Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Genres: Young Adult; Fantasy; Romance

Pages: 292



Image and description from Goodreads

“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.”  

A charming little fairy came to me one night and whispered in my ear, her voice a dainty tinkling of bells. She told me of this wonderful little story, about a mystical girl called Tiger Lily. Needless to say, I was intrigued. Not one to disregard the urging of such otherworldly creatures, I found and read the book she spoke of. It was love at first sentence.

It is the girl's(Tiger Lily's) story, but it is told through the eyes of a very extraordinary fairy--Tinker Bell, as she is later named. Tinker-Bell shadows Tiger Lily, knows all about her, and Tiger Lily tolerates Tinker Bell. That we're informed of the goings on of Tiger Lily's life through the eyes of someone else may seem odd, but it lends an air of mystery to her character. And it didn't lessen the connection I felt with her.

When Tink first introduces us to Tiger Lily, she is cryptic. Mysterious. Intimidating even, but so incredibly fascinating.

“I'm not myself," she offered, guiltily. She softened around Tik Tok, and when she did she was, for those rare moments, girlish.  

He smiled. "You can never say that. You're just a piece of yourself right now that you don't like.”  

We see her shunned by the other children of the village. We see her through her insecurities and doubts(the ones she tries so hard not to show).

“Everyone will think I'm ugly."

Tik Tok smiled. "That's true. But we are a small village. We have narrow tastes. There's no telling who else in the world would think you're beautiful.”  

We experience her precious relationship with her father, the tribe's leader.
 

“You love me," she said. "That's enough. We love each other." 

"Yes. Yes, that's true." He[Tik Tok] smiled. "We are a love story.”

 We watch her fall in love.

 

“To love someone was not what she had expected. It was like falling from somewhere high up and breaking in half, and only one person having the secret to the puzzle of putting her back together.”  

We're introduced to a variety of quirky characters, from the lovable, girl-crazy lost boys, to the loyal Pine Sap, to the despondent Captain Hook and psychopathic Smee.

And then there's Peter. He is spirited and peculiar and bold. And too funny for his own good.

“We should have a funeral," he said.

Pan held his hands clasped in a tent on his lap, and he bowed his head.

He seemed to be trying to recall something, and it was a long time before he finally said, "Our Father. Our Father. Our Father. Amen."

Then he leaned back, and his face was blank again. He smiled, all white teeth. "There.”  

I have to warn you about this book. You'll get to be where you're so caught up in the fate of the characters, and in the love story--but in the end it's not really a romance at all. It's a riveting fairy tale, a breathtaking adventure you don't want to end.

And when it does....you're filled with a curious sense of fulfillment and a raw aching....and a love for an ending that is so bittersweet and beautiful. At least, that's how I felt.

If you're seeking a typical Happily Ever After kind of tale, you can keep looking. Because Ms. Anderson has redefined what a happy ending really is.

With writing that is utterly beautiful in its simplicity, this is a tear-jerking, heart-wrenching story of one girl, told through the eyes of a fairy who loves her.

“Still, the longer I was around her, the more I could see the colors of her mind and the recesses of her heart. There was a beast in there. But there was also a girl who was afraid of being a beast, and who wondered if other people had beasts in their hearts too. There was strength, and there was also just the determination to look strong. She guarded herself like a secret.”  

 "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.”

Content: Clean--no profanity that I can recall, but there is one scene where a boy and girl lie next to each other(Nothing happens).

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