The Wendy

Tales of the Wendy Series, Book 1

De: Erin Michelle Sky, Steven Brown

Narrado por: Henrietta Meire

Wendy Darling is an orphan, ridiculed for believing in a future she can never have. She longs to sail the seas in the Royal Navy. Instead, she's about to be sold into service as a dressmaker. When she learns the Home Office is accepting female applicants, she jumps at the chance, joining the fight against the most formidable threat England has ever faced - magic.

But her new position isn't exactly what she'd 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.

©2017 Erin Michelle Sky and Steven Brown (P)2019 Tantor

Excellent re-imagining of a classic tale!

Perfect narrator. The authors re-wrote a well-loved tale to allow readers to enjoy the story from the feminine perspective. Unlike most of the re-writes we are forced to endure, they did not butcher the story🙃 I truly enjoyed listening and cannot wait for the next in the series.

A Darling Tale

This book ensnares your attention from the beginning while daring your eyes to stray from the page. The Tales of Wendy promises a world of adventure and immense satisfaction from start to finish. Well done!

Very enjoyable

Well read and well written, what a lovely re-work of a classic tale! A good balance of expected and unexpected, from a fun new perspective

So good

A gown up rendition of a classic that puts Wendy and a woman’s power to the front in an era when women had little. Beautifully written and narrated. I loved every minute of it.

Fascinating reimagining of Peter Pan

The good: The story is a fascinating new take on the character of Peter Pan and how he came to be, as well as the other characters in the original story. It was an exciting story full of suspense and adventure. Unlike so many stories that mention churches or faith as part of the storyline (minimal here), the author did not use that as an opportunity to denigrate Christian faith. The narration was basically good. I didn’t want to stop listening. I had to force myself to listen to just a chapter at a time instead of listening to the entire book at once, in order to make the book last. The cover art is beautiful.
The bad: The story didn’t really come to a conclusion. It is possible to end one phase of a story while still hinting at more of the story to come—See The Starcatchers series by Dave Barry and Ridley Pearson, read on Audible by the great Jim Dale. The “secret kiss” which was mentioned often was annoying and seemingly meaningless. (Even if the meaning is to be revealed later, it did not need to be mentioned so many times.) The narrator did well with most of the characters. However, she was unable to make her voice harsh enough to be believable as Captain Hook, which was very disappointing. Also, she read everything in a normal tone of voice. Even if a character was supposed to whisper or shout, she would just say “she whispered” or “he shouted” instead of actually whispering or shouting the dialogue.
Overall: Great story. Fun listen. I’m looking forward to the next book!

Quite the ride

It always kept me interested and didn’t leave me bored at all. Would read again.

High brow eyebrows

A delightful retelling including the best use of eyebrows in a narrative that I have ever read

Not just another retelling.

I must preface my review by saying I don't want to spoil anything for you, so please forgive my vagueness. It's been decades since I saw any of the various film versions of Peter Pan, and I admit I've never read the book.

I loved this book! I 'read' the audiobook version. The style of narration made it feel like I was being told a bedtime story. The narrator's voice was very pleasant and had a British accent. It fit very well for the character of Wendy. The omniscient viewpoint allowed for fun moments, like finally being able to know what Nanna (the dog) was thinking. This commentary always brought a smile to my face.

The Wendy is a retelling of Peter Pan, from the point of view of Wendy. But it's much more than that. To say it's a retelling is to ignore the fact that this is an entirely new story. The core of the characters and enchantment of the world are still there, but everything around them has been reimagined. Perhaps that's what a retelling is, but it didn't FEEL that way for me.

It's not just that Wendy is the focus of the story, she is a true heroine. I fell in love with her ability to be strong and capable, while at the same time nurturing and caring. Pan is still the self-centered, fun-loving miscreant, but the way we're introduced to him gives him a dangerous edge.

The Wendy takes the child's tale I saw as a kid and throws it into the grown-up world. Where the play fighting is a real war and Hook an actual captain. I love the reasoning for why Wendy and Nanna are vital to the war efforts. It makes sense and explains why a woman would be 'allowed' such agency in a time when women were expected to only be caregivers.

If it weren't book one in a series, I could see myself returning to this story over and over as comfort reading. Since it is in a series, I'm excited to get the next book and find out what happens.

If you like fairytale retellings, stories with strong, yet nurturing women protagonists, and magical worlds that feel real enough to hide in our own, then I highly recommend you add The Wendy to your reading list.

An amazing book

Wow. It was spotless from beginning to end. I loved the feminist Wendy and how she had an amazing vocabulary, especially when she fought with men. The only thing I was sad about was that it’s really a clever version of Peter Pan, which I like, but I feel like I would’ve liked this book more if it weren’t that. But still-brilliant authors and an amazing book. I would most certainly recommend, whoever you are.

Absolutely Amazing

I really loved Wendy. I personally felt that I could relate to her societal struggles. All of the characters are so well rounded and while listening I felt like I had somehow entered the world with them. The writing is a perfect nod to the original Peter Pan. The retelling is so creative, not just changing perspectives, but rather recreating the story. I’d recommend to anyone who is wanting a quick book that really helps you escape.