Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

5 Stars

Book Rating: PG

Language: G

Romance: PG (Some scenes of nondescript kisses, references to seeing a rape in progress,Tiger Lily and Peter cuddle in bed, etc).

Action: PG (Pirates and mermaids are killed in several struggles. Physical abuse. Someone catches on fire and someone else drowns).

   When I first picked up this book, I thought that it was just going to be another love triangle with Peter, Tiger Lily, and Wendy. Whoop-dee-doo. Instead, I was pleasantly surprised by the story which went the completely opposite direction. The whole book is voiced by a secondary character like in The Great Gatsby. Tinkerbell is our narrator. I absolutely LOVED hearing the "before Peter Pan" story from her point of view. It gave the book a whole new tone. I loved Tink as the voice. She knows everything. She's stuck to Tiger Lily like glue and accidentally falls in love with Peter. You actually begin to feel sorry for her. You begin to understand the reasons (according to the author) why she did what she did. 

   Tiger Lily is portrayed in such a way that she's not the most likable person in the village. Her only friends are her adoptive "womanly" father Tik Tok, the gangly misfit Pine Sap, and the tiny and fragile Moon Eye. Tiger Lily's not pretty and she's not ugly either. She's actually described as being hairier than the Lost Boys. 

   When we first meet the Lost Boys, they are immature and rowdy and downright annoying. Tiger Lily runs into Peter accidentally while he's taking care of Baby, the kid they found in the woods. Peter is instantly fascinated by Tiger Lily. I loved watching Tiger Lily let herself go and let herself fall in love. She wasn't a curse, or a burden, or a misfit when she was with Peter. She was allowed to be herself. No ifs, ands, or buts. She was a completely different person when she was with Peter and the Lost Boys. And she loved it. She was happier than Tink had ever seen her. All Tink really wanted was for Tiger Lily to be happy, and she was happy with Peter. Tink fell in love with Peter because he noticed her and nothing else. That was all Tinkerbell ever wanted, and only two people were there to see her. Tiger Lily, and Peter.

   This book, by no means was a happy love story. I found myself shaking my head in disbelief during several scenes. It never came to the point of tears, but I just couldn't believe what I was reading. I couldn't fathom why those things would happen. I couldn't really tell whether the ending made me happy, or sad, or both. It was different than anything I've ever read. I was expecting a huge happy-go-lucky Disney fairytale, but instead, it was full of despair and heartache. That's something you don't get from just any retelling. And that's why I think I liked it so much.