Peter Darling by S.A. Chant
"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. Growing up, however, has only made him realize how inescapable his identity as a man is.
But 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. 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."
“That's the trick of growing up. Nothing stays the same." Hook sounded oddly sympathetic. "You see the faults in everything. Including yourself.”
― S.A. Chant, Peter Darling
Important info to note at the top: This book is a queer retelling of Peter Pan, by trans author S.A. Chant. Peter Darling was originally published under S.A.'s deadname. So it is no longer in print but will be republished at a future date. I'll be sure to update everyone when I hear more on this!
On to the story! Peter Darling is a queer retelling of the classic story Peter Pan. I admit, I've only ever seen the Disney movie, which I've heard is quite watered down from the original book. But I am here for queer retellings of old stories. Who doesn't read something cishet and wonder "But what if it was queer?" That's always been me. So I really did enjoy this book. It also contains one of my guilty favorite tropes: enemies to lovers. So this one was a solid four stars for me. It was fun, but I thought there were some really amazing fantasy elements happening in this story as well that I was surprised and delighted by.
The only thing that I wish would have been a smidge more clear, is Peter's age. It's not abundantly clear how old he is when he comes back, just that it's been ten years. And it's said multiple times that he's grown up. Towards the end, Captain Hook refers to him as a man. But there are times that he reads like a teenager. And when you get the flashbacks to him leaving his home, it makes it sound like his room is in the nursery with his brothers which wouldn't make a lot of sense for an adult. So his relationship with Hook made me a smidge uncomfortable. I really think he is at least 18 by the time he comes back, but there's certainly a very large age gap between the two. Aside from that, I found it a very enjoyable book and I loved the ending of this one. I do recommend it!
Genre: retellings, fantasy, lgbtqia+
Representation: gay, trans
Content Warnings: Deadnaming, Death, Misgendering, Violence, Wounds, Blood, Character Death