Like The Tomato
Nothing here but my musings about daily life, books, anime, and food.
I know a lot of people prefer the summer, especially if you live in places where it snows or places that are just cold all year round. But I grew up in a pretty warm country and having lived in a State that has practically summer all year long, I am not a fan of the season. I am not saying that today was the hottest that I have experienced, but it was still pretty hot for my liking.
Just because of the weather, I had the lights off in the apartment the whole day. And it was nice for a bit. And tomorrow is another hot day, so I need to wake up early to get some chores done so I wouldn’t need to move the rest of the day.
I was able to hang out with the boyfriend for a little bit. We both were not feeling well, so we had to stop early today. Which was fine, we got to squeeze in quite a number of anime episodes.
Naruto. I love Shikamaru. I just think he never felt challenged with his stuff and that was why he seemed to be unmotivated. Sure, granted, he kept saying “What a pain” and all that. But I really think that he just needed a more challenging environment so that he could use his brain a bit more. Sasuke finally showed his ass. And I am pumped about this fight with Gaara. I would’ve been fine not seeing Sakura whatsoever in the four episodes that we watched. But alas, I had to see her face. Bleh.
Inuyasha. Oh god, the angst in these two romance episodes annoyed the shit out of me. I refused to rehash it. It was just annoying.
Bungo Stray Dogs. This was my original pick! And we got to watch two episodes. And so far, it was enjoyable. My hun enjoyed it as well. We both love the artwork. Those dark lines were amazing. We would continue on, I feel like this anime will be chaotically funny. I already love Dazai. He seems carefree, but obviously, there is more to him.
Anyway, I’m gonna try and read tonight. Not planning to read for a long time though. I just want to read a bit. At least as much as my headache will permit.
- Title: Darling Girl
- Author: Liz Michalski
- Genre: Fantasy
- Pages: 352
- Publisher: Dutton
- Published: 2022
I would like to assume that everyone has heard of Peter Pan. Or at least familiar with it. I never watched the Disney movie, Peter Pan. I have not read the book. However, the Peter Pan I knew was from an anime adaptation of the novel by JM Barrie. I enjoyed this anime while growing up in the Philippines. So for this purpose, let’s just say that I am familiar with Peter Pan. This book followed Holly, the granddaughter of Wendy Darling – yes that Wendy from the fairy tale. Holly had to take on the infamous Peter Pan to save her daughter’s life.
What made me pick this up? When this book showed up on Book of the Month, I had to get it. The premise itself was interesting. I mean, you cannot go wrong with a dark Peter Pan. And I enjoyed that aspect of the book. It was nice to see Peter Pan not being the golden boy. Let’s just say that this book would definitely give you a different idea of the boy himself. I loved it. And honestly, it made me continue reading the book. Heads up though, trigger warning for the depiction of sexual assault.
However, regardless of the premise, I had issues with Holly. The protagonist. She was not likeable whatsoever. There were decisions she made that I questioned and hated her for. I was livid for the most part when I was reading. And that made me struggle a lot since the book was following her. There were some questions about morals and ethics for sure. All I could think of was “What the fuck is wrong with you”.
What really made my skin crawl? Holly’s tryst with Peter. Sure, it might not be a prolonged affair. But she was doing sexual things with this boy. The excuse? He looked older than what was described in the fairy tale. But how old? One thing that stood out to me was the concept that Peter Pan gets old, he just does not grow up. So you’re saying this man-child has a handicap? And then what annoyed me more, just to justify the actual sexual act in this book, it was put in as a sexual assault. Peter assaulted Holly and that resulted in her getting pregnant.
There was also a private investigator in this book that made me smile when he was on the pages. The way he was introduced made me swoon, and from then, I was just swooning.
The book was good, I found the premise really interesting. However, I did not enjoy the book as much as I thought I would. And that was because the MC was just so darn unlikeable. I really do not like her. It was so hard to read because I found her decisions and rationales so infuriating. The ending was fine. I just wished I saw the big showdown between Peter and the investigator. And I somehow felt cheated because Holly was not in the final showdown so I missed the whole climax of it. Would I reread this? Probably not. But hey, I would keep this on my bookshelf regardless.