The Truth about Fairy Tales: How Well Do You Really Know Peter Pan?
“The moment you doubt whether you can fly, you cease forever to be able to do it.”
J.M. Barrie
When the name Peter Pan is mentioned, do you think of a young and carefree boy or a dark and sinister shadow? Liz Michalski’s new novel, Darling Girl, will have readers questioning everything they thought they knew about this beloved character all while seeing the women of the Darling family in a whole new light. Liz has rearranged J.M. Barrie’s classic in a modern-day setting, and although she has taken certain liberties with her version, familiar characters and elements of the original tale remain evident.
If you know the story of Peter Pan then you know it can’t be told without including the Darling family. Descendants of Wendy Darling are the main characters in this book. Holly, Wendy’s granddaughter, is a successful businesswoman who has suffered great loss in her life. Through determination and dedication to her teenage son, Jack, she is doing her best to forget her broken past, but the secrets she’s been harboring for years are creeping back to the surface, and she doesn’t know how much longer she can hold on.
Her family’s dark connection to the Peter Pan fairy tale and their actual reality collide when uncontrollable circumstances cause her to abruptly leave her thriving skin care company in New York City in the midst of a huge business deal to return to London with her son. The pain and dark secrets she’s attempted to leave hidden there are all about to find their way to the people she’s been trying for years to protect. But protect from who? The sinister twist of the story emerges as Liz begins to paint an unpleasant picture of Peter Pan and what he really means to the women of the Darling family.
The unraveling of all Holly Darling’s closely held truths are what create the depth of Peter’s untold story. Two generations have passed since Peter first appeared at Wendy Darling’s nursery window, coaxing her with his undeniable boyish charm to join him on a great adventure to Neverland. As time passes, he would eventually come for the other Darling women. Each generation would have their own stories to tell, but Holly is the most elusive about her memories of Peter. Holly’s mother, Jane, perhaps the biggest Peter aficionado, isn’t even fully aware of all her daughter is hiding until the truth becomes the only thing that can save the Darling women from the chaos that Peter has in store.
In the end, Holly realizes that pretending Peter was just a harmless fairy tale was the most dangerous thing she could have done. The Darling women discover their strength and learn that they can have adventures all on their own. With a little bit of faith, trust and pixie dust, they find that their world isn’t as far away from Neverland as they thought, as long as they keep the window open and remember to think happy thoughts!
Laura Tuzzio is a freelance writer who enjoys books, travel, music, and spending time with her family.
