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A review by orcamagicka
Peter Darling by Austin Chant
adventurous
dark
emotional
hopeful
reflective
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? Yes
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
4.5
This book was deeply enjoyable and I binge read it within 12 hours of receiving it in the mail. The author puts a dark fantasy spin on this beloved children’s classic while also including the struggles of trans people, especially in a time like 1800s London. Peter was deeply relatable as a transgender man. His deep rooted anger due to his trauma and also this internalized belief that in order to be manly, he must conform to toxic masculinity. He’s deeply flawed and it was enjoyable to see a character like him develop. The plot twist later in the story about Never Land completely unraveled my original understanding of the story and made it that much more meaningful to queer people. This story is less of an exact retelling and more of a sequel, imagining that Wendy transitioned into Peter. I knew when I saw the synopsis for this story I HAD to read it. This is definitely underrated and deserves way more attention within the queer book community, especially with how little trans representation there is in media. I REALLY wish this story had been longer and given the characters and the world more time to develop. I couldn’t put the book down!
My one major criticism of the story is the ages of the main characters, Peter and Hook. While it is specified that Peter is 18 and legally an adult (more so than by 1800s England standards), it is never explicitly mentioned how old Hook is. I found this a bit troubling at times when reading because we all already have this previous image of the story in our heads, wether we read the classic or watched the Disney version. We all imagine Hook to be an older man while Peter is the boyish child. Throughout the book I was very confused as how old Hook was, in the beginning I thought he was in his 30s, then I thought he was 19, and by the end of the story based on subtle context clues and his personality I *guessed* he was at most 25. But then again, it is never specified and for all I know Hook could have easily been 18 or 19, which would have been a way more palatable age range between these two characters. And since it is established in the story that Peter knew Hook when he was a boy, I was also interested as to how old Hool was in their past interactions. Did Hook age in Neverland? Did he maintain the same age? These questions are never fully answered. And this lack of specification made certain scenes uncomfortable to read because I already had this previous understanding of the characters in my head.
My one major criticism of the story is the ages of the main characters, Peter and Hook. While it is specified that Peter is 18 and legally an adult (more so than by 1800s England standards), it is never explicitly mentioned how old Hook is. I found this a bit troubling at times when reading because we all already have this previous image of the story in our heads, wether we read the classic or watched the Disney version. We all imagine Hook to be an older man while Peter is the boyish child. Throughout the book I was very confused as how old Hook was, in the beginning I thought he was in his 30s, then I thought he was 19, and by the end of the story based on subtle context clues and his personality I *guessed* he was at most 25. But then again, it is never specified and for all I know Hook could have easily been 18 or 19, which would have been a way more palatable age range between these two characters. And since it is established in the story that Peter knew Hook when he was a boy, I was also interested as to how old Hool was in their past interactions. Did Hook age in Neverland? Did he maintain the same age? These questions are never fully answered. And this lack of specification made certain scenes uncomfortable to read because I already had this previous understanding of the characters in my head.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Violence
Moderate: Confinement, Deadnaming, Gore, Transphobia, and Blood
Minor: Homophobia, Sexism, Sexual content, and Forced institutionalization