Friday, May 22, 2015

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).

  View all my reviews / Author Site / Amazon

10 comments:

  1. Tiger Lily is on my TBR- it sounds brilliant!

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  2. Ooh, you have now fully convinced me to read Tiger Lily. I was actually really skeptical of this book before because the blurb makes it seem like it's mostly a romance novel, and I'm not the hugest fan of romance. However, now I see that it's so much more than that. I enjoy books that redefine happy endings, I guess because they ring true in life.Oh, and the characters sound absolutely fantastic and complex.

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    1. Yes...blurbs can be misleading. I really think you'll like this one!

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  3. THIS SOUNDS FANTASTIC!! I NEED TO FIND IT SO BADLY.
    Also, I nominated you for the Sisterhood of the World Bloggers award. Here's the post for that: http://thessalexa.blogspot.com/2015/05/sisterhood-of-world-bloggers-award.html


    Alexa
    thessalexa.blogspot.com
    verbositybookreviews.wordpress.com

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  4. I started this one last year or the year before... Never finished it. It wasn't due to the book, but the fact that I was trying to fit it in among review books that HAD to be read and I've just never gotten back to it. I obviously need to rectify that. :)

    Tressa @ Wishful Endings

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    1. Obviously. :) I hope you finish it next time around, and love it as much as I did.

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  5. LOVED THIS BOOK. Like I just commented on your Liebster book post, haha, it just really touched my heart and gave me a different view of Tiger Lily. I love how Peter cracks through her seemingly unfeeling shell.
    The part at the end where she says, "Choose me" as he sails off with Wendy . . . oh goodness, tearing up just thinking about it.
    Also loved that it was so clean. It's so hard nowadays to find books like that.
    And I loved how the author used Tink as the narrator and since fairies are mute but they can read minds almost, she was perfect for the role. Her little romance with Peter was adorable too, showing just how oblivious guys truly are lol. ;)

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    1. YES! Ugh, there are just so many emotions! It was just so heartbreaking, and I loved every second of it.

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