Let me say, first, that I know I am totally behind on reading Tiger Lily. Everyone else read and reviewed it at the beginning of July and stuff, but I'm typically broke and didn't buy it. Anyways, I just now got and read it, so I'm reviewing it now. Mmmkay? Good.
Before Peter Pan belonged to Wendy, he belonged to the girl with the crow feather in her hair. . . .
Fifteen-year-old Tiger Lily doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the alluring teenage Peter Pan in the forbidden woods of Neverland and immediately falls under his spell.
Peter is unlike anyone she's ever known. Impetuous and brave, he both scares and enthralls her. As the leader of the Lost Boys, the most fearsome of Neverland's inhabitants, Peter is an unthinkable match for Tiger Lily. Soon, she is risking everything—her family, her future—to be with him. When she is faced with marriage to a terrible man in her own tribe, she must choose between the life she's always known and running away to an uncertain future with Peter.
With enemies threatening to tear them apart, the lovers seem doomed. But it's the arrival of Wendy Darling, an English girl who's everything Tiger Lily is not, that leads Tiger Lily to discover that the most dangerous enemies can live inside even the most loyal and loving heart.
From the New York Times bestselling author of Peaches comes a magical and bewitching story of the romance between a fearless heroine and the boy who wouldn't grow up.
Tiger Lily was as heartbreaking as it was amazing. I just finished it and I really feel like Jodi Lynn Anderson took my heart and beat it violently with her book. I'm concerned I'm going to cry. I knew how it would end, but I just didn't realize how badly it would hurt. I mean, even the book summary that comes with the book tells us that Wendy would come and screw everything up. I just had now clue how attached I would get to Tiger Lily and Tinker Bell. The ending hurt. A lot. Oddly enough that was actually my favorite part. (Let me just say that it's a little bit of happy/sad, so don't let the sad deter you from reading it!)
OKAY enough about how bad the end hurt. The entire story was absolutely beautiful. It was almost poetic in the way it flowed. Tiger Lily was really different from every other YA book out there. I loved that it was not narrated by Tiger Lily, but by Tink. She was funny and was a perfect narrator, because she could see everything that was going on. I loved her opinions on everything, too. It read like a fairy tale, but had the emotional pull of a novel. I loved everything about it.
The characters were all beautifully crafted, too. Tiger Lily was headstrong and independent, but you knew there had to be some vulnerability in her. She wanted to be better, stronger, faster, but not better than Peter. Peter was awkward and immature and forever stuck in the body and mind of a teenage boy. I already talked about Tink. I love her. The lost boys were all stuck in youth like Peter, but they each had their own quirks and personalities. Nibs was my favorite. He had compassion and was smart and was considerably more mature than the rest, but let Peter lead. I just liked him a lot. There was also Tiger Lily's two friends, Moon Eye and Pine Sap. I loved them both. They were her friends and were with her always, even if she was a little standoffish and unwelcoming. They were there for her always, and cared for her no matter what. We got to know Pine Sap better, because he and Tiger Lily have been attached at the hip since they were children. I really liked Pine Sap. He was awkwardly built, but wasn't exactly ashamed of it. He clung to Tiger Lily because he knew she needed him, even if she didn't want him around. He was perfect for her. There were a lot more characters, but those were my favorite.
That cover is just gorgeous. I love the colors and the dress. I EVEN LOVE THE FONT. I love that this book delves into Tiger Lily's story. I love everything about it. This is one of my new favorite books. I give it five stars for the sheer beauty of the story and how bad my heart STILL hurts. Jeez. I highly recommend it to all literate people with tissues. Read it. Now. :) Please?
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So, first let me say... I haven't read it yet either, so you're not the ONLY one behind.
ReplyDeleteBut I haven't read it bec I hate sad endings, especially if the book was written so well that you loved everything else about it, namely the characters, bec then you want the characters that you have grown to love to be happy.
So... I still havent decided if I will read it.
But, great review.
You won't regret reading it!! It's more happy-sad than real sad I suppose. It's really beautiful.
DeleteI've been wanting to read this for a while but I haven't gotten a chance to yet, now after your review I'm dying to read it! I hate sad endings but I think that was kinda inevitable in this book, I'll just have to keep tissues with me like you said. This was a great review, it really made me want to read the book :)
ReplyDeleteKaitlyn@Books and Bandanas