And when she surfaces from her dream, she calls me by my old name, though no one uses it anymore. And she turns to me, her eyelashes fluttering in the glare that surrounds me, and whispers to me in one short syllable.
Tink.
I had read in an earlier review that this story was told from Tinker Bell's POV, but when I read this, I still got the chills! I am a Disney freak, and Tinker Bell has always been one of my all-time favorite characters. She reminds me a little bit about myself, short, blonde and with a wicked little temper. My obsession with her has grown into my adult years; my parents had my bedroom remade at their house lilac and light green. I even had a pretty Tinker Bell comforter, curtains and framed posters. No matter how many times I go to Disneyland or Disney World, my favorite moment is seeing her fly across the Disney castle. So you can imagine how excited I was when I first heard about Tiger Lily a couple of months ago. When I finally received the book in the mail, I just had to put aside all of my review books and read this one first.
I was a little worried at first as to how the story would work with Tink as narrator. But she was perfect for it and now I can't imagine the story being told any other way. As a fairy, Tink can't talk but she is able to feel and understand other people's emotions and thoughts. There was something about Tiger Lily that always intrigued Tink and she left the rest of the fairies and went to live with Tiger Lily. When Tiger Lily accidentally stumbles upon Peter Pan, they soon develop a complicated friendship. But no matter how much Tiger Lily likes Peter, she can't bring herself to admit his feeling for him which causes rifts in their relationship. Although Tiger Lily seems distant and cold at times, I found it very easy to relate and connect with her. She was tough, vulnerable and even a little bit scary sometimes. Out of all of the classic Peter Pan characters, Tiger Lily was always a bit of a mystery and I'm glad that Jodi was able to tell us her story. Peter Pan's character was captured perfectly! He was still the same young boy who never wanted to grow up and who took care of his Lost Boys. But we also saw glimpses of his darker and haunted side. Although it seemed at times that he didn't care about things, I knew that the problem was that he cared too much, which scared him. Peter Pan stole my heart, right along with Tiger Lily, Wendy and Tinker Bell! And there isn't much to say about Tink other that the fact that she was portrayed absolutely perfect! She was snappy, jealous and extremely loyal and she will always be my favorite fairy!
I never knew where Jodi Lynn Anderson would take her story next and she always left me awed and surprised with all the different twist and unique takes on the story. All the classic characters from Peter Pan make an appearance, from the Lost Boys (Tootles!), Captain Hook, Reginald Smee, Wendy and even the mermaids. Forget your visions of the Little Mermaid; these mermaids are scary, vicious and deadly. I was also surprised by the contrast in Captain Hook and Smee. In this story, Hook was more of a drunken pirate with a vendetta against Peter Pan and Smee was actually a cold blooded murderer. His character was sick and twisted and I loved it!
No matter if you are a die-hard Tinker Bell fan or not, Tiger Lily is an incredible beautiful and magical story that will tug at your heart strings and will stay with you long after you have finished reading the story. Unbelievably sweet, raw, emotional and bittersweet, Jodi Lynn Anderson does an amazing job at making us connect with Tink, Tiger Lily, Peter and the Lost Boys. I've seen all the Peter Pan movies (I think), the Disney versions and Hook, but now I really want someone to make a movie based on this version of the story. Fairies, Lost Boys, pirates and deadly mermaids! Tiger Lily is a beautiful story that readers of all ages can devour. Even though the ending was extremely bittersweet, Tiger Lily has made it into the list of my all-time favorite books. One that I will enjoy many times and will pass along to my daughters.
Warning: the ending will break your heart but in the best way possible!
5 out of 5 very sparkly stars!
Some of my favorite non-spoiler quotes from Tiger Lily:
(Sorry if there were too many, but it was impossible to narrow down my favorite quotes even further)
- Let me tell you something straight off. This is a love story, but not like any you've ever 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.
-It was the first time I ever thought she might know I existed. But her mind was so dark right then, I never knew for sure. Anyway, whether or not she'd meant to save me didn't matter. She was the most interesting girl I had ever seen, and I couldn't resist staying near her to see what happened next.
-Fairies can be unfailingly loyal, even, apparently, in someone who doesn't seem to notice them. And I felt loyal to the girl with the crow feather in her hair.
-"W-what do you hunt, sir?" Reginald asked.
"Not sir, Just Hook." The stranger smiled, friendly. "I used to hunt ships. But recently I've switched. Now I hunt boys."
-Tiger Lily took it all in silently. These were the lost boys. They didn't look like killers. They looked like disheveled and half-starved teenage boys.
-But Peter touched me so carefully and gently that it felt like a whisper. "You're a pretty little thing." he said.
-You may think my jealousy would have been enormous during those days after Peter gave Tiger Lily the smallest kiss on the neck. And you would be right. But these moments were swallowed by a bigger emotion, my tenderness for Tiger Lily, which had grown to take up most of the space in my body, without me knowing it.
-You think you know that someone sees you one way, and barely at all, and then you realize that they see you in another. That was the night I realized Tiger Lily had seen-really seen-me all along.
- Why does this faerie follow you everywhere?" he asked. "Do you think she's plotting to murder you in your sleep?" he teased. My wings and the tips of my feet tingled with anger. But then he reached a finger toward me gently, and the anger melted. "Let's name her Tinker Bell," he said, like I was their child. He swooped his hand underneath me. "Hi, little Tink." Hearing him say it thrilled me-a name Peter had invented, just for me.
-And sometimes, when it was quiet and the boys had wandered off somewhere, he'd pull her close, as if he was about to say something, and they'd kiss each other. I would always look away, longing and sad and caught up in their happiness all at once.
-I've been called jealous. Vain. Cruel. Devious. Malicious. But let me say this: When Peter captured me and claimed me for his own, I stayed for one right reason, and one wrong one. The wrong one was that I was in love, and it was hard to say no to Peter. The right, and honestly, the bigger, reason was that I wanted to keep an eye on the Wendy bird for Tiger Lily's sake.
***
Check out my YA book blog to read my reviews and author interviews:
Nereyda @Mostly YA Book Obsessed
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Reviews with images
Classic Retelling with a dark and serious twist!
Tiger Lily meets the alluring and mysterious Pan in the woods one day. Always told to fear the lost boys from her tribe, she finds herself drawn to him. Willing to risk everything, Tiger Lily falls for him. Then, English girl Wendy arrives on the island capturing Peters attention. Feeling betrayed, Tiger Lily will do anything to keep Peter with her on the island. Sometimes the most dangerous enemies live in the most loving hearts..⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀⠀A classic retelling with romance and darkness! Growing up Peter Pan was always one of my favorite Disney movies. This book is told form Tink’s POV in a new and refreshing way. This book was a lot darker and serious than the original and I loved it! The ending tugs at your heart strings! Anderson did an amazing job sticking to the basics of the story line and twisting them in ways you could never imagine.did you ever wonder how a ticking clock got into the crocodile? Well read and you’ll find out! Just one of the many loose ends to the story that get solved in this novel. Absolutely captivating!
Top reviews from other countries
Fernanda Quiroz
Beautiful, heartwelming with a heartbreaking climax.
Reviewed in Mexico on October 6, 2017
Lisa Janssen
Herzzerreißend, poetisch und märchenhaft
Reviewed in Germany on January 20, 2015