickly but it’s not because of Wendy’s experiences in the institution to which she was admitted for many years. Peter has begun to lose the plot and Neverland is slowly starting to look less like a child’s dreamland and more like a Hell for those who have been seen to slight The Boy Who Never Grew Up. Hook has abandoned his ship, Tiger Lily has grown old and wise, and the Lost Boys know that somethings not right, but Peter still maintains an iron grip over them. And when he steals Wendy’s daughter from her childhood bedroom, it becomes Wendy’s task to make him realise just how much he needs to change.

As the timeline changes between Wendy’s institutionalisation and the ‘present day’, it becomes very obvious just how much Neverland changed her for the better. No longer a pliable tween, she begins to come into her own rather than taking a back seat to the events of the world like she did in the original. Her evolution into the woman she becomes is shepherded by a variety of events and people, most specifically her Cook and her loving husband. While it could have come across as forced and disconnected, Wendy, Darling instead builds upon the existing lore of Neverland and warps it into a world of hidden horrors, now seen through the eyes of a woman who has experienced so much more than when she was effectively stolen as a 12 year old.

I want to make a point here that while Peter is definitely involved in the whole thing (as is his lost shadow that honestly is creepy as all heck), he becomes more a supporting character and villain rather than the hero of the piece. It becomes obvious early on that instead of the seemingly fun and headstrong boy of J M Barrie’s masterpiece, Peter is instead a broken and manipulative young man intent on keeping his secrets hidden from those he most pretends to care about. Honestly, his portrayal in this novel, forces the reader to ignore the nostalgia of their childhood and confront the fact that really, Peter is just a boy who kidnaps children throughout his entire story.

Basically what I'm trying to say is that Wendy, Darling is a book for both lovers and haters of J M Barrie's masterpiece Peter Pan. Its full of heart warming and emotionally draining moments alike. Wise's portrayal of what was probably my first real childhood crush, will make you re-evaluate Peter and his Lost Boys and force you to realise that those events seen through the idyllic eyes of a child are actually super messed up when viewed as an adult.

This darker and more shadowed adaptation of Peter Pan was surprising and full of new adventures to Neverland. This novel follows the story of Wendy post Neverland, when she had to grow up and come to terms with how much Neverland changed her. It was something she never forgot and something that stuck with her. It also a good LGBTQ retelling, but I don't want to ruin it by telling you why.
As the story progresses and Wendy deals with her mental health, her sexuality, adapting to the norms a woman of that time was expected to be, life continues and she has a daughter called Jane. But that is when Peter Pan enters her life again. He arrives expecting to find Wendy, but sees Jane and takes their 'mother' back to Neverland. This is when Wendy takes it upon herself to go back and save her from the horrors she witnessed as a child and let me tell you, Peter isn't a boy who never grew up. He is a monster in disguise and since she left Neverland has suffered, things have taken a darker turn. But can she save Jane in time.
I loved the twist the author did on Peter Pan, it was fresh, unique and full of surprises. I found it well written, though I really wish there had been more of the evil Pan as I feel it would have flowed better. I loved the themes covered in the book and how well they were handled. I also enjoyed visiting one og my favourite childhood getaways for new stories. (4 5 rating)

A woman’s worst fear comes true when someone from her past shows up in her adulthood. As she fights circumstances to bring her life back in order, she views memories of some of the most treasured times in her life through a new lens. Author A.C. Wise takes a grownup look at a childhood fairy tale in an uneven debut in her book Wendy, Darling.

One night in London in 1931, Wendy Darling wakes up to discover that her daughter, Jane, has been kidnapped. Her husband, Ned, alerts Scotland Yard, and Wendy’s brothers, John and Michael, as well as Ned’s father rush over to try to figure out what happened. As Wendy watches all the chaos around her, she wants nothing more than to tell them the truth: she knows what happened to Jane. Saw it happen, in fact.

Instead, Wendy says nothing. Because she can’t tell them. Telling the truth is exactly what got her committed to St. Bernadette’s years earlier. John took her to the asylum himself after a series of arguments that some would have called tantrums from a crazy person.

They weren’t tantrums or arguments, though; they were the pleas of an older sister begging her younger brothers to remember a special time in their lives. The time when Peter Pan spirited them away to Neverland and they had unbelievable adventures. When they returned after two weeks in Neverland, bit by bit John and Michael stopped believing in the adventures at all. Only Wendy believed and remembered.

Now, she knows, Peter is back. He’s taken Jane, and Wendy is the only one who can save her. Because the adventures in Neverland showed her the dark side of the island as well, and Wendy refuses to let her daughter fall victim to it.

In Neverland, Jane meets a bewitching boy named Peter. He keeps calling her Wendy, no matter how many times Jane says that’s not her name. Peter doesn’t listen to her protests; instead he tells her she’s here to become the new mother to the Lost Boys and take care of them and pamper them the way the previous mother did.

Jane has no idea who that previous mother was, but she does know that under the surface of Peter’s smile and twinkling eyes something doesn’t fit. Peter likes to laugh and jump and invent games, but he’s also cruel and bossy and demanding. As she gets to know the Lost Boys, she learns that some of them share her opinions. Some of them, in their heart of hearts, don’t want to be there at all.

Author A.C. Wise takes the classic children’s book by J.M. Barrie and continues the story by making Wendy grow up. While the plot device works in some ways, in others it doesn’t go quite far enough. Wise seems to direct readers to the edge of the cliff, but she hesitates there. This indecision makes the book feel incomplete.

Late in the book, Wendy describes feeling like there’s a door shut inside her mind. If only, she thinks, she could get past the door, she would remember important things that would help Jane. Readers may feel like they’re stuck behind that door no matter where the story goes. Wise describes a darkness, an evil lurking in Neverland, but that darkness remains fuzzy at its edges until the end.

The mother-daughter bond is the strongest part of the novel. Wendy, understandably, will do anything to get Jane back, and Jane shows herself to be her plucky mother’s daughter. She’s stuck in an unknown land with a boy taunting and goading her, but nothing can persuade her to forget about wanting to go home. She pursues her goal with a single-mindedness that readers will appreciate and applaud.

Early on, Wendy recalls several instances at the asylum and thinks over and over about how John and Michael were responsible for putting her there. She mourns the fact that her brothers no longer remember Neverland. Yet when Jane disappears and Wendy goes after her, the brothers drop out of the story. Nothing about Jane’s kidnapping triggers anything for them, and after the climax the brothers have absolutely no reaction at all. Given how much time Wendy agonizes over her time in the asylum, this silence doesn’t make sense.

Readers interested in a grownup look at a children’s tale might want to check this one out.

3.75 stars

When Wendy returned from Neverland, she didn't forget. Despite the years since she was last there, she must return to save her daughter from Peter.

There is mention of abuse, death, and homophobia.

I would say this book is aimed at an older audience, from around 16 and up. Although there are no graphic scenes or word choices, the themes within this book are slightly darker.

The premise of this book sounded so great. A darker, twisted retelling of the Peter Pan story. What would you do if you came back from Neverland and no one believed you? If no one wanted to accept what you went through? Wendy had to deal with her brothers ignoring what they went through, until they are pushed too far and incarcerate her within a mental asylum. I loved this part of the story. It was gritty. It was real. It was different.

The plot splits between the current timeline of Wendy travelling back to Neverland to bring her daughter Jane home, and what happened when she was on Neverland the first time and what happened to her up until her daughter being stolen.

The part I really disliked was the ending. It fell a little flat for me. There was so much being built up to this ending and although I liked the reason behind what happened. I feel like the ending itself was a little meh compared to the rest of the book. I don't know if I'd hyped this up too much in my own mind so when it finally came to it, it didn't live up to it? I wouldn't, not recommend this book because of this but I would caution people a little bit.

This is a highly recommended read for any fans of Peter Pan, even though it's a darker take on the m mythos.

A.C. Wise presents a new perspective, showing us what would happen if Peter came back to an adult Wendy who is now married with a daughter named Jane. Initially, he mistakes Jane for being Wendy, with no concept that enough time has passed that Wendy wouldn't still be a girl. Peter refuses to believe Jane is not Wendy because he is in denial, so steals Jane away to Neverland. Wendy has no choice but to follow them to Neverland and mount a rescue.

Wendy was written very well, and I would recommend this to fans of the original Peter Pan books. It's an update and a fine addition to the original.

Thank you so much, NetGalley and Titan Books for the chance to read and review this book.

Neverland. A children's paradise, with no rules, no adults and full of adventures and magic, everything ruled and led by the charismatic Peter Pan. But now Wendy Darling is an adult, she has a family, a daughter called Jane and when Peter Pan comes back to get a new mother for the island and takes Jane away, Wendy will do anything in her power to get her back and she will be forced to face the darkness of the island.

Wendy, Darling is a feminist and dark retelling of Peter Pan and the main character is Wendy, now grown up, a patient, a mother, a survivor, strong and stubborn and ready to do anything to get her daughter back. It's a creepy and dark story, told by the brilliant Wendy in her voice, full of rage and stubborness and strength. Beautiful, lush and imaginative, Wendy, Darling hooked me since the very beginning. I love Peter Pan and every kind of retelling and this book was heartwrenching, brilliant and so well written it felt like I was there with them, following them, facing everything with them. Wendy is a compelling main character, skillfully written and complex in her rage and desire, in her dreams and fears and I loved her so much.
Peter Pan is fascinating, thrilling and this book was such a pleasure to read, a gothic reimagining of Peter Pan and their story.

Wendy Darling's life was irrevocably altered when she and her two brothers were swept out of their bedroom window and spirited off to an island of pure fantasy. When they returned home to London, John and Michael were able to move on with their lives, but Wendy could not forget Neverland nor the impossible boy that brought her there. Refusing to deny Peter and Neverland has fractured Wendy's relationships with her family and even resulted in her institutionalization in an asylum.

Many years later, Wendy is married with a daughter of her own and trying to finally put the past behind her. Until one fateful night when a boy who does not age, a boy with no shadow, slips through her daughters bedroom and carries Jane off to Neverland in Wendy's place. Now Wendy must confront the unsettling truths about her past, in order to save her family and her future.

Wendy, Darling was exactly what I hope for when reading a fairytale retelling. I've always thought there was something sinister lurking behind the shiny veneer of Neverland and Peter Pan and A.C. Wise exploits that ominous undertone in dark and delicious ways. Decay, death and eldritch horrors replace mermaids, magic and childhood naiveté.

The book had a wonderful cast of strong and empowered female characters as well as queer and aro/ace rep (we don't see a lot of this so it was very exciting!) I was also really impressed by the way that the author addressed trauma and trauma recovery in a very raw and realistic manner.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for providing a copy of this book for review. It was an incredible read that I highly recommend!

If you grew up being a Peter Pan fan, this book is a must read. The author brings us a new vision, imagining what would happen if Peter returned years later, finding Wendy as an adult, married and mother of a little girl named Jane.

At first, he thinks that Jane is Wendy, not considering the time that has passed. He thought she would look exactly the same as before. Wendy tries to explain, but Peter doesn't want to believe it. He doesn't like the idea of her growing up. That's when he decides to take Jane with him to Neverland instead.

Wendy reflects on everything that has happened in her life since she returned from Neverland, analyzing her relationship with her parents, her siblings, her husband, her daughter, her friend Mary... and also with herself.

While some aspects remind us a lot of what we already knew about the Peter Pan universe, the author also presents interesting new elements, making the characters even more current and relevant. It was a quick and very enjoyable read! I really liked it!

* I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review.

I'm always intrigued by a retelling of sorts so, while I don't exactly remember Peter Pan, I thought this sounded pretty interesting with the basic premise of Wendy's child goes to Neverland. But in many ways this added a lot more depth and gave the original Wendy an interesting spin.

We deal with two times - present with Wendy looking for her child and the past, understanding the aftermath or Neverland for Wendy, and the past was a lot more interesting to me than the present, to be honest. Maybe it's because I wasn't looking for an adventure, and while the present isn't exactly and adventure, it was more reminiscent of what I remember of the original. I do wish that Wendy's brothers and her experience in the past had been more built out. It felt like there was so much potential there and I felt a little like we were cut off before the good stuff could start with Wendy. I didn't really feel like the reader got real closure.

I also wish we'd gotten more insight into Peter and building out the world. Because what a world it is, and yet you only get a flimsy explanation, not even speculation. It was a book that was maybe supposed to be character driven, but I'm not sure it achieved it's full potential. 2.5 stars.

☆☆☆☆,75 /5

Concernant Peter Pan, je n’ai lu que très peu de réécritures de conte alors lorsque j’ai entendu parler de cette nouvelle sortie, il y a 2 jours, j’ai tout de suite été très intriguée.
Et wow wow wow ! Bien que je n’aie pas de références, je pense que ce fabuleux roman va faire partie de mes favorites réécritures de Peter Pan !
¤
Pour tout ceux qui y habitaient, Neverland était le paradis des enfants. Pas de règles, pas d’adultes, juste une aventure sans fin et une forêt enchanté -tous dirigé par l’attirant garçon qui ne voulait pas grandir.
Mais Wendy Darling a grandi, elle. Elle a quitté Neverland et est devenue une femme, une mère, une patiente et une survivante. Parce que Neverland n’est pas aussi parfait comme elle s’en souvient. Il y a quelque chose d’obscur au cœur de l’île et maintenant, Peter Pan est revenu réclamer une nouvelle Wendy pour ses garçons perdus…
¤
Dans ce roman, nous nous retrouvons environ 27 ans après l’aventure de Wendy et ses frères à Neverland. Bien que Wendy ait grandi, elle se souvient de ce monde incroyable qu’elle a découvert jadis, contrairement à ses frères qui, eux, ont tout oublié. Malheureusement, ses souvenirs ont eu un prix dans la vie de Wendy… Et j’ai été touchée par la dureté de ce que la jeune femme a vécu. Prise pour folle, elle a été internée dans un hôpital psychiatrique. Wendy a dû se reconstruire sur le cauchemar qu’elle a vécu dans cet institut, mais surtout sur les secrets autour de Neverland qu’elle a dû cacher, même à sa nouvelle famille, son mari Ned et sa fille Jane. J’ai eu énormément de compassion pour Wendy. J’ai eu l’impression de ressentir sa souffrance lorsqu’on l’affublait de « folle », lorsqu’elle essayait de se défendre et notamment, lorsqu’elle refoulait ses sentiments pour Neverland et Peter Pan. Également, j’ai aperçu cette sorte de déchirement qu’elle ressent entre la vie réelle et Neverland, que ce soit lorsqu’elle venait de rentrer à Londres en 1917 ou dans le présent quand Peter Pan vient enlever sa fille, pour qu’elle devienne la nouvelle Wendy.
Au travers des pages, l’auteure alterne entre différents instants, différents points de vue. On suit Wendy lors de sa vie à Neverland, Wendy lorsqu’elle est internée en hôpital, Wendy adulte qui est décidée à récupérer sa fille et Jane, qui elle, essaye de survivre à Neverland et de rentrer chez elle. J’ai été vraiment séduite par la manière dont l’auteure réussissait à captiver mon attention, tout en entremêlant les informations mais sans jamais que je ne me sente perdue. Au fil du récit, il y avait une certaine tension qui régnait. Tout comme les personnages, je ne savais pas sur quel pied danser et je ressentais comme une sorte de malaise vis-à-vis de Peter Pan.
J’ai particulièrement apprécié les descriptions concernant l’Île de Neverland. J’avais l’impression que l’auteure la décrivait comme un personnage qui avait d’énormes impacts sur l’intrigue et c’était vraiment intéressant. Aussi, j’ai beaucoup apprécié le côté sombre, horreur qui a été ajouté au personnage cruel de Peter Pan, aux événements étranges au sein de l’île… et ce secret caché au cœur de l’île ! Je n’en reviens pas, j’en ai encore des frissons !
¤
En bref, l’auteure nous offre une réécriture plutôt sombre du conte de Peter Pan. Ce texte m’a clairement fait oublier la manière dont je percevais Neverland, qui n’est finalement pas aussi paradisiaque qu’on peut le penser. J’ai beaucoup apprécié me retrouver après l’histoire du conte en fait et de voir que les femmes ont une place importante dans ce roman. Jane s’impose, mais surtout Wendy. C’est une battante, une survivante et clairement, je l’ai adorée.

----------

In my life, I have read very few retellings about Peter Pan, so when I heard about this new release 2 days ago, I was immediately very intrigued.
And wow wow wow! Although I don't have any references, I think this fabulous book is going to be one of my favorite Peter Pan retellings!
¤
For those that lived there, Neverland was a children's paradise. No rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests - all led by the charismatic boy who would never grow old.

But Wendy Darling grew up. She left Neverland and became a woman, a mother, a patient, and a survivor. Because Neverland isn't as perfect as she remembers. There's darkness at the heart of the island, and now Peter Pan has returned to claim a new Wendy for his lost boys..
¤
In this story, we are approximatively 27 years after Wendy and her brothers' adventure in Neverland. Although Wendy has grown up, she remembers this incredible world she once discovered, unlike her brothers who have forgotten everything. Unfortunately, her memories came at a price in Wendy's life… And I was touched by the harshness of what the woman went through. Taken for “crazy”, she was interned in a psychiatric hospital. Wendy had to rebuild herself on the nightmare she experienced in this psychiatric hospital, but especially on the secrets around Neverland that she had to hide, even from her new family, her husband Ned and her daughter Jane. I felt compassion for Wendy. I felt like I felt her pain when she was branded as "crazy", when she tried to defend herself and especially when she tried to deny her feelings for Neverland and Peter Pan. Also, I saw this kind of heartbreak that she feels between the real life and Neverland, whether it was when she had just returned to London in 1917 or in the present when Peter Pan comes to claim a new Wendy and takes her daughter.
Throughout the pages, the author alternates between different points of view. We followed Wendy through her life in Neverland, Wendy in the hospital, adult Wendy who is determined to get her daughter back and Jane, who she tries to survive Neverland and return home. I was really won over by the way the author managed to capture my attention, while interweaving the information but never making me feel lost. There was a certain tension that reigned in the whole book. Just like the characters, I didn't know what to think about Neverland and I felt a kind of unease with the cruelty of Peter Pan.
I especially liked the descriptions about Neverland Island. I felt like the author was describing it as a character who had huge impacts on the plot and it was really interesting. Also, I really appreciated the dark side that was added in the story with the monsters, the strange events within the island ... and this secret hidden in the heart of the island! I still can't believe it! I still have chills, just thinking about it!
¤
Finally, the author offers us a dark retelling of Peter Pan. This book clearly made me forget what I believed about Neverland, which is ultimately not as heavenly as we might think. I really enjoyed that the story took place post-Neverland and that women have an important place in this story. Jane is really strong and smart and Wendy… She’s incredible. She's a fighter. She’s a survivor and I loved her.

Wendy, Darling is a A.C. Wise's reimagining of what happened to Wendy Darling in the years and decades after she returned from Neverland.
We meet Wendy again at the opening of the book, a wife and mother with a daughter of her own and a traumatic past that included time spent in an Insane Asylum. One night she enters her daughter's bedroom just in time to see her precious child be stolen away by Peter Pan who is looking for a new Wendy for his tribe of Lost Boys. She knows that the only way to save her daughter is to follow them to Neverland , and rescue her from the clutches of the capricious and sometimes malevolent Peter. Neverland is not the paradise she remembers however, many of her old friends have disappeared and there is a mysterious darkness at the heart of the island, Only by defeating this will she be able to free her daughter and take her home.
This is a dark take on a familiar tale, but I enjoyed it. I found the character of Wendy compelling and really enjoyed how the author wove together two timelines so that we learned about her past in the asylum and her relationship with her brothers, husband and best friend as well as the adventure story set in Neverland as she tried to save her daughter Jane. This is a book I would recommend to fans of the original Peter Pan tale, or more recent retellings like Christina Henry's Lost Boy.
I read and reviewed an ARC courtesy of NetGalley and the publisher, all opinions are my own.

I very much wanted to love this book, but I just didn't. The book jumps between multiple timelines and between the viewpoint of Wendy and her daughter Jane. As Peter Pan re-enters Wendy's life and takes her daughter, Wendy is thrown into turmoil. The book shows what Wendy's life was like after Neverland and it wasn't pleasant. Wendy remembers Neverland and Peter Pan, but her brothers have forgotten. From their return from Neverland, Wendy is depicted as difficult woman. I did love the depiction of 1920s mental institutions and the treatment of women during that time. Women were meant to be married, have children, and be silent.

However, I had a hard time connecting with the characters and remembering some of the original Peter Pan story. I think the author could have expanded and added more of the original backstory. The book also takes the Peter Pan story and shows how malicious the mischievous boy really is. Wendy's daughter is our narrator for this portion of the story and her depiction of Neverland is nothing short of unhinged. At this point, I could have done with more explanation of why Peter is the way he is, I had more questions then answers when it came to the climax and conclusion. I would recommend this book if you're looking at an interesting new take on Peter Pan, but it does have what felt like a few plot holes to me and poor character development.

Wendy, Darling is a dark reimagining of the Peter Pan tale and Wendy’s life after Neverland grown up with a family of her own.

The story takes us between the present day with Wendy going back to Neverland to rescue her daughter and flashbacks to a few years during which she was institutionalized by her brothers after she never forgot Neverland as she grew up.

This story was dark and twisty. It’s not a happy tale. Neverland isn’t a place of wonder and magic, Peter isn’t a simple boy who never wants to grow up - he’s something worse and monstrous. It’s a book that you don’t want to stop reading but at times feels like you have to step away from. Bouncing back and forth between Wendy and Jane’s POV gives the story an interesting perspective. Jane barely able to remember her mother’s stories is seeing Neverland in a darker and harsher light than her mother ever did. While on the other hand, Wendy is returning to Neverland. Where things that shouldn’t have been able to have died. A place that now feels haunted and evil - no longer the place of dreams and no responsibilities. She’s no longer a child and has been through many terrible things throughout her life after leaving.

This was a really great retelling and - although it did make me cry - really liked it.

One note on content warnings: be aware that this book deals with some heavy themes such as - mental illness, abuse, and death.

Thank you to Netgalley and Titan Books for the opportunity to read this before publication.

This book was a lot darker than I thought it would be! I ended up really enjoying it and read it cover-to-cover in one sitting! Jane was definitely my favorite character. She's so strong-minded and doesn't back down. She really did remind me of Wendy Darling from the Peter Pan stories that I grew up with. I was missing a bit of the "magical Neverland" feel, and I really wish we would've seen Hook, Mr. Smee and Tinkerbell. Overall enjoyable reading experience. I've given it 3/5 stars.

Being a millennial of a certain age, I’ve grown up surrounded by Peter Pan.

There was, of course, the 1953 Disney film on near constant rotation at my house, as well as the 1991 Robin Williams-starring movie Hook. Then came the 2003 live-action movie that I haven’t seen as much as I should have, and a few others released since that I haven’t seen at all. But I am aware they exist. Because Peter Pan is everywhere.

There is a certain fascination with the tale of the Boy Who Never Grows Up, and he’s often heralded as a symbol of youth, of innocence, of the inner child we all have and have maybe forgotten about. But what happens when you peel back the layers and really look at it through the eyes of an adult?

This is the thesis behind A.C. Wise’s spectacular novel Wendy, Darling.

Wendy, Darling tells the story of the titular Wendy, and her daughter Jane as the latter is taken against her will to Neverland by Peter Pan, who refuses to accept that Wendy would go and do something as stupid as grow up.

We follow Wendy through several periods in her life: her famous trip to Neverland as a child, her “present day” trip to rescue her daughter, and most interestingly, during the years in-between as she deals with the fallout of being the only one willing to remember the grand adventure.

Because that’s the question no one ever asks with stories like this. When a child goes off and has a grand adventure in the land of make-believe, what happens to them when they return to the real world? Wendy’s brothers John and Michael put it out of their heads quickly. John must assume the role of man of the house following the deaths of their parents, and Michael undergoes the very real trauma of fighting in the trenches. They don’t have time, or the inclination, to dwell on how marvelous Neverland was.

But Wendy, who must return to the real world and face the limited prospects of growing up, marrying, having children and being a mother - none of which she finds especially palatable - clings on to that dream and possibility of Neverland. So much so that it starts to affect her. So much so that her brothers have her committed to an institution.

This novel is an absolutely fantastic look at the implications through an adult lens of what it truly means to “never grow up”. Because Peter has created himself a land of make-believe where whatever he says goes, he never once learns the things that all of us must in order to progress as adults. He never learns what it is to hear the word no, or to consider that his actions might have implications for others. Beyond a shocking lack of empathy, Wise also shows how such behaviour might seem appealing, but is in fact quite toxic.

Both Wendy and eventually Jane feel the effects of this. Their trips to Neverland are not the glittering fantasy we might have expected, but a blur of extreme emotional highs and lows, where both of them are extremely prone to forgetting themselves and what matters to them, After a while, it stopped seeming like a fantasy and became more akin like drug addiction.

All this isn’t even getting into the cleverly-threaded commentary on what it was like to be a woman in the early 20th century, particularly a woman of colour or a queer woman, all of which is beautifully and subtly handled in a manner that absolutely broke my heart.

Peter Pan himself is portrayed as distant and selfish initially, before it takes a very fast dive into callous and uncaring. Everyone in Neverland suffers because of him. It’s also curious to see that Peter Pan staples Captain Hook and Tinkerbell are nowhere to be seen. The former is mentioned in passing, the latter never even comes up.

What I found of particular note was how unsettling the whole book was, and I think what it comes down to, at the end of the day is collective nostalgia. Obviously, none of us have ever actually been to Neverland. But we are all in some way familiar with it, be it through cartoon, live-action or in print. We’ve all “been” there, so to speak. We’ve wondered what it would be like to fight the pirates and swim with the mermaids and live in a treehouse. It was, for however brief a period, our “home” too in some way. Wendy finds it difficult to go back and see that it was not what she remembered, and that the land she loved so much has suffered the consequences of its careless ruler, and in a way we experience the same.

That’s what makes the book so powerful, I think. Neverland connects us all for better or worse.

Wendy, Darling is out June 1.

Thank you to NetGalley and Titan Books for an advance copy of this book for review purposes.

Some weeks ago I was listening to a podcast about the dark side of fairy tales and it talked about the dark side of Peter Pan.
It came to my mind when I started reading this book. We are use to think about Peter Pan like a story about a puer aeternus, all light and adventure. Wendy grew up but her daughter will travel to Neverland too.
But things can be different and this book, that mixes dark fantasy and horror, is an excellent retelling showing how thing could be different and how Wendy could be a victim that is fighting for her daughter and who suffered for what she lived in Neverland.
The book is fast paced and gripping, we get to know Wendy's story and we travel with her trying to save her daughter.
If you are expecting a light retelling of Peter Pan this is not for you, if you want to read a different take on the story this is great.
The world building is excellent, the characters are fleshed and the author is a talented storyteller.
Highly recommended.
Many thanks to the publisher and Netgalley for this ARC, all opinions are mine

I’ve loved the story of Peter and Wendy since I was a little girl, and it took this story with its unique perspective to remember how much I truly hated the original.
How the boys went to war, and Wendy was relegated to tying false bandages on false wounds, making dinners made of nothing, and being a mother to boys who never want to grow up.
As though a girl can never really be a girl.
But Wendy is no ordinary girl now. She’s a woman. She went home after Neverland and was never the same – and it’s Peter’s fault.
From the heart thundering start when Wendy senses Peter’s return, to the awful moment he mistake’s Wendy’s daughter Jane for Wendy herself, this book’s genteel horror caught me in a net. Ensnaring, playful, threaded with half truths and lies, it’s a cleverly woven telling of what came after when Wendy grew up.
This book explores the tale from Wendy’s perspective, alternating between her quest to retrieve her daughter, and the awfulness of her return from Neverland. That no one believed her, until her brother had no choice but to have her committed.
We then see the island of Neverland not quite like it was before with Jane, and her adventures with Peter and the Lost Boys. Except the boys are truly lost, Jane doesn’t remember her own name, and Peter is ever there, ready for another game that makes no sense and the rules always change.
Between the two, glimpses of dread start to emerge, a far starker and grim fate for those who once populated the island, but there are other horrors to come. Neverland has a secret, a darkness at it’s heart and Wendy must face it to save Jane.
Wise’s prose is phenomenal – it drags you into a visceral world you can feel, emerges you in sensations with aching moments of almost prose like writing that’s simply put, gorgeous. I fell into these moments, forgot where I was or what I was doing, and in that I think is possibly my only criticism. Sometimes I’d forgotten where in the story we were up to when we returned, or that the memory or moment had a purpose. Dropped back into the story, it wasn’t disjointed so much as disorientating, and that may have been the intent.
For much of the story we spend with Wendy in the asylum where no one believes her, to Jane who’s so influenced by Peter she forgets her own name, struggles to remember that she’s not really Wendy, it’s a delicate mental balance beautifully written. The pair and their view of one another, and what it means to be a mother, what it means to be a woman in a place and time where they are little more than objects, was so well told it hurt.
I’ll never see Peter in quite the same light again, and I feel all the more powerful for it thanks to this book.

Wendy, Darling - A.C. Wise

I was given a copy of this book in exchange for a fair review thanks to Titan Books and NetGalley.

For those that lived there, Neverland was a children's paradise. No rules, no adults, only endless adventure and enchanted forests - all led by the charismatic boy who would never grow old.

But Wendy Darling grew up. She left Neverland and became a woman, a mother, a patient, and a survivor. Because Neverland isn't as perfect as she remembers. There's darkness at the heart of the island, and now Peter Pan has returned to claim a new Wendy for his lost boys...

Wendy Darling has grown up, got married and now has a young daughter named Jane. We learn that after Wendy returned from Neverland she was sick and had a troubled time forgetting what had happened to her whilst she was there. The last thing she would ever want is to return….

This story flits between Wendy and Jane, between past and present but is very easy to follow as Wise has put clever headings in place. It is a well-balanced but quite a dark retelling of the world J.M Barire created. Ultimately, this is a story of Wendy’s survival.

I think I wanted to enjoy this book enough to give it a 5 star rating but I felt in places it was just a bit too rushed.

Rating 4/5