Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson
Thursday, July 11, 2013
Author : Jodi Lynn Anderson
Genre : Fantasy
Published Date : July 2nd 2013
Publisher : HarperTeen
Pages : 304
Pages : 304
From Goodreads :
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.
Get a Copy : [AMAZON] | [BARNES&NOBLE] | [INDIEBOUND] | [THE BOOK DEPOSITORY]
Review
So, let me be totally honest here : I wasn't actually really knew the whole original story of Peter Pan.
That there is actually a native american tribe living in Neverland. And there's their fierce princess, Tiger Lily. And so many more.
Did I know all this? Eh.
The amazing thing is, though : Jodi Lynn was able to make me fall in love with Peter Pan's fairy tale, even when I was previously quite so-so toward it.
"Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you’ve heard. The boy and the girl are far from innocent. Dear lives are lost. And good doesn’t win. In some places, there is something ultimately good about endings. In Neverland, that is not the case."
—Tinker Bell
Tiger Lily told us the untold story of Peter Pan, long before the tale ever happened, long before he fell in love with Wendy. Before the boy who never grow up met Wendy, he met Tiger Lily—the shaman's daughter of the Sky Eater tribe, wild, fierce and misfit. To the Sky Eater, Peter Pan were a thing to be feared, living deep down in the forbidden territory that shouldn't be approached. To Tiger Lily, he was her first love. But if there's no Peter and Tiger Lily, where would their love go?
If I make a long story short : This is a story about how first love are forever, and that it'll tear your heart apart and put it back together again.
What I mostly love from this book was especially the realistic feeling it had. I mean, that Tinkerbell isn't just a twinkling, pretty, little annoying fairy. She's a real fairy. Ate flea and groomed by cricket. I know this insect-y theme is kinda disgusting, but my point here is : finally, a REAL fairy.
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| Isn't this one is like so friggin' romantic? |
Then I also love the fact that Jodi Lynn decided to give us an unusual PoV : a story narrated in first person who is a side character, our little Tinkerbell.
And while it's not really your ordinary first-person PoV, it gave us all the merit of first-person PoV (Deep inner feeling and characteristic) and the third-person PoV (Know all that's happening).
The world-building was also really amazing. The Neverland's landscape and surrounding was really easy to imagine and felt truly magical, the feeling Jodi Lynn was able to recapture from the original tale. One more plus point for me was that the author wasn't afraid to give us the real version—and not the pretty-ish version—of Neverland : Beautiful, deadly, and brutal.
And while it's not really your ordinary first-person PoV, it gave us all the merit of first-person PoV (Deep inner feeling and characteristic) and the third-person PoV (Know all that's happening).
The world-building was also really amazing. The Neverland's landscape and surrounding was really easy to imagine and felt truly magical, the feeling Jodi Lynn was able to recapture from the original tale. One more plus point for me was that the author wasn't afraid to give us the real version—and not the pretty-ish version—of Neverland : Beautiful, deadly, and brutal.
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| This kinda portray the Neverland's Pirate Cove I had on my mind perfectly. |
The plot is also compact and always moving forward, and all in all, it really managed to keep the reader interested in finding out what will happened next.
Beside the world-building, what really kept me glued to this book was its characters.
All of us know that in the end, no matter what kind of version it is, Peter Pan will always choose Wendy. There is Peter and Wendy, but there is no Peter and Tiger Lily.
So it's pretty obvious that this book wouldn't be all pretty and fluffy and ended happily.
But when you love the character, sometime you'll really rooted for them even if their story is certainly doomed. And that's exactly what happened to me as I read this book.
Even as I turned the page and fully know what waited me in the end, I still continued to hope that Peter and Tiger Lily could somehow ended up together. No matter how impossible it was.
Reading this, I say, was a total emotional roller-coaster ride. Some time it would take you up high and happy, and some time it would take you to the lowest point and rip your heart in the tiniest bits possible.
Tiger Lily, as our main character, was totally lovable and decently flawed (Again, you know how much I love this). She's not pretty (Plus one), she's wild and was able to climb a freakin tree (Why wouldn't I love a girl who climbs tree? Plus one!), and she's pretty realistic, rational and logical (Hands down, plus one!).
Added all the points above? Total love from me!
What I noticed the most from her was her strong and fresh personality. I especially love how Jodi Lynn wasn't afraid to give her character a not-so-pretty personality, like how Tiger Lily was silently deadly and she would—realistically—held grudge when people mistreated her.
It was really shining throughout the book, and all her action was backed up with a rational reason that would make the reader just go along with what she did.
Most of all, I felt really connected to her reading this book. I was feeling the heartache, the happiness, and all. Like I said, it's an emotional ride. And huge part of I happened because I was so emotionally attached to Tiger Lily.
Peter, I found, was amazingly balanced as well. Sometimes, there's a character that you'll absolutely love like Tiger Lily. And sometimes there's the one who you'll hate, like that annoying Wendy (Yes, she's really an annoying little brat in this book). But with Peter, he's that one character who you'll both love and hate.
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| My feeling is exactly like THIS. |
His characteristic was actually the most unique for me, balancing the right amount of sweetness and brat-ish Peter Pan's attitude. He's just, like, really cute and made me just was to bear-hug him, but at the same time made me want to kick him.
I also love how his character really grew in this book. At first glance, we met an ignorant boy who just want to have fun and never grow old. In the end, we met someone else totally different. And in between, his change felt so believable and real.
And then the flaw of this book.
When I read a book, even when I love it, I've always try to look even for a tiniest flaw that I maybe decided to overlook but some people might find annoying. Some time, I can found it. But with this one? There's simply none.
Let's not say it's because I really fell in love with this or whatever. But honestly? The character was all unique really well-developed, even the side character. The world building of Neverland was bold, realistic, and easy to imagine. And the plot was always moving with no scene wasted. So maybe, it is then : The first perfect book I've read.
If you're a fans of fairy-tale retelling (Or not. Like me. Honestly, I never read any kind of retelling before this one) with a strong characters that were all easy to relate and amazing world building, this one is totally recommended.
And then the flaw of this book.
When I read a book, even when I love it, I've always try to look even for a tiniest flaw that I maybe decided to overlook but some people might find annoying. Some time, I can found it. But with this one? There's simply none.
Let's not say it's because I really fell in love with this or whatever. But honestly? The character was all unique really well-developed, even the side character. The world building of Neverland was bold, realistic, and easy to imagine. And the plot was always moving with no scene wasted. So maybe, it is then : The first perfect book I've read.
If you're a fans of fairy-tale retelling (Or not. Like me. Honestly, I never read any kind of retelling before this one) with a strong characters that were all easy to relate and amazing world building, this one is totally recommended.
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6 comments
I think I died a little when reading your review. GAH. GAHHHH GAHHHHH. GAHHHHHHHHH. <-- The sounds of me dying.
ReplyDeleteOkay, now I really wish to buy it.
Gogogo buy it now! :D
DeleteI'm having a major book hangover after reading ths :D It's seriously THAT good!
I truly need to pick this one up. I have a huge feeling I'll love it too. :)
ReplyDeleteI LOVE the pictures you included :) So pretty. I am a huge fan of retellings, and everyone seems to love this. I will definitely be reading this one soon-great review!
ReplyDeleteAlise @ Readers In Wonderland
NEYSA YOU JUST MADE ME WANNA READ THIS :(( And the fact that I have never seen this book around in my town totally frustrates me lol. Being a fairytale-retelling fan I feel like I should read this >< Wait, did you cry or not?
ReplyDeleteAhaha, no, but I kinda had a massive heartache after reading this :D
DeleteA comment from readers make us happy, really!
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