I received this e-Arc from NetGalley and SparkPress in exchange for an honest review.
Release Date: October 13th, 2015
Synopsis: Wendy Darling has a perfectly agreeable life with her parents and brothers in wealthy London, as well as a budding romance with Booth, the neighborhood bookseller’s son. But while their parents are at a ball, the charmingly beautiful Peter Pan comes to the Darling children’s nursery and–dazzled by this flying boy with God-like powers–they follow him out the window and straight on to morning, to Neverland, an intoxicating island of feral freedom.
As time passes in Neverland, Wendy realizes this Lost Boy’s paradise of turquoise seas, mermaids, and pirates holds terrible secrets rooted in blood and greed. As Peter’s grasp on her heart tightens, she struggles to remember where she came from–and begins to suspect that this island of dreams, and the boy who desires her–have the potential to transform into an everlasting nightmare.
I finished this book a few days ago but I’ve put off reviewing this because I’ve been waffling over how high a rating I should give it. After giving it much thought I decided on 3 stars mainly because the world-building is wonderful, and perfectly captures Neverland and all it’s magic, good and bad. Colleen Oakes also adds some interesting tweaks to the original story which makes it stand out from some of the other recent retellings of this childhood classic. That said however, I had some real issues with the characters which prevented me from truly enjoying the book.
Let’s start with Wendy. In this story she’s portrayed as a sixteen-year-old, the oldest in an upper-middle class family. Her father’s an accountant and amateur astronomer and her mother is a stereotypical socialite who flutters worryingly around everyone. Wendy is sweetly in love with Booth, a likable bookseller’s son who unfortunately is considered unsuitable due to his social and economic circumstances. Within the first few pages Wendy is already being forced to choose between her family and their wealth, or possible impoverishment and love. At this point she comes across as being rather shallow and vapid and spends a fair amount of time dithering over what she should do. That said, she does summon up the courage to plan on sneaking out to join Booth despite her father’s threats that he’ll send her away to a boarding school. Unfortunately that’s the night that Peter makes his appearance and her plan goes awry. Once she’s in Neverland, she develops into a heroine worth rooting for. At the same time she’s discovering that this magical island and Peter are not what they seem, she’s also discovering her own hidden strength. What I especially loved about her was her relationship with little Michael. She’s more of a mother to them him than their own, who is rather a ditz. Their relationship is so lovingly depicted it became my favorite part of the book.
Like in other recent retellings, Peter Pan does not come across well in this story. Handsome and oozing charm, you can understand why any teenage girl would be swooning over him. (By the way, in this tale he’s about Wendy’s age.) It doesn’t take long though for you to see he definitely has a dark side. The Lost Boys number over 200 and they’re all pretty much slavishly devoted to him. Equally so is Tinkerbell, despite the abysmal way he treats her. And therein lies the problem. Peter doesn’t care for anyone except for himself. His Lost Boys fight Hook and his pirates over things like alcohol, but they fight with real weapons which result in quite a few being killed. But no matter. It’s all just an adventure and game to Peter. By the end of the book it’s clear he’s a psychopath and a liar, and even worse likes to abuse women. His relationship with Wendy isn’t just dark, it’s creepy. He’s obsessively possessive, and in one scene he comes very close to raping her. Between this and a particular scene involving Tink, I was left feeling very uncomfortable.
Equally detestable is John who I’d guess is about fourteen. He’s jealous, bitter and angry and takes out his feelings constantly on Wendy. It’s never really explained why he’s like this though. While Wendy is close with their father, it’s John in his role as the oldest son who receives the most time with him. I have to admit his attitude drove me crazy throughout the entire book. He also bullies Michael, which didn’t exactly endear me to him either.
I found Tinkerbell to be a complicated character. When she’s first introduced she is one nasty piece of work. She’s insanely jealous of Wendy and does just about everything she can to get rid of her. But then she does something truly dreadful in order to keep Peter to herself. Surprisingly because of the repercussions of that one act, she actually becomes a much more sympathetic figure.
The one character who I completely fell in love with was Michael. He’s all wide-eyed innocence, and as adorable as only a five-year-old can be. The passages showing his and Wendy’s relationship were my favorites by far.
Everyone’s favorite pirate, Hook, doesn’t really make an appearance (except in flashbacks courtesy of Peter), until the end of the book. Thanks to that ending though I will probably read the next book, although I think I’ll borrow it from the library rather than purchasing it. While this first book in the Wendy Darling series has quite a few flaws regarding it’s mainly one- dimensional characters and some awkward dialogue, I do think that as a series it holds some promise. I’m hoping in the next book there’ll be much more about Hook, and that Wendy and Tink join forces against Peter. It would be nice to see the only two women featured, throw off their figurative shackles and team up to fight.
Steph said:
I’m a big fan of retelling and I love Peter Pan but I’m not so sure this is the book for me. This it’s a great review because it helped me figure that out.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Steph! If you haven’t already read it, I recommend “Alias Hook” by Lisa Jenkins. It’s a great retelling from Benjamin Hook’s perspective.😊
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fafamerchant said:
Yes I agree with all your points! I really do hope that the series gets better. But I will not be checking the rest of the books. I am glad that you were able to enjoy this more than I did though! Great review 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Fatima! I was originally going to give this 2.5 stars, but I wound up rounding it up because I did love the way she described Neverland and how she expanded upon it from the original story. I think the only reason why I may be checking out the next book though, is because that ending has piqued my curiosity. Personally, I’m hoping Peter and John kill each other!
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fafamerchant said:
Yeah that ending was pretty good! You’re welcome 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
😊😊
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Jen said:
Another book where Peter comes off crazier than ever, oh my! 😁 Here’s hoping the series continues to improve and I love your idea of Tink and Wendy teaming up, that sounds fabulous!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I didn’t think he could come off any worse than he was in Never Never, but this was really, really bad. Thst one scene really had me cringing. 😕
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Jen said:
I would have thought the Peter in Never Never would be hard to beat, but it sounds like it wasn’t even a competition ugh. Sorry you had to read that part.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Ugh!😕
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Vane @ Books With Chemistry said:
Have you read The Child Thief? That’s another Peter Pan retelling. The characters are also complex, and none of them are innocent either. Based on what you said in this review, I think you would like it. Great review! I will see if I can read this book. I had heard about it, but I never really paid much attention to it.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thank you so much. I haven’t read The Child Thief yet, but I’ve heard positive things so it’s on my list.
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Heena Rathore P. said:
Interesting! I’ve never read any book that’s a take on the classic stories. I’m really intrigued as to how it will be. Talking about this book, I guess I’d love to read it (but reading your review, I think I’ll read it whenever I’ll need a break from my lined up books.
Thanks Kim 🙂
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
If you ever find the time Heena try Alias Hook instead.😊
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Heena Rathore P. said:
Thanks, Kim. Would definitely do! 🙂
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The Telltale Mind said:
Interesting concept. Maybe it will get better later in the series.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Maybe. Fingers crossed.
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Jay said:
I like re-imaginings of stories we already know well. Well-reviewed!
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
Thanks Jay!
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Evelyn @ Books With Chemistry said:
…. oh my god what has the author done to everyone in Peter Pan?! They all sound horrid o_o I’m not so sure I want to read about a woman abuser Peter Pan…
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
It’s funny, but making Peter the villain seems to be a trend now, which I’m fine with as long as the story is well told. I have to say though out of the 3 retellings I’ve read, this portrayal was the darkest and made me a little squeamish.
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Katy Goodwin-Bates said:
I’ve not heard of this book but it sounds really interesting. You’ve made me want to read it to experience all this dark twistedness for myself. Now I am worried that makes me weird.
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By Hook Or By Book ~ Book Reviews, News, & Other Stuff said:
I don’t think you’re weird at all Katy.. Actually, I think that sounds quite Dara-ish! I’d be quite interested in hearing your thoughts if you read this.🙋🏻😊
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