Review: The Wendy

The Wendy by Erin Michelle Sky
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

The Wendy is one of those books that I only really got because it appeared on my Kindle recommendations. I was intrigued by the cover art to look into the blurb provided. A re-telling of Peter Pan that played up Wendy as a hero and strong in her own right? Well, I was sold. (The fact that - at time of purchase - it was being offered for free on Kindle was just an added bonus.)

Wendy Darling is an orphan who longed for an adventure of her own. She wanted to sail on the seas but was informed rarely harshly by another child of the alms-house that girls did not sail, they were mothers. This rattled Wendy but she was fortunate enough to come across a person who saw a kindred spirit in her, and taught her the ways of sail. On reaching adulthood, she seizes an opportunity for work that was not typical for her gender. This leads her to be working as part of a regiment set to protect the country from magical threats.

That is a very, very basic summary because I would not want to spoil it for any potential readers. Set during the 18th century, the authors took great care with their historical research, and it very much helps with the feel of the story. Great attention is played to the interplay of relationships within the story - John and Michael, officers in regiment that Wendy is attached to, may not be her biological brothers but the bond between them is as strong as one between siblings grown together - and to how Wendy's desire to be noticed for more than her gender drives her interactions with many people. The new characters added to the Peter Pan narrative feel quite fitting, inserting themselves easily and making you forget that they had not been there before.

I do have some slight quibbles: the play up of Wendy's beauty and men being attracted to her is a bit annoying. Only a bit because Wendy plainly has no interest in anything other than carving out an adventure for herself and that fact becomes quickly apparent to any potential suitor. I would have liked to have seen more with the vague implication of Wendy being in possession of magic but that may be me reading wrong, or something that is meant for Book 2 (due in 2019, apparently.)

Overall, The Wendy was a quick and enjoyable read. The writing style is easy to get into, and helps you move along with the story quite quickly. I was surprised when it ended as it felt as if we were only part of the way into the story, and there was so much more to come.

And, of course, there is. How long until Book 2 is available...?

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