Darling is a novel by K. Ancrum, a modern take on Peter Pan. It transplants the story to 2020 Chicago, and takes away the magic of Neverland.
Wendy Darling isn't thrilled about the move to Chicago, mainly because her parents won't let her meet her best online friend Eleanor in person, despite the fact that they video-chat all the time. Her mother is also quiet about a trauma that leads her and Mr. Darling to be overprotective. Once broken window and a torn jacket later, and a would-be thief tries to corner Wendy when she's alone at night and grounded to boot. Yet she's drawn to his mystery, and his offers to take her to a party. Things get complicated when the journey to said party reveals that the police are after Peter, namely a detective with a Hook for a hand.
Tropes for this novel include:
- Adaptational Nice Guy: Unlike the original George Darling, who took out his frustration about the kids on Nana by tying her up, this version dotes on her. His wife comments that he's got her doggie items better prepared than the human items.
- "Could Have Avoided This!" Plot:
- As Wendy points out to herself, Peter wouldn't have dared broken into the house that was formerly empty if Mr. Darling had either gotten the window fixed or let her sleep over with Eleanor while their grownup party was happening. The Darlings seem to be aware of this and when Wendy is grounded indefinitely at the end of the story, they let Eleanor and the other kids visit frequently.
- Eleanor and Tinkerbell also point out that Wendy chose to go out to this party, rather than stay at home. Wendy herself admits that this was a foolish decision and that Peter's allure was no excuse.
- Growing Up Sucks: Peter believes that growing up is this. It means, darkly, that he never retains control over the Lost Boys and girls that he meets.
- Police Brutality: Wendy points this out to Eleanor who wants to call the cops on Peter, after hearing the story. She notes that she's a black girl hanging out with a white boy in Chicago at night, so that won't end well. It especially seems to prove her point when they see the cops arresting kids without reading them their rights. Even though it turns out Detective Hook's grudge isn't so much personal as it is to stop a bloodbath— Peter has a history of murdering boys and has gotten away with it for about twenty years— the cops are quite brutal towards the kids that they arrest, even the ones who are undercover.
- Properly Paranoid: The whole concept really. Wendy is left alone at night, in a house with a broken window and only luggage to block it. She keeps warning her parents that this is a setup for a home invasion. Sure enough, she's proven right when Peter attempts to break in and steal some items as "compensation" for the jacket that Nana tore up. That's not even going into The Reveal that Peter is a Serial Killer that murders boys before they turn eighteen.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: It's a surprise when Detective Hook is revealed to be this. While he is annoyed that Wendy got involved with Peter, since it ruined the sting that would have arrested the kid at the train station and prevented James's death, he also doesn't retaliate when Tinkerbell insults him. Hook mentions he has two daughters about their age, and he knows Tinkerbell is scared, as she should be, so she's not in trouble for attempting to press his hot buttons. Wendy notes that he ought to have called her parents after arresting her since Eleanor called the cops after Wendy's phone died, but Hook had his reasons to ask for her help instead. Not to mention he keeps his word to protect Wendy at all times when having her engineer a confession.
- Spanner in the Works: Wendy finds out, to her dismay, that Peter taking her to the party meant he was delayed when the police would have arrested him at the train station, and the cops missed their window. As a result, he got the opportunity to murder James by pushing him off a moving subway.
