Wendy has recently moved to Chicago, but when moving into her new bedroom she realizes the window is broken and unable to stay closed. Darling is a modern day thriller reimagining of Peter Pan with a very diverse cast our main character is Black and we have a very full cast of side characters side characters of color (Black, Korean, and Ojibwe), who are queer (lesbian rep, ace rep, bi rep, and a really beautiful Chicago drag scene moment that I could gush about forever), and disabilities (hearing impairment & amputated hand). Her prose and craft are so unique and so smart and every book by her feels like something of magic. Ancrum is truly just a once in a lifetime author. I’d totally recommend it, and I can’t wait to pick up more of Austin Chant’s work.K.

Peter Darling was everything I wanted of a Peter Pan retelling, and more. The ending made me love Pan and Hook even more, and the ending was perfect in itself. There were certain scenes in a cave where there was a lot of tension between them, and I loved every single second of it. I love the enemies-to-lovers trope, and Peter Darling had very much of that. I also loved the chemistry between Hook and Pan. They were all very morally grey as well, which is my favorite kind of character. The characters got so many extra added dimensions to them, and it was great. Peter was still that mischievous guy that was always in for a good fight, Hook was still quite vain and cruel, and Tinkerbell was still very brave, but they all had so much more than that. I loved the fact that, even though they were entirely different from the Disney version of Peter pan, Peter, Hook and Tinkerbell still felt very familiar. Chant also put a very unexpected psychological spin on Neverland that made it even better. The descriptions of the island were lush and magnificent, and made me feel like I was there. I loved the way Austin Chant changed Neverland: not too much, so it was still recognizable, but it felt a bit darker. I’d also heard great things about Austin Chant’s writing before, so I was over the moon when I got accepted. I was always a big fan of the Peter Pan Disney movie (I’ve never read the actual book though), so that + LGBT+ themes sounded perfect to me. Even more shocking is the attraction Peter never knew he could feel for his old rival, Captain Hook-and the realization that he no longer knows which of them is the real villain.Īs soon as I saw Peter Darling on Netgalley and read the synopsis, I knew I had to read it.

Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is.īut when he returns to Neverland, everything has changed: the Lost Boys have become men, and the war games they once played are now real and deadly.

Ten years ago, Peter Pan left Neverland to grow up, leaving behind his adolescent dreams of boyhood and resigning himself to life as Wendy Darling.

Peter darling book