Wendy

Title: Wendy
Author: Karen Wallace
Publisher: Simon Pulse
Copyright: 2003 by Karen Wallace
Ages: 12+
Pages: 320
Genre: Fiction

Summary:
Wendy is very different from what her parents would like her to be. She is extremely imaginative and often talks to her dog as if it will answer. She, John and Michael have terrible nanny that treats them horribly and when she thinks they are bad she makes them drink castor oil. And on occasion she even hits them.
One night after a dreadful day with Nanny, Wendy and John sneak out to watch a party their parents are hosting. Only while they watch they see their father in an inappropriate situation with a woman named Mrs. Cunningham who is not their mother. Nanny catches them and makes them drink castor oil.
Letitia, Mrs. Cunningham’s daughter is a vile and evil girl. She is spoiled rotten and gets her way with everything. She hated Wendy, but today she had to play with her.
Esther Cunningham is Letitia’s half sister and a true friend of Wendy’s, and she cannot stand her sister and brother.
The next day, Mrs. Darling tells John and Wendy that they are to play with the Cunningham children. Wendy and John are not pleased. In the end, John ends up being tied up and teased with a red hot poker. Letitia reenacts what Wendy saw the night before and then Wendy is violently ill. Wendy confides in the maid Liza what Nanny does to them and sends Nana in to keep her company.
Wendy hates London and wants to go to Rosegrove (a family property) to visit. But that is not to happen for the time being, for the present her family has a picnic which turns sour after their father loses his temper. But instead of having to go with Nanny, she goes with Esther instead. And then confides in her what Letitia had done and why she had become ill. She also shares what Henry does to John. Luckily The Cunningham’s are leaving for the country and Wendy will not have to deal with them much longer.
Mrs. Darling learns that they are broke (after spending quite a lot of money).
The children talk of running away to their Uncles house in Rosegrove and John comes up with a plan to earn the money. But it is ridiculous, so they obviously do not go through with it. When their lemonade is brought out to them Nanny gets angry and refuses to let them have any, but other servants come to the children’s aid. When Nanny grabs Wendy’s arm and twists, making her scream, Mrs. Darling sees. The children are taken car of by the servants while Mrs. Darling dismisses Nanny. She also pawns some of her jewelry to send the children to Rosegrove. She calls Wendy to her and explains that without a nanny they will need to behave extra good. Wendy agrees and the children leave.
When they arrive at Rosegrove they go to meet their Uncle. But Wendy sneaks around to sneak up on him and succeeds. The children are ecstatic to be there. Soon Wendy goes to visit her friend Thomas; he is mentally disabled and can sometimes be unpredictable. He is an amazing painter and when Wendy first sees him after a long absence she sees the dark and evil painting he had done. It disturbs her and Thomas both. She helps him to get rid of it. The summer progresses and they all have a wonderful time, until Mrs. Darlings comes, and Wendy sees her embracing Thomas. She is furious, how could her mother do that?! She runs and runs, but trips and hits her head. She doesn’t know how long she was unconscious but she has horrible horrible dreams. Her family finds her and has to call a doctor because she is so sick.
Wendy wakes up to find her mother crying next to her, she tells her mother that she hates her. Soon, Wendy is out and about again.
At home, Mr. Darling gets drunk almost everyday and is tearing the house apart. He gets drunk and takes his car out for a drive. He crashes and then goes after the women protesting for the right to vote. Esther sees him and is completely shocked. She writes to Mrs. Darling and they plan to return home.
Wendy goes to play with Letitia again and learns what happened with her father. And when her father gets drunk again, he yells at Mrs. Darling that Wendy is just as mad as her big brother. But Wendy doesn’t have an older brother that she knows of. She goes to visit Esther and they talk about the possibility of her having a mad older brother.
The Cunningham’s have a fight because he found out she was having an affair with Mr. Darling. His punishment to his wife is either for all of them to move away to the country or a divorce, and she chooses the country.
Wendy stole money from her mother to go visit her mad brother and even gave some to her brothers so that they could have some sweets. But then she is sent to say goodbye to Letitia. Letitia threatens to kill herself and Wendy becomes worried. And then Letitica sends Wendy a suicide note, and she sneaks to her mothers room to deliver a note but hears her parents arguing about her older brother. That is when she learns that Thomas is her brother.
Leticia does not go through with her death threat and they move away.
Wendy returns to find her home completely changed. Her father found a job, sold his car and the family is happier and when she arrives she is given a package from her Uncle. It was a picture than Thomas had drawn and it was of her.
That night, Wendy writes her mother a letter and returns almost all of the money she stole. Then she sees her parents and they are happy again. That night, she dreams of Thomas, the boy who would never grow up.

Recommendations:
This is a relatively dark book with talk of infidelity and divorce and mental illness as a bad thing. I would only suggest this to older readers. At least 12 years old.

Potential Problems:
There is infidelity, divorce, violence, parents sending their children away and alcoholism.

My Reaction:
I’m honestly not sure how I feel about this book. I know that I despise Mr. Darling and was greatly bothered by how dark it was, but I’m glad everything worked out in the end.