Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily 
Author: Jodi Lynn Anderson    
Publisher: Harper Collins Children’s Books
Pages: 304
Rating: ALL the starts in the WHOLE ENTIRE galaxy.

15 year old Tiger Lily, proud and fierce, wild and misunderstood, doesn't believe in love stories or happy endings. Then she meets the 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, big-hearted but hard to reach, 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 the haunted, hunted, courageous boy who loves her. When - as a punishment for her rebellious ways - 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.~Goodreads

WARNING: FAN GIRL BABBLE AHEAD.

Brilliant, beautiful, breath-taking, magical, and magnificent. I don’t even know how to explain the epicness that was this book. I can’t even pinpoint what exactly made it so fantastically great. I just.....can’t.

I’d also like to let you know that I may be a tad bit bias because I’ve always absolutely loved Tiger Lily. And this book makes no exception. She’s incredibly fierce and quietly defiant and I don’t even think those descriptions can do her justice. Something about her is just so intense and amazing...I can’t explain it.

In her tribe Tiger Lily is shunned because her people think she’s cursed.  The only ones who stick by her side are Tik Tok (the tribe's Shaman and Tiger Lily’s adoptive father) and a boy her age named Pine Sap. Pine Sap is also looked down upon because, physically, he’s very small—and to the tribe that’s not acceptable. So he and Tiger Lily form this unspoken bond. He’s very open with his feelings and it’s impossible not to tell that he's in love with Tiger Lily. And although she doesn’t reciprocate those feelings, Pine Sap stays by her side through out the entire story and I really liked him! 

Oh! Another person who’s always by Tiger Lily’s side is Tinkerbell! The story is actually told from Tinkerbell’s point of view. And at first I didn’t think I would like that but I eventually grew to love it. I think by having someone other than Tiger Lily or Peter narrate you’re able to see all different sides of the story.  And I also liked getting to know Tink better. She’s SO loyal to Tiger Lily that it’s absolutely adorable!

(I know I shouldn’t have done this but I kept comparing the book with the movie and all of Tink’s actions kind of totally make sense now. I’m pretty sure in the movie Tink wasn’t opposed to Tiger Lily and Peter! You know that part when they do that cute little nosey nosey thing? She doesn’t pull them a part…so HA!)

Any way, when Peter first captures Tiger Lily, I seriously got goose bumps. He's basically a savage and he’s not the Peter Pan you know...but he’s even better.

He’s such a complex person. His thoughts and actions are all over the place and he’s kind of just a mess. But he’s strong and he’s brave and he seems fearless to Tiger Lily. Yet, at times, he’s very naive and vulnerable. Peter NEEDS somebody to need him. I think that’s why he works so well as the leader of the lost boys because they look up to him and need his opinion and direction.

I can’t describe the relationship between Peter and Tiger Lily in any other way then to say it was magic. There’s this spark between them that grows quickly and you can’t help but love them together. Peter and Tiger Lily are very similar; they’re both wild, headstrong and tough which causes them to end up at odds sometimes. So, I wasn’t expecting their relationship to be filled with so much devotion. There were scenes between them that were so raw and powerful and tender that it made my heart ache. They were just perfection.

But on one of the nights that Tiger Lily sneaks off to meet the lost boys, a mermaid  warns her that it’s in Peter’s nature to disappoint people. Peter will eventually end up hurting Tiger Lily and there’s no way she can stop it. So. After that lovely statement, I was dreading the turn that the story would take.

I don’t want to give too much else away but I will say that I hate Wendy. Tiger Lily and Peter went together so well and then stupid Wendy had to come and ruin everything. And UGH! The times Tiger Lily didn’t go to meet Peter...for the reasons she wasn’t meeting him. Ugh! The way it ended...pierced my heart! I bawled my eyes out.

After reading this book, I want more retellings from Jodi because she did a fan-fucking-tastic job! The imagery was amazing, the emotional depth of each character was stunning and gah! I’ve been waiting for this story for the longest time. The way it was written was so lyrical and beautiful and oh god, it was just incredible.

So...incase you couldn’t tell, i hearted this book hard. I MOST DEFINITELY TIMES INFINITY recommend it!