Review by Booklist Review
Wendy Darling of the well-known Peter Pan story is all grown up and must revisit her past--and the boy who refuses to grow up--in order to save her daughter from being lost to Neverland. When Wendy and her brothers returned from their childhood adventure in Neverland, Wendy couldn't forget, although her family wished she would. Delusions of grandeur were unbecoming of Edwardian-era women, and eventually Wendy is institutionalized. Under her confinement, Wendy experiences systemic abuse and retreats to the Neverland in her mind to escape her trauma. Contingent to Wendy's release is marriage, and she later has a daughter named Jane. When Jane is kidnapped by Peter, who is looking for a mother for his Lost Boys, Wendy must return to the land of her dreams or lose her daughter to a nightmare. Wendy, Darling is a well-crafted retelling that gently explores a variety of themes including trauma, toxic masculinity, feminism, and sexuality. Fans of the original story will want to get to know the grown-up Wendy.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Wise (Catfish Lullaby) explores the dark side of Neverland in this impressive fantasy. Ever since returning to the real world, Wendy Darling has clung to the memory of her time in Neverland while her brothers, John and Michael, chose to forget. Her refusal to let go caused her brothers to commit her to St. Bernadette's asylum, where she met and befriended Mary White Dog. Only through her friendship with Mary and the comfort of the very same memories that landed her there in the first place did she survive the asylum. But when her school-age daughter, Jane, is whisked away by Peter Pan just as Wendy was 27 years earlier, Wendy follows, determined to bring Jane home. With Neverland on the horizon once again, Wendy must confront the dissonance between her memories and reality. Meanwhile, Jane struggles to cling to her identity as Peter tries to mold her into "the Wendy," forcing her to be a mother for himself and the other lost boys. Seen through Wendy's adult eyes and Jane's childlike but scientific perspective, this second visit to Neverland is more nightmare than dream, and Wise expertly captures the shift in perspective that comes with growing up. This rich tale of memory and magic is sure to resonate with fans of reimagined children's stories. (June)
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Review by Library Journal Review
For those who lived in Neverland, it was a magical place where children's games and adventures went on forever. The Darling children left Neverland to return to London, but Wendy Darling never let go of the place. Throughout an adulthood of doctors and sanitariums, marriage and motherhood, Wendy has stood firm in her belief of Neverland and the boy who lost his shadow, who wanted a mother to love him. Darkness lies at the heart of Neverland and Wendy's memories of it. Now Peter Pan is looking for a new Wendy--and he does not want a grown-up--so he returns to the Darling nursery, where Wendy's daughter Jane now sleeps. Writing from both Wendy's and Jane's perspectives, Wise (How the Trick Is Done) depicts a brutal reality underlying the world created by J. M. Barrie: women placed into sanitoriums against their will; women under patriarchal control. (The racism in Barrie's Peter Pan isn't replicated in Wise's book; neither is it directly addressed.) Against this harsh backdrop are stories of found families, love beyond romance, and the will to survive. VERDICT Feminist twists and creeping dread abound in this intriguing retelling of Peter Pan.--Kristi Chadwick, Massachusetts Lib. Syst., Northampton
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