Monday, February 11, 2013

Review: Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson surprised me. It was much more somber and harsher than I expected. Peter Pan for grownups? Oxymoron?

Tiger LilyBefore 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. (GoodReads).

Originality: 3. All the hallmarks of Peter Pan are here- Hook is missing his hand, a crocodile ticks, the lost boys live in a borough hidden beneath a tree. Some of the back story is smartly constructed, and I most-enjoyed the reasons why Tinkerbell dislikes Wendy. 
Absurdity: 3. Tiger Lily girl, everyone thinks your brave but you have no concept of thinking ahead or actively defending yourself from the terribleness that is Giant and his mom. I found it absurd that such a "strong" character did so little to actively participate in her life choices. 
Level of Paranormal Romance: 2. Peter is always handsome, since he is Peter Pan, but this version was meh for me, mostly because anyone who falls for "Wendy Bird" is a lump of lame. Add a SUPER creepy stalker/murder Smee and Tiger Lily's smelly/predator fiance, and I am solidly anti any romance.
Level of Harry Potterness: 3. The darkness of this story didn't leave me breathless, it left me feeling down. I finished this book in a hurry so I could be done.

3 comments:

  1. Ugh, I love Peter Pan, but I've always been unsure about this book. Likely going to get pushed further down the list now.

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  2. I've been itching to read this one because I really want to see how they tackle the origins of the original version. Everyone keeps saying they hated Wendy Darling after reading it and I have to find out WHY!! At least now I can be emotionally/mentally prepared for the heaviness that is to come (I think, I hope, maybe so)...

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  3. awww man, I've been thinking about reading this and I just can't make up my mind. O.o

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