Title: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Format: Hardback
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Format: Hardback
Release Date: July 3rd, 2012
My Rating: 4.5 out of 5.0
Jodi Lynn Anderson explores the world of Neverland and the elation and heartbreak of first love in her dark, romantic, and very original YA novel Tiger Lily.
Tinkerbell narrates the magical, bittersweet love story between Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. Tiger Lily has never been truly accepted by her tribe, and now the elders have decreed marriage to a man she doesn’t love. She spends more and more time alone in the woods, where she meets wild, fearless Peter Pan, leader of the Lost Boys.
Tiger Lily is intoxicated by the freedom she feels with Peter, and falls under his spell. Their love is all-consuming, and she risks everything to be with him.
Then Wendy Darling arrives in Neverland.
Tiger Lily has been optioned for television!
Tinkerbell narrates the magical, bittersweet love story between Tiger Lily and Peter Pan. Tiger Lily has never been truly accepted by her tribe, and now the elders have decreed marriage to a man she doesn’t love. She spends more and more time alone in the woods, where she meets wild, fearless Peter Pan, leader of the Lost Boys.
Tiger Lily is intoxicated by the freedom she feels with Peter, and falls under his spell. Their love is all-consuming, and she risks everything to be with him.
Then Wendy Darling arrives in Neverland.
Tiger Lily has been optioned for television!
My Review:
This book when I initially thought about this book and whether I would pick it up or not. It came down to an argument that I've ran over and over through my head. What type of book is this? It wasn't until I read a review (the start of it at least) by Emily May over at The Book Geek, that really just changed my mind. I thought this book would just be another romance that would've left me wondering how this was different from any other romance. You know what I'm talking about, the type of book that girl/boy scouts read, or some tween high school book that makes all the young teens swoon like Twilight. I want more than that, and I got that in this book. Sorry Scouts and Tweens, you'll be disappointed.
Tiger Lily boasts about being a romance, which is a compete understatement. It deals with pain and loss, heartbreak, and most important of all, the inability to accept change. There characters were very dynamic, especially Tinkerbell. The story is told from Tink's perspective and it gives this close, refreshing view of Tiger Lily and the world she lives in. Overally the feel of Tink's emotions and how she befriends Tiger Lily and feels for her mold this story into something just beyond ordinary.
Tiger Lily is this Tribe girl in Neverland who is one of the most abused and lonely characters I've read about to this date. I found myself relating to her more than I probably cared to, but that's what made her character stronger to me. She is believe to be cursed by the rest of her Tribe and they want almost nothing to do with her. When she struggles for their acceptance in her own way, she stumbles and one too many times is forced to Marry Giant. Who seeks to abuse and neglect her at any and all possible moments. I struggled with the fact that she put up with him in order to stay in the Tribe.
Enter Peter Pan who gives Tiger Lily that outlet. He's about as alone as she is and yet he manages to bring a peace to Tiger Lily. There is a part about Peter Pan that I didn't really by into. That's why this book suffered with me. I understood Tiger Lily, but part of me wanted more from Peter Pan and what he brought to the table. Yea I understand that he was looking out for the kids and whatnot, but how the relationship with Tiger Lily and how easily he seemed to just move on seemed unnatural to me. I don't know, I just didn't buy into him like I wanted to early on in the book.
The villains in this book, were hard to define. I found that Tiger Lily seemed to be her biggest enemy. James Hook was a complicated character that I seemed to enjoy more and more as the book unfolded. He tended to lose himself as the book went on and the more he lost himself at the bottom of a bottle, he hated himself. It was the type of hatred that he poured out on all those around him, even on Peter Pan. Probably more so Peter Pan.
However my second favorite character was Smee. Mainly because of how intriguing he was. He was a pirate brought to Neverland along with James Hook. He is as demented as they come, going around killing people because of their beauty and strength. However, afterwards he mourns their death as if he were a friend of theirs. It's odd and makes me question his overall sanity, he's a great character.
Overall, this book exceeded everything that I wanted. The ending of the book didn't take me by surprise at all, and the lack of any attachment to Peter Pan brought the only flaw I saw in this book. However I am not holding the ending against the book, we all know the fairy tell. However how Tiger Lily reacts to it is what I found strange as well. I wanted more, I wanted something to claw at my chest, and it was close, so very close to obtain the gold. It just fell too short in my perspective.
Tiger Lily boasts about being a romance, which is a compete understatement. It deals with pain and loss, heartbreak, and most important of all, the inability to accept change. There characters were very dynamic, especially Tinkerbell. The story is told from Tink's perspective and it gives this close, refreshing view of Tiger Lily and the world she lives in. Overally the feel of Tink's emotions and how she befriends Tiger Lily and feels for her mold this story into something just beyond ordinary.
Tiger Lily is this Tribe girl in Neverland who is one of the most abused and lonely characters I've read about to this date. I found myself relating to her more than I probably cared to, but that's what made her character stronger to me. She is believe to be cursed by the rest of her Tribe and they want almost nothing to do with her. When she struggles for their acceptance in her own way, she stumbles and one too many times is forced to Marry Giant. Who seeks to abuse and neglect her at any and all possible moments. I struggled with the fact that she put up with him in order to stay in the Tribe.
Enter Peter Pan who gives Tiger Lily that outlet. He's about as alone as she is and yet he manages to bring a peace to Tiger Lily. There is a part about Peter Pan that I didn't really by into. That's why this book suffered with me. I understood Tiger Lily, but part of me wanted more from Peter Pan and what he brought to the table. Yea I understand that he was looking out for the kids and whatnot, but how the relationship with Tiger Lily and how easily he seemed to just move on seemed unnatural to me. I don't know, I just didn't buy into him like I wanted to early on in the book.
The villains in this book, were hard to define. I found that Tiger Lily seemed to be her biggest enemy. James Hook was a complicated character that I seemed to enjoy more and more as the book unfolded. He tended to lose himself as the book went on and the more he lost himself at the bottom of a bottle, he hated himself. It was the type of hatred that he poured out on all those around him, even on Peter Pan. Probably more so Peter Pan.
However my second favorite character was Smee. Mainly because of how intriguing he was. He was a pirate brought to Neverland along with James Hook. He is as demented as they come, going around killing people because of their beauty and strength. However, afterwards he mourns their death as if he were a friend of theirs. It's odd and makes me question his overall sanity, he's a great character.
Overall, this book exceeded everything that I wanted. The ending of the book didn't take me by surprise at all, and the lack of any attachment to Peter Pan brought the only flaw I saw in this book. However I am not holding the ending against the book, we all know the fairy tell. However how Tiger Lily reacts to it is what I found strange as well. I wanted more, I wanted something to claw at my chest, and it was close, so very close to obtain the gold. It just fell too short in my perspective.
