The Wendy (2018)
Written by: Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
Genre: YA Fantasy
Length: 254 (Nook)
Series: Book One of Tales of The Wendy
Publisher: Trash Dogs Media, LLC
Why I Chose It: I met half of the author duo at Dragon Con last year and when I read the blurb for their book, I was immediately intrigued!
The premise:
THE WRONG KIND OF HERO.
“Girls can’t be in the navy! Girls take care of babies! You’re so stupid, you don’t know anything!”
London. 1783. Wendy Darling is an orphan, living in an overcrowded almshouse, ridiculed for believing in a future she can never have. More than anything in the world, she wants to be the captain of a ship. But that’s impossible. Isn’t it?
By 1789, she’s sixteen, old enough to be sold into service as a dressmaker or a servant. When she learns the Home Office is accepting a handful of women into its ranks, she jumps at the chance, joining the fight against the most formidable threat England has ever faced. Magic.
But the secret service isn’t exactly what she had hoped. Accompanied by a reimagined cast of the original Peter Pan, Wendy soon discovers that her dreams are as far away as ever, that choosing sides isn’t as simple as she thought, and that the only man who isn’t blinded by her gender… might be her nation’s greatest enemy.
One of the most captivating things about the Tales of The Wendy books, I think, is the complete re-imagining of the Peter Pan story. And because of this, it’s very difficult to write any sort of review without some spoilers. I will do my best, however, to limit spoilers to only things you’ll find out early in the book. I will stay away from plot spoilers as much as possible. But be warned that if you read farther, there will be character spoilers, at the least.
Discussion:
As I mentioned, the re-imagining of the Peter Pan story is one of the most compelling aspects of The Wendy (and the short prequel, “Tigerlilja”). Instead of Wendy, John, and Michael being blood family (and children), they are brothers-in-arms, as soldiers in the Her Majesty’s army (and young adults).
Peter Pan is not a child leading other lost boys, but he is one of the Everlost, which the British think are vampires, dead set on stealing good English children and decimating the English empire (so dramatic, those Brits).
We learn who Hook is a bit later in The Wendy, so I won’t spoil that here. But he is definitely not who we would expect.
And I think that’s why I am so enamored of this world: nothing is as I would expect it. Even Tinker Bell isn’t exactly who I would have thought she would be. Although she is, admittedly, probably the closest to the original than any of the other characters.
The writing is very well done. Its voice is distinct and British, especially in the tradition of tales for younger people. If you’re not used to this sort of storytelling, it might take a little getting used to. But stick with it. It’s worth it!
One thing that historically has always made me crazy in books is headhopping. That is when the points of view of two different characters is used in the same scene without the distinction of a scene or chapter break. (This is one of the reasons I can’t read Nora Roberts.) But I found that in this book, once I got used to the overall style, it didn’t bother me as much.
It helped that the headhopping wasn’t overly common and when it happened it was brief and for a specific reason. Honestly, I don’t want a dog’s point of view for an entire scene or chapter.
There are some romantic undertones, but nothing as overt as a subplot. It’s clear that pretty much all the men in Wendy’s life are enchanted by her; and it’s equally clear that she has no time or interest in such dalliances. But she is still very fond of them.
And while the character roles and ages are different, much of what made the characters wonderful is the same.
Peter has that swagger of ego that can be charming and annoying at the same time. That is definitely in line with the original Peter Pan. Though our Peter’s reason is different, as we learn later, in “Tigerlilja.”
Wendy is straightforward, smart, quick-witted, and does not let her fear or apprehension (or other people’s expectations) keep her from going after what she wants. I think that she is an excellent model for young (and old) girls to see. She lives in a world where the paths open to young women are quite limited. And that frustrates her. But it never breaks her.
I think that’s an important message.
My only complaint is that there was a rather good-sized plot thread (I would call it the main plot, really) that was not tied up in this book. It felt like it ended a little abruptly.
I can forgive even that, though, especially since I expect that is what Book 2 will be about. It’s a minor annoyance for those who have to wait for Book 2. Once the series has expanded a bit, it won’t be anything to simply plow on to the next book.
“Tigerlilja” (2018)
Written by: Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown
Genre: YA fantasy retelling
Length: 58 (Nook)
Series: Book #0.5 of Tales of The Wendy
Publisher: Trash Dogs Media, LLC
Last month, the authors released “Tigelilja,” which is a prequel short story to The Wendy. I thought I’d do a quick write-up of that good little tale. This one will contain a couple spoilers about who Peter Pan is and where he came from. This is unavoidable, since that’s basically what the entire story is about. If you haven’t read The Wendy yet, I recommend skipping this (and also not reading “Tigerlilja” until after you’ve read The Wendy). I think the novel is much better before you know what you will learn in the short story.
Click here to skip to the Conclusion section for the series.
Last chance! 🙂
I’ll be brief…
Although the book is named for Tigerlilja, the most impactful bits of the story to me are what we learn of Peter Pan.
I find it incredibly interesting how the authors have tied the Peter Pan story in with the Norse gods. Norse mythology is a hobby interest of mine, so I really love how it all works together. Mashing a very British story with a very not-British origin is going to make for some interesting times.
It also sheds a whole new light on The Wendy, which I am going to go back and re-read now that I know more about Peter.
Now, that doesn’t mean we don’t learn about Tigerlilja. She is another very strong female character — a warrior. This story is simply about how Peter and Tigerlilja are thrown together.
I am very, very interested to see how their tale plays out on Neverland.
In Conclusion: This series is definitely worth a look, especially if you like the Peter Pan story, in general. How the authors develop the characters in this very-altered version is fascinating and will keep you turning page after page!
Featured image from Once Upon a Time © Disney, ABC and others who are not us
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