Tiger Lily is a YA retelling of Peter Pan, but this time, the story is told from the point of view of Tiger Lily, a young native princess living in Neverland.
SERIES: none
PUBLISHER: HarperCollins
PUBLICATION DATE: July 3, 2012
ISBN: 9780062114617
PAGES: 292
SOURCE: purchased for my Nook
GENRE: fantasy (Peter Pan spin-off)
GIVE IT TO: MS, HS
SUMMARY OF TIGER LILY
Tells the story of Tiger Lily, the Neverland native who loved Peter Pan before Wendy Darling came along and took him away.
REVIEW OF TIGER LILY
I am planning to take a group of students to see the play Peter Pan next May, so to promote the trip (they have to read 10 books on a list of 27 books in order to go), I included two Peter Pan spinoffs as possible reading choices. The other book is Peter and the Starcatchers (Barry), and I may also add Capt. Hook: The Adventures of a Notorious Youth (Hart).
Tiger Lily is beautiful and lyrical. I love the descriptions of Neverland and how growing up/old is considered a contagious disease that affects Englishmen. Tiger Lily is strong and courageous, and I absolutely loved her character’s quiet power.The author takes her time crafting the story, selecting words carefully and perfectly to suit the emotion of the scene.
I’m not sure if I was supposed to like Peter Pan, but I really wasn’t a fan. He is skinny and wild and immature, and I have no idea what Tiger Lily sees in him.
I was a little disappointed that Captain Hook wasn’t a bigger player in the story. There is another pirate who plays a minor role for a little while, but even he isn’t really much of a threat. The biggest threat to Tiger Lily is her looming marriage to a brute and, of course, Wendy’s arrival in Neverland.
THE BOTTOM LINE: A beautifully-written story for fans of Peter Pan or retellings. Prior knowledge of Peter Pan is not necessary.
STATUS IN MY LIBRARY: We have one copy and two more on the way. It was mildly popular last year when we got it, but since I added it to our Lone Star Plus list this year, it is very popular. It’s been well-received by the students who have read it.
RATING BREAKDOWN
- Overall: 4/5
- Creativity: 4/5
- Characters: 4/5
- Engrossing: 3/5
- Writing: 5/5
- Appeal to teens: 4/5
- Appropriate length to tell the story: 5/5
MATURE CONTENT
- Language: none
- Sexuality: mild; characters swim naked, but it isn’t sexual; some kissing; some allusion to rape; cross-dressing male
- Violence: mild; a mermaid is eaten by a strange beast, one character is a murderer; crocodiles eat a human
- Drugs/Alcohol: mild; drunken pirates
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