Customer Reviews

Wendy

5 star:		(4)
4 star:		(3)
3 star:		(2)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I suppose this was meant to be a contribution to the current wave of "dark side of Peter Pan" fanfics, similar to "Lost Girls". It's fairly well written, has good period settings and vocabulary, and moves along nicely. However, Wallace has chosen to make the Darlings a dysfunctional family; she's exaggerated certain of the parents' character traits far beyond what Barrie intended. She also postulates a variety of precedental incidents which are, I suppose, meant to explain Wendy's later readiness to fly away with Peter Pan; a cruel nanny, a criminally irresponsible father, a suggestion of insanity in the family.

In other words, it's the old escapism chestnut; a desire to journey into magical worlds can't possibly just be a wish to see new things or to have adventures, it has to be because there is some condition in your everyday life that is hurting you intolerably. A major theme in Barrie's Peter Pan is that children can have perfectly happy home lives and still wish to fly away, just to see what's out there, confident in the belief that they can always come home, that Mother will leave a window open. Wallace completely ignores this concept.

It would have been better had the author used original characters. The family itself is realistic enough; some parents do (and did at that time) drink a lot, have affairs, spend money irresponsibly, look the other way when their children are being abused. Child abuse and neglect were as common in that period as they are today, particularly emotional neglect in the upper classes. Children need to read about other children who have been brutalised in various ways; it tells them they're not alone. But this is not Barrie's family. Sure, the 'real' Mr. and Mrs. Darling were a bit childish, but they were never cruel.

One of the most common problems with fan fiction is character consistency. Wallace has an interesting story, but she seems to have forgotten that in writing about established characters, it works best if you have them behave at least reasonably close to source. Pick up Barrie's "Peter Pan" after reading this, and try to connect the Darlings as he wrote them with the family Wallace portrays. Wallace tells a fairly good story of abuse, betrayal, courage and emotional survival; she should have done so without misusing one of the most beloved families in cihldren's literature.

Peter Pan has turned into a Cinderella story.

Wendy's world begins to fall apart - or perhaps it has never been that nice, as her nanny is a crocodile and Mother never notices her children are unhappy.

Forced to play with the awful children next door whilst the neighbour conducts and affair with Mr Darling which Wendy & John unhappily witness, London is the world the Darling children would love to escape.

Mr Darling slides into debt and Mrs Darling is absorbed in her own misery - the Princess who never grew up, whilst Mr Darling is himself a big child, unable to face facts and denying his part in the unhappy events which unravel.

All too morbidly real, this isn't a story for children, with it's tales of affairs, bankruptcy and indifferent adults.

I was alarmed to recall it was lodged with the junior books on library shelves, because I would recommend 15+ to read this book.

Nana Darling, the loveable dog is the only unchallenged character.

Mrs Darling is viewed as a selfish Tinkerbell, whilst Peter Pan is the addled Thomas, living in the country and madly painting when Wendy visits.

Mildly disturbing, it's Peter Pan treated as an everyday sad world - the magic is all imagined and although the Darling children are rather nice, one ought not imagine a novel of magic and childlike wonder, less it is the wonder dissipating!

Wendy is forced to play mother to them all, as in her close concentration on the world about her events keep intruding on her reality.

Interestingly, the cover it's been published with for the Australian, and also I suspect the British, audience, is far more evocative for the Peter Pan story than the Alice through the Looking Glass bookcover advertised herein.

Interesting and indeed as it claims on the cover 'A bold and unforgettable novel inspired by the world of Peter Pan'.

It IS bold and unforgetable, and also poignant, messy and scary!

Nicely told

kotori 2005

I began the book expecting Peter Pan to make an appearance in the book somehow, perhaps in the playacting of the Darling children. Halfway through the book I forgot about him completely. By the end of the book, I was creating parallels between the characters in "Wendy" and the characters in "Peter Pan", this book is really a story about a family struggling to love each other and forgive each other's weaknesses.

It's a story that young adults can relate to more than young children (even though it is a very easy read). The relationships are complex and require some amount of experience to understand. The breakdown of the Darling's marriage is something most pre-teens and teens can relate to their own lives. The fighting, blaming, and long silences in the Darling house are only too evocative of a family going through divorce. Mr. Darling lashes out at his children as well as his wife when his world begins to crumble through his own immaturity and selfish decision-making.

The true 'villain' in the novel is Nanny Holburn, who openly despises the children and forces them to undergo cruel punishments 'for their own good'. And yet, the children, while living in fear, do not feel that they can approach their parents about the problem. The rest of the house staff are very kind to the children, but their parents remain distant.

The most obvious parallel in this story is Thomas, Wendy's best friend who lives on her uncle's estate in the country. Thomas is not very clearly explained, but he (though 15) will always be childlike in his heart. Thomas would be Peter Pan, in his permanent childhood, except instead of leading Wendy to another land, she leads him to a more soothing state of mind. However, she does find sanctuary with Thomas, so it is not a bad parallel. I respect the author for not trying to create characters that have a distinct resemblance to the cast of characters from Peter Pan. It leaves you wondering - and makes the story more real.

The story does explain why, when given the opportunity, Wendy and the boys would fly out their nursery window after a boy who promises 'Neverland'. They have little reason to trust the adults in their life, and a poor example of what adult life is like.

The ending is relatively happy, however, and the Darlings seem to be on a path to resolving their domestic problems. Perhaps Wendy would not fly out the window at the end of the story, but would stay to see how things turn out.

Karen Wallace's Wendy is a brilliantly-written book and an excellent read. In the best Shakespearean tradition, the author grounds her novel in an older, familiar work - J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan - but develops the basic elements of that novel in an original way, and explores some of its underlying concerns on another level altogether.

Most of us will remember from our own childhood that children are aware of far more than adults give them credit for. This is certainly the case in Wendy. As the title suggests, the world of Wendy is seen largely through Wendy's eyes. Anyone who has ever known - or for that matter been - a bright and sensitive young girl will recognize Wendy: perceptive, thoughtful, somewhat lonely. Her attachment to Nana (her dog and confidante), her attempt to make sense of seemingly bizarre adult behaviour, her strong feelings of responsibility for her younger siblings, her sense of what is right and wrong - all make her a realistic and appealing character to whom the reader becomes quite attached.

Childhood can, of course, be a difficult time, and the dark side of Edwardian family life appears in this novel. In the best fictional tradition of the young person finding his or her way in the world, Wendy and her brothers rely on themselves and on each other, as well as on various helpful and caring adults, to cope with their sometimes difficult life.

The novel is also very much about a young girl's growing awareness of the future choices awaiting her as a woman. These choices emerge clearly as the story evolves. Questions about what women can do and who women can be - raised naturally as an integral part of the narrative - are still relevant today for young girls.

The Peter Pan motif is brilliantly and lovingly woven into the novel in the person of a young artist, incapable of growing up, and fascinated by flying.

Wendy is hard to put down. The historical detail has been rendered meticulously, so that we really feel that we are in the rooms of the Darlings' house, in the streets of London, or in the English countryside, as the case may be. Not only is attention paid to the tiniest domestic details, but to the larger trends and movements of the day. The book shows us various attitudes to all kinds of contemporary issues, from the advent of the automobile to the suffragist movement.

I highly recommend Wendy for young readers. Adults will enjoy it as well. It is a pleasure to read such a carefully researched and written book. Wendy transports the reader into another era. It is a touching, engrossing, and both emotionally and intellectually satisfying book.

After reading 'Wendy' I was a little confused. I thought it was good, but to me, I didn't think it was worth reading. 'Peter Pan' is supposed to be a children's book, and Karen Wallace writes 'Wendy' for young adults. In Wendy, we experience all the emotional problems Miss Wendy goes throw. She sees something that changes her life forever, which is perhaps why she chose to visit Peter in Neverland. Overall, it provided some background information about life at the Darling household that could only be supplied to the mind by imagination or this book.

Nine-year-old Wendy Darling may lead a privileged life, but simply having the love and affection of her parents would more than likely make up for anything she lacked in the riches department. One night, being sent to bed early by the abusive Nanny Holborn, Wendy sneaks out of the nursery where she should be sleeping with her younger brothers John and Michael, to spy on the glamorous party that her parents are throwing for a large group of their friends, when she sees her father passionately kissing Lady Cunningham on the mouth. Weny, being a mere child, is shocked by this turn of events. After all, the only person her father should be kissing is her mother. After the incident, Wendy and her brothers are sent to stay with Uncle Arthur for the summer at his country estate, where they soon learn that their father, still in the city, has lost everything in the stock market. When Wendy spies her mother hugging a teenaged boy named Thomas who is "soft in the head," so to speak, she becomes even more confused, until she finds that the boy is her brother.

I have been a huge fan of the story of PETER PAN for years, so when I heard that a story told from Wendy Darling's perspective was being published, I was overjoyed. Karen Wallace has done a marvelous job of weaving a story that tells of the hardtimes that Wendy's family goes through over the course of a few months. From affairs that take place within the family, unknown to the Lady of the house, to the child that has been kept hidden away from his sister and brothers because he is autistic. The greatest part of the book, in my opinion, would be Wallace's marvelous descriptions of the autistic long-lost brother named Thomas - who takes on the role of Peter Pan. His actions and movements are so well written, and truly bring the story to life through the eyes of a boy who will never grow up. A marvelous book that should be in everyone's home library.

Erika Sorocco
Book Review Columnist for The Community Bugle Newspaper

I enjoyed this book. I enjoyed the enchantment of it, but I think the author could have done so much more with it. Most of the time it just seemed like a completely different novel whose charachters happened to have the same name as the Darlings. It dragged at times, but overall it was an OK book.

Short of the fact that this isn't the sort of fairytale story that most authors write for children, it is still a very enjoyable read. Karen Wallace does an excellent job in creating a very different mood for the Darling Children. She conveys a family life, which though contradictory to the original Peter Pan which describes a happy home, is quite possibly more accurate given the time and the circumstances of the Darling children.
As soon as you open the book and begin to read you find yourself captivated by Ms. Wallace's beautiful and fluid writing style. Wendy Darling's search for truth in her famiy becomes the reader's search.
Because of the subjects that this book covers, I think it a very appropriate book for young readers who find themselves in similar situations as the Darling children, and especially Wendy who whitnesses the events personally and battles herself inward. It will help those in the same situations cope better with the reality of their own inner struggles.
Overall, this book is really just a fantastic little treasure. I encourage anyone to read it, young and young at heart alike.

I got this book on tape from the library to listen to on the way to school with my daughters - one of which is named WENDY due to my love of Peter Pan.

The surprise began with intense adult kisses being described between 2 people married but NOT to each other. The kids they play with are abusive. Their nanny is abusive. It was not the lighthearted story of a fine heroine I was looking for. It was 5-6 tapes long and I didn't finish tape 1. The girls in my car were 10-12 years old and I was embarassed to let them listen any further. Less appropriate than Hannah Montana!

I grew up with memories of Peter Pan and his adventures, wwithout ever thinking very much about Wendy and her own family. Karen Wallace's wonderful and unsettling story of Wendy has made me rethink these memories and how families are not always what they seem, that beneath the placid and benign surfaces lurk darker forces. Of course, as readers will discover, everything is never as bad as it seems. I strongly recommend this book for all ages.
Finnegan D.