Wendy, Darling

 

Because that’s what Neverland is—running away, cowardly, without even saying goodbye. It’s leaving behind everything you claim to love to embrace purely selfish joy. No responsibilities, no consequences, and nothing matters or ever changes.

I love Peter Pan retellings, especially when they delve into the darker side of the Neverland. Because let's face it, you hardly need to change anything about the original story to read it as a horror tale; you just need to look at it through adult eyes. Which is pretty much exactly what this book does. There's maybe one part changed about the original experience Wendy had in Neverland, and it blends so seamlessly in with everything else that I keep wondering if maybe that detail has been there all along. Maybe, when I was reading Peter Pan as a kid, I simply overlooked it.

I absolutely enjoyed the way the story is constructed, with the events from several timelines being explored out of order: Wendy's journey to bring her daughter Jane home, her life between her own original Neverland adventure and Peter's return to her life, snippets of her childhood memories about that original adventure. I think that the part about Wendy's life "in-between" was my favorite: in any grand adventure, I'm always most fascinated by the aftermath. Reading about Wendy's experiences in St. Bernadette's asylum was sometimes a difficult experience (things like forced institutionalization and abuse from medical workers, especially in the mental health field, are always difficult for me, especially when I know that what I'm reading is based on actual things that happened to actual people). But her inner journey, her focus on rebuilding herself and learning to look forward through all the hardships, the way she gradually changed her perception of Neverland without ever letting go of its realness—every part of it was haunting. I loved the conclusion she got, the somewhat unconventional, half-hidden-in-plain-sight family she built for herself. 

Another part of the story that I know is going to stick with me for a while are the Jane interludes. Even though Jane got only a small part of each lengthy chapter, she was a fully realized character throughout, firmly her own person, no matter how much Peter tried to twist her into a copy of who Wendy used to be—or rather, of who he used to want Wendy to be, back when her life was his to rule.

The writing itself was beautiful and flowed well, although at times it was somewhat repetitive. There were numerous turns of phrase that felt lovely and clever the first time I saw them, then got old less than a quarter into the book. For me, that's a pretty minor flaw, but there were moments when it did grate on my nerves a bit, so I thought I'd mention it. That's the main part of the reason why I gave 4.75 stars to an otherwise 5-star read. A smaller, highly subjective part of the reason: I think the story might have benefited from a tad of a bigger focus on what happened to the pirates and Hook in particular. 

[ Overall Thoughts ]
This is the year of Peter Pan-inspired books, with Lost in the Never Woods by Aiden Thomas earlier this year, and both Wendy, Darling by A.C. Wise and Darling by K. Ancrum out this June. It's fascinating to me how different each of these works manages to be, and how much each one appeals to me. This particular book is not so much a retelling as a continuation; a what-came-next to the original. It is billed as dark and feminist, and I think it delivers fairly well on both.

We get the story in POVs from Wendy and her daughter, Jane, with both flashbacks and sections from earlier years of Wendy's life interspersed. The timeline is a bit chaotic throughout, though I felt it worked to build tension and keep me guessing as it doled out tidbits of past and present. But if you're a reader who likes linear stories, the storytelling style here may irk you.

Both Wendy and Jane are determined to solve their problems for themselves, and work actively to do so. I enjoyed their narratives, and felt their voices differed enough to make them unique. Their narrative voices do a lot of internal mulling over of their situations and often in the format of an almost stream-of-consciousness line of questions. This style overall worked well to communicate the Neverland brain fog that Jane is experiencing, but felt a little repetitive on occasion in both POVs.

Minor quibbles aside, the plot moves quickly, the characters are engaging, and the story is unique to other Peter Pan works I've encountered and I enjoyed it.

[ Mildly Spoilery Notes ]
Regarding Wendy's arc: Wendy is frequently shown to struggle with guilt, often over things she had no control over or things she should not be responsible for. Family is a big theme here: with her as a mother in Neverland trying to get Jane back, the original treatment of her in Neverland as a "mother" to the Lost Boys, and as the eldest of sibling of her brothers when they were orphaned, trying to hold them together as a family - in misguided and hurtful ways, but with the intention of uniting them. I enjoyed the look at this responsibility pushed onto girls and young women, and Wendy recognizing her guilt and the guilt of other women around her as not fair, but no less real for it. I found Wendy to be likable, frustrating, scarily ruthless, and deeply compassionate in turns. Overall she was a complex character that I often felt conflicted about, and that made her all the more engaging to follow.

Regarding representation: Though labels are not explicitly used, Wendy is described as aromantic and/or asexual.
> "I don't think I'm made for that sort of love." Wendy opens her eyes, swallows. Her throat aches. It's hard, saying the words aloud. "Not the sort of love most people think of when they think of a marriage."
Her husband Ned had a long-term relationship with a man who is mentioned to have passed away shortly before Ned and Wendy are arranged to be married. Ned and Wendy and their friend Mary have close and loving friendships with one another and I really enjoyed them functioning as a family unit, though it is only a small portion of the story.

[ Suggested Audience ]
Readers who have an affinity for retellings, especially Peter Pan retellings, will find something unique here.
Readers who enjoy historical fantasy and a frank look at some of society's less laudable habits, such as putting inconvenient women in asylums, will likely be interested in Wendy's life after returning from Neverland as it's depicted here.
Readers who want to see Neverland go a bit to the dark side, a bit the way of Lord of the Flies, and some persistent female MCs who are determined to figure it all out will find lots to like here.

[ TL;DR ]
A dark, unique retelling of Peter Pan that was overall an enjoyable read.