Book Review: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson (no spoilers)

Book: Tiger Lily
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson
Publication: July 3rd, 2012
Source: Local Library
Rating: 5/5 stars
Summary (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.

My Thoughts:

Tiger Lily is a retelling of J.M. Barrie's Peter Pan narrated by Tinker Bell about Tiger Lily. Tiger Lily had a very small part in Peter Pan so I was excited to see what Jodi Lynn Anderson would do with her character. In all honesty Jodi Lynn Anderson had a lot of room for imagination while still sticking true to the story of Peter Pan. She did a great job with the story, but I still saw the glimpses of the story of Peter Pan that I fell in love with.

Tinker Bell was a great narrator to this novel although there were many times I forgot it was her talking, she was able to keep an eye on Peter Pan and the pirates when Tiger Lily wasn't with them. This gave us as the reader a unique glimpse into their lives. Tinker Bell is the fairy I love from the Disney movie, but yet Anderson embraced her darker side that we see in Peter Pan. I really loved that aspect of her character.

This novel was about Tiger Lily and Peter Pan's unconventional  love story. I really liked that Jodi Lynn Anderson didn't rush the relationship. It took most of the book before either of their feelings became known and then even after that they weren't in love in the way you would think. Anderson did an amazing job with the character of Peter because he is so forgetful in the original novel he was forgetful in Tiger Lily still. Peter Pan made a different choice in the end than I could ever see him making, but I was okay with his decision. We don't know a whole lot about Tiger Lily from the original novel so Jodi Lynn Anderson had a lot of room to imagine up her character. Tiger Lily was a girl that didn't show her emotions, but that doesn't mean that she doesn't care. Tiger Lily isn't quick to anger and she isn't overly compassionate, but we could see throughout the novel that she cared about her tribe, The Skyeaters and Peter Pan and the lost boys. I especially enjoyed that Anderson embraced the darker elements of Peter Pan. The pirates and the mermaids were no angels and I really enjoyed that although I do wish the pirates had a little bigger part. The mermaids aren't seen for long in the original novel so she really fleshed out their characters for Tiger Lily and did an excellent job.

Tiger Lily is a beautiful novel full of adventure, courage, and love. I really enjoyed my time reading Tiger Lily.  I love the story of Peter Pan and Tiger Lily did not disappoint. I would recommend this novel to all fans of Peter Pan. I think all fans would fall in love with this novel as I did.


Thanks for reading


Rachael