School Library Journal Review
Gr 8 Up-Revisit Neverland in this new adaptation of Peter Pan. Told from the point of view of Tinkerbell, listeners live the story of Tiger Lily, daughter of cross-dressing shaman Tik Tok, and her role as wild girl in Neverland. When her arranged marriage to Giant looms closer, Tiger Lily defies her elders and discovers the burrow where Peter Pan and the Lost Boys live. As Tiger Lily spends more time with Peter than with her tribe, she begins to lose sight of a major dilemma facing her village: Englishman Philip forcing his beliefs on the "savages." While the main focus of the story is the budding romance between the wild girl and the boy who never grew up, all the familiar characters from Neverland are given a new twist: Smee is more feared than Hook, Tinkerbell is not attached to Peter, and the boys are more like teenagers. Expertly narrated by Cassandra Morris, Tink's voice is captured effortlessly as she follows Tiger Lily around Neverland. Note that there are drinking references an dmild innuendos. Fans of the original Peter Pan (Barrie, 1911) and the acclaimed "Peter and the Star Catchers" series (Barry/Pearson 2006) will fall in love with Tiger Lily.-Amanda Schiavulli Finger Lakes Library System, NY (c) Copyright 2013. Library Journals LLC, a wholly owned subsidiary of Media Source, Inc. No redistribution permitted.
Publisher's Weekly Review
Much has been written about Peter Pan, but Tiger Lily, the girl he spurned in Neverland, has remained more of a mystery. In this evocative tale of unrequited love, Anderson (Peaches) gives Tiger Lily new psychological depth. Told from the perspective of Tinker Bell, the novel explores how Tiger Lily meets and falls in love with Peter, despite being betrothed to another villager, a man Tiger Lily despises. Tiger Lily and Peter's complicated inner conflicts emerge as they sort out their feelings about freedom, power, loyalty, and responsibility. When a girl from England arrives, Tiger Lily feels the flame of jealousy for the first time, and the results could be deadly. The mythology of Neverland is eloquently woven into the story, and characters are reborn in fascinating ways-Hook is an alcoholic, Smee a serial killer, and Tiger Lily's adoptive father a "two-spirit" shaman, "born to be two genders." Readers will find it hard to resist being drawn into Tiger Lily's world, where dangers and emotions are painted several shades darker than in J.M. Barrie's classic fantasy. Ages 14-up. Agent: Rosemary Stimola, Stimola Literary Studio. (July) (c) Copyright PWxyz, LLC. All rights reserved.
Kirkus Review
It's no paradise--white-sand beaches and spectacular sunsets come with mud, mosquitoes and croc-infested swamps--but guided by fragile, insect-size faerie Tink, readers are drawn into this richly re-imagined Neverland anyway. Tink is obsessed with Tiger Lily, whose tribe avoids pirates and Peter Pan's lost boys, believed to carry the aging disease. (Neverlanders stop aging when some life-defining event occurs.) Adopted daughter of shaman Tik Tok, Tiger Lily is proud and competitive, kept at a wary distance by her peers except for gentle Pine Sap, whose unconditional love she appreciates but doesn't return. Athletic Tiger Lily, nonathletic Pine Sap and Tik Tok, whose identity doesn't match his gender, share a bond that's shaken after Tiger Lily rescues an English shipwreck survivor, then falls in love with Peter, following him into an emotional wilderness as intoxicating and dangerous as Neverland itself. Equally strong passions rule psychotic Smee, alcoholic Hook and, especially, Peter, with his need to be best--from winning games to protecting the lost boys. He's irresistible; even mermaids, with their long hair and sharp teeth, aren't immune. Tink's love and helplessness (faeries read thoughts but cannot speak) become a source of tension and metaphor in this post-colonial fable that covers a lot of ground: wilderness and civilization, gender and power, time and change. Working with the darker threads of Barrie's bittersweet classic, Anderson weaves an enchanting tale. (Fantasy. 14 up)]] Copyright Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Booklist Review
In expressive, graceful language, Anderson tells the story of the fierce Tiger Lily and her thorny romance with the legendary Peter Pan. In remote Neverland, Tiger Lily has grown up with the Sky Eaters after being taken in by the shaman Tik Tok. At 15, already snubbed for her wild independence and nonwomanly hunting and fighting, Tiger Lily irrevocably changes her village when she rescues a shipwrecked Englander. Motivated by compassion, she fails to realize how his religious fervor poisons her tribe until it is too late. Her rescue captures Peter Pan's interest, and she is drawn to his strange mix of boyish enthusiasm, casual barbarity, and guarded loneliness. When Wendy Darling arrives on another English ship, Tiger Lily must decide whether to fight for her love or let him go. Narrated by Tinkerbell, whose empathy allows her to see into others' experiences, this wistful retelling has strong elements of tragedy, infused with regret, loneliness, and lost love, but its sensitive, passionate portrayal of familiar characters, here more damaged than we knew them, is captivating. HIGH-DEMAND BACKSTORY: Pair the best-selling author of the Peaches series with a twisted-fairy-tale concept and you have a book that should live up to its vigorous marketing.--Hutley, Krista Copyright 2010 Booklist