From the Publisher
Praise for Darling:
“Bright, beautiful, and deeply unsettling, Darling is pure magic. It will lure you in, but it won’t let you go.”—Marieke Nijkamp, #1 New York Times–bestselling author of This Is Where It Ends and Even If We Break
“This spellbinding and diabolical adventure could only come from the brilliant mind of K. Ancrum. You’ll read it straight on till morning!”—Caleb Roehrig, author of The Fell of Dark
“Darling is the magnetic and addictive Peter Pan retelling we deserve. It takes you on a hurricane of an adventure filled with earnest and aching characters you will immediately want to protect, versus sinister and chilling truths you won’t see coming. I could not stop reading!”—C. G. Drews, author of A Thousand Perfect Notes and The Boy Who Steals Houses
“Darling is the Peter Pan retelling with the diverse cast and queer representation of your dreams.”—Aiden Thomas, New York Times–bestselling author of Cemetery Boys
“Spellbinding and psychologically compelling.”—Kirkus Reviews
“Upholding the spirit of adventure and the value of found family, Ancrum ramps up the tension . . . creating a layered reworking.”—Publishers Weekly
Kirkus Reviews
2021-04-30
A grim, modern-day manifestation of the Peter Pan tale drawn from subtle, dark elements in the original text.
Wendy Darling is a sweet, naïve 17-year-old who just moved to Chicago. One night, Peter Pan comes through her open window, expecting an empty house and instead becoming enamored with the girl inside. Wendy herself is immediately enchanted by Peter, whose boyish charm and good looks convince her to join him for a night on the town along with his spunky and snappy ex-girlfriend Tinkerbelle. During the course of a single night, Wendy runs into more of Peter’s connections, including a collection of orphans he houses off the grid, a Detective Hook eager to bring him down, and other counterparts from the source material (including the racist caricature of a Native girl, gracefully realized here as a three-dimensional young Ojibwe woman). But as the night goes on and Peter’s facade grows more transparent, the frightful truth at his center threatens the safety of everyone involved. Eschewing literal magic, Ancrum’s remix is spellbinding and psychologically compelling despite a slower-moving middle. The haunting truth surrounding Peter is well earned and disturbing, a perfect—and bleak—transformation of the character for the 21st century. Wendy is Black, Peter and Tink are White, and the supporting cast represents myriad racial and queer identities.
Dynamically reckons with the real-life ramifications of someone who refuses to grow up. (Thriller. 14-18)
