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� 4 / 5 �

“You’re better than he is, remember that. He’s smart but he’s alone, and he always will be.�

Darling is a whimsical and unique modern day Peter Pan retelling that will swoop you through the streets of Chicago following the events of Wendy’s first night in the city.

K. Ancrum simply never misses and the only reason that this doesn’t quite have that 5 star feeling is that I was so much more in love and dazzled by the first 60% of the story.

Wendy Darling has just moved into the city from the suburbs with her parents who are looking to adopt more children. They’re strict on her and won’t let her meet her online friend Eleanor, and her mother recounts her own cautionary tale of meeting strange boys and how that night led to the death of one of them.

“I know a lot of kids do things for their parents that they don’t want and it’s always some big sacrifice. But I know the difference between wants and needs, and my want to go to public school is smaller than my mom’s need to see me go here. And that’s important.�

While Wendy understands her parents and wants to make them proud, she can’t help but sulk when they end up grounding her inside for their first night in the city. However, once they head out for the evening, a beautiful and alluring boy appears at Wendy’s window and she can’t help but follow him outside of the safety of her home for a night that promises her magic and adventure.

Accompanied by his prickly sidekick Tinkerbell, Peter Pan leads Wendy through the streets of Chicago where she will meet the lost boys Peter has taken in and Omi’s crew, but the longer she stays with them, the more things seem amiss.

K. Ancrum herself has said this is a chapter by chapter adaptation and you can really feel this especially with the pacing of the story and how everything unfolds in one night. This is such a captivating and addicting book to read because you feel just as dazed as Wendy is jumping from one place to another as dread seeps in, and overwhelmed in the best sense by meeting a pretty big cast of characters.

“Hearing the other teens laughing fake and loud made Wendy feel like she was about to pass out. People don’t get good at doing things like that unless they needed to. Unless they’ve done it often and for their own protection.�

With them, the author very seamlessly brings together a diverse group of teens who are all endearing in their own ways and are all just trying to survive. This book is very much about this found family, with its positive aspects and the love they’ve found there but also prominently showcasing Peter’s toxicity and grooming.

By taking advantage of kids in already disadvantaged situations (especially BIPOC and queer youths) he sets out to create his own perfect family where he strives to stay the most beloved of all.

While Peter is definitely not a good person, this doesn’t mean Detective Hook becomes a hero, far from it. He still reeks of incompetence and the author does not shy away from showcasing acts of police brutality. This is a core layer of this retelling as Wendy is Black and deep distrust of the police plays into the plot a fair bit. I'm not sure however that Hook's portrayal was succesful despite the author's intentions for it. I see the vision, I understand it, but it did not quite fit in, in my opinion. This is in part where the last parts of the book felt a bit lackluster in comparison to such a dazzling beginning.

I am once again awed by K. Ancrum’s writing and her ability to make our modern world feel magical and whimsical (even if still dangerous). This story truly has an atmosphere like no other and it will stay with me a long time.

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Buddy read with Melanie ÓË�