Genre:
Fantasy/Folk Tales
Description:
“On
the tenth anniversary of her mother's death, fourteen-year-old Madge
Darling’s grandmother suffers a heart attack. With the overbearing
Grandma Wendy in the hospital, Madge runs away to Chicago, intent on
tracking down a woman she believes is actually her mother.
On her
way to the Windy City, a boy named Peter Pan lures Madge to
Neverland, a magical place where children can remain young forever.
While Pan plays puppet master in a twisted game only he understands,
Madge discovers the disturbing price of Peter Pan's eternal youth.”
Author:
“Katrina
Monroe is a novelist, mom, and snark-slinger extraordinaire.
Her
worst habits include: eating pretty much anything with her fingers,
yelling at inappropriate times, and being unable to focus on
important things like dinner and putting on pants.
She
collects quotes like most people collect, well, other things. Her
favorite is, 'If you have any young friends who aspire to become
writers, the second greatest favor you can do them is to present them
with copies of The Elements of Style. The first greatest, of course,
is to shoot them now, while they’re happy.' – Dorothy Parker
Readers
can revel in her sarcasm at her website.”
Appraisal:
Ms.
Monroe has forever changed the story of Peter Pan for me. I try to
stay away from dark themes, for personal reasons, however the cover
for All Darling Children
sucked me in. I also have a fondness for retold fairy-tales.
Honestly, I was hoping for some humor to stave off the darkness, but
no, I can’t say there was enough humor to save me from the
depravity that is Pan. Ms. Monroe takes the story of Peter Pan and
skillfully weaves in a Lord
of the Flies type drama. *shivers*
This
story centers on Madge Darling, Wendy Darling’s grand-daughter.
Madge wishes to escape her cold, tyrannical grandmother and find her
mother. It just so happens Pan has been watching Madge for years and
assists in her escape by whisking her off to Neverland. Madge is
spunky, however she doesn’t come across as a strong character, and
I kept having to remind myself she was only fourteen years-old. Pan’s
transformation into a maniacal madman with powers of persuasion over
the lost boys and the whole island of Neverland makes magical sense
in the context of the story. As Madge begins to see the truth
surrounding Pan and Neverland, she determines she has to confront
Peter and try to set things right. But does she have the courage,
strength, and cunning to pull it off?
The
narrative is broken up with selections from Wendy’s diary entries
from her time in Neverland, which paints a whole new picture of
Wendy’s character. This gives the reader a better understanding of
Wendy Darling’s later adult years as well. Flashbacks are used to
fill-in other reimagined events and characters, such as Captain Hook
and Tiger Lily. The twists in this reworking of the tale takes the
reader on a roller-coaster ride you won’t soon forget. The end left
me reeling and a little unnerved.
If you
are into demented, twisted, reimagined fairy tales this may be a book
you will enjoy.
FYI:
There
are a few F-bombs dropped and some gory battle scenes. This is not a
child’s fairy tale.
Format/Typo
Issues:
No
significant issues with proofing or formatting.
Rating:
**** Four Stars
Reviewed
by: ?wazithinkin
Approximate
word count: 55-60,000 words
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