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jenpaul13's review against another edition
4.0
The adventures of the Darling children may be the stuff of stories, but the reality of what began with Wendy is haunting and dangerous in Liz Michaelski’s Darling Girl.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Holly Darling, the granddaughter of Wendy Darling of J. M. Barrie’s famous story, is running a successful skin care company that plays off of her last name, and raising her son Jack in New York when she gets a startling phone call that brings the numerous tragedies of her past back in major ways; her daughter, Eden, has disappeared from their Cornwall home where she’s been in a coma for nearly ten years. The suspects for her disappearance are few and Holly fears that her suspicions about Peter Pan forcing his way back in her life might just be real. Returning to her family home in London with Jack in tow, Holly begins her search for Eden and Peter. With all the secrets that Holly’s kept about Eden, including that the boy who will never grow up is her father, her rapid aging, and her unique blood that’s helped keep Jack healthy, Holly turns from her mother Jane’s optimism about Peter and desperately enlists the aid of an ex-soldier turned private detective with a prosthetic hand, which is occasionally replaced by a hook, to help rescue Eden. Determined to not lose her children, Holly doggedly searches for Peter and Eden and along the way learns unsettling things about Neverland that makes her rethink Barrie’s tale and her family’s history.
Using elements from the classic Peter Pan tale and framing a narrative around life events of Wendy’s granddaughter Holly, notably the disappearance of her comatose daughter Eden as a catalyst setting events in motion, the story uses the fantastic and magical, weaving it through the struggles and darkness of ordinary life to explore various topics, including grief, innocence, motherhood, and sacrifice. In establishing the world that the Darlings live in, it was helpful to see how Peter Pan lore was so widely known and assumed as commonplace in the world, aiding in the acceptance of the other magically driven aspects to characters, which occasionally felt a bit over the top in their description of otherworldliness, and their interactions with the world around them, including how Eden’s impacted by her Pan parentage while beyond Neverland’s borders; it was intriguing to see the manner that Neverland bled in to reality, manifesting in a radiating manner from the nucleus of the Darling women in the people they encounter. Though not directly present for most of the narrative, Peter’s character was pervasive as a shadowy influence and took the general mischievousness he’s typically depicted with and molded it to a more malevolent force, fitting with the darker, grittier turn of the world.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
To read this, and other book reviews, visit my website: http://makinggoodstories.wordpress.com/.
Holly Darling, the granddaughter of Wendy Darling of J. M. Barrie’s famous story, is running a successful skin care company that plays off of her last name, and raising her son Jack in New York when she gets a startling phone call that brings the numerous tragedies of her past back in major ways; her daughter, Eden, has disappeared from their Cornwall home where she’s been in a coma for nearly ten years. The suspects for her disappearance are few and Holly fears that her suspicions about Peter Pan forcing his way back in her life might just be real. Returning to her family home in London with Jack in tow, Holly begins her search for Eden and Peter. With all the secrets that Holly’s kept about Eden, including that the boy who will never grow up is her father, her rapid aging, and her unique blood that’s helped keep Jack healthy, Holly turns from her mother Jane’s optimism about Peter and desperately enlists the aid of an ex-soldier turned private detective with a prosthetic hand, which is occasionally replaced by a hook, to help rescue Eden. Determined to not lose her children, Holly doggedly searches for Peter and Eden and along the way learns unsettling things about Neverland that makes her rethink Barrie’s tale and her family’s history.
Using elements from the classic Peter Pan tale and framing a narrative around life events of Wendy’s granddaughter Holly, notably the disappearance of her comatose daughter Eden as a catalyst setting events in motion, the story uses the fantastic and magical, weaving it through the struggles and darkness of ordinary life to explore various topics, including grief, innocence, motherhood, and sacrifice. In establishing the world that the Darlings live in, it was helpful to see how Peter Pan lore was so widely known and assumed as commonplace in the world, aiding in the acceptance of the other magically driven aspects to characters, which occasionally felt a bit over the top in their description of otherworldliness, and their interactions with the world around them, including how Eden’s impacted by her Pan parentage while beyond Neverland’s borders; it was intriguing to see the manner that Neverland bled in to reality, manifesting in a radiating manner from the nucleus of the Darling women in the people they encounter. Though not directly present for most of the narrative, Peter’s character was pervasive as a shadowy influence and took the general mischievousness he’s typically depicted with and molded it to a more malevolent force, fitting with the darker, grittier turn of the world.
Overall, I’d give it a 3.5 out of 5 stars.
mozbolt's review against another edition
2.0
I was so disappointed. This book could have been SO GOOD, but it was dry, slow, and it felt like the author was holding back or burned out. The writing lacked passion and plot, and the MC was depressing. Not in the melancholic, romantic sense, but in the “pity me” sense. Meh. I’m so sad that it didn’t live up to what it could have been.
melohpa's review against another edition
2.0
See my review https://topplingbookpile.wordpress.com/2024/09/22/darling-girl-by-liz-michalski/
geauxgetlit's review against another edition
4.0
Darling Girl by Liz Michalski is the fairytale retelling of Peter Pan and it’s definitely my favorite retelling I’ve ever read without question!
This is classified as a dark retelling due to a contrast of characters…however, there is still magical pixie dust
This is classified as a dark retelling due to a contrast of characters…however, there is still magical pixie dust
ashereadsbooks's review against another edition
Wasn’t aware of the trigger warnings but also the writing seemed weak. Not interesting enough to get past the first 10 pages.
kristi_elizabeth's review against another edition
dark
tense
slow-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
Did not expect the book to be so dark and tense. Once I got through the shock factor, I was over it. It would have been more enjoyable if the book didn’t feel like it dragged on and on. I think it honestly could have been written as a short story. I found the main character just slightly annoying as her flaws were dragged out for the entire book and not really enough character building until the very end. Wanted to like this book so I read it until the end but couldn’t wait to finish it.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Rape and Sexual assault
kayla512's review against another edition
adventurous
challenging
dark
emotional
funny
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.75
ohhey_itsniko's review against another edition
dark
mysterious
tense
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? No
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? No
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.0
silentnpale's review against another edition
2.0
This book needs to come with some trigger warnings. I wanted to like this so much and it had major potential to be interesting. However, it almost felt like the author was trying to be edgy. About nearly halfway through this, I couldn't wait to be done with the story because it was annoying me but I was too invested not to finish. It was slow and repetitive in some areas and flew by others that never really get resolved.
emmabheid's review against another edition
2.0
mehhh. really dark and just didn’t like it. too much happening and nothing happening at the same time.