Tiger Lily by: Jodi lynn Anderson

 

Let me tell you something straight off.  This is a love story, but not like any you've heard.  Dear lives are lost.  And good doesn't win.  In some place, there is something ultimately good about endings.  In Neverland, that is not the case.

 

Summary:

Before 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.

My Turn:

First things first, I love retellings and adaptations of classic stories.  When I read the title Tiger Lily, I knew it was Peter Pan.  Who doesn’t love that Lost Boy! I went into this story not knowing what to expect, I was trying to figure out just how someone could write a Tiger Lily/Peter Pan love story that would be….good?!? Would it work? Could it work?  Well Jodi Lynn Anderson did! It is the most beautiful story told through the eyes of Tink!  Yes, Tinkerbell is telling us this story of love, betrayal and loss.  Tinkerbell is a faerie you see, she can’t talk so she is able to hear and observe the world around her at a heightened awareness.  She is also able to convey what she sees like no one else.  She is able to give us the scoop on what ALL the characters are thinking, she gets right in there with them!  We see everyone in this story, including Captain Hook and the Lost Boys!  Tinkerbell is my favorite character in Peter Pan, so I was in love with the idea that she was omniscient because as you know good and well, all faeries are!  We learn so much about Tiger Lily in this story not only what we already know about her being brave, loyal and strong but she is compassionate, loving and selfless as we learn while this story unfolds. Keeping with the original dark tale of Peter Pan by J.M. Barrie, this isn’t your Disney-happily-ever-after fairytale.  There is swoon worthy romance which is important in fairy-tales even in dark fairy-tales, believe me, you will not be disappointed in this book! Never really being a fan of Wendy, even in the Disney cartoon, (my favorite part was when the mermaids were trying to drown her…hehe) I didn’t like her much in this book either, but you may.  Did I love this book? YES!!!  Do I think you should read it?  ABSOLUTELY!!!  Not your “typical” happily-ever-after, this story is bittersweet, somewhat dark and oh so lovely! 

PICK IT UP!!!  HERE @ YOUR LIBRARY!

Perfect Chemistry by Simone Elkeles

"What would it take for you to go out with me?" he asks. 

"You're not serious."

"Do I look like I'm jokin'?"

"Nothing.   I would never go out with you."

 

OK where do I start with Perfect Chemistry.  I read this book years ago when it first came out in 2009.  I picked it up because I was upset about the summary.  I didn't like the fact that the boy was a stereotypical Mexican gang member.  I bought this book to read it, that way I could rebuttal her story.  I was livid, I planned to write a letter to the author telling her a thing or two!  Well, I read the book and I did write the author, not to fight, but to thank her for making Alex a wonderful, redeeming character, for not making him stereotypical and for her wonderful story.  I LOVE ALEX!!

I decided to review this book because it is one of our most popular check-outs.  I can not seem to keep Simone's books on the shelves! 

 

Summary:

A fresh, urban twist on the classic tale of star-crossed lovers.

When Brittany Ellis walks into chemistry class on the first day of senior year, she has no clue that her carefully created “perfect” life is about to unravel before her eyes. She’s forced to be lab partners with Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the other side of town, and he is about to threaten everything she's worked so hard for—her flawless reputation, her relationship with her boyfriend, and the secret that her home life is anything but perfect. Alex is a bad boy and he knows it. So when he makes a bet with his friends to lure Brittany into his life, he thinks nothing of it. But soon Alex realizes Brittany is a real person with real problems, and suddenly the bet he made in arrogance turns into something much more.

 In a passionate story about looking beneath the surface, Simone Elkeles breaks through the stereotypes and barriers that threaten to keep Brittany and Alex apart.

 

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My Two-Cents:

Told in alternating points of view we have Alex Fuentes, a gang member from the south side of Fairfield, Chicago.  He is smart, yet guarded.  He is loyal to a fault and he desires more from life then what he is told he is born to do.  He has dreams and aspirations that go far beyond living a gang life.  He wants to be more than just a gang member and die like his father.  Alex’s father was murdered when he was little, shot in front of their house with Alex right next to him.  Born in this neighborhood and being the oldest son of a dead gang leader, Alex is considered a legacy and needs to join the gang not by choice but as a way to survive, a way to make sure his family is safe and taken care of and in his mind to make sure his little brothers steer clear of this gang life.

Then we have Brittany Ellis.  The perfect, perfect Brittany Ellis.  What we see is what we get.  But this is not the case.  Brittany’s life looks perfect on the outside, but there is more to Brittany then she lets on.  She is very guarded about her personal life and she struggles to be perfect for everyone around her including her very demanding overbearing mother.  A façade she feels will crumble any day.

Brittany and Alex are on the opposite ends of everything.  When they are partnered together in Chemistry class, they really hate each other, each already having a preconceived notion of the other.  As they get to know one another and work together they find that not only were they wrong about one another but that in a perfect world they may actually be friends.

It is the classic star-crossed lover’s story about two people who are so different from each other; they end up being right for one another. 

This book hits on strong themes of acceptance, diversity, courage and independence.  In my experience with this book it is well accepted by both male and females alike.  It is a popular choice among reluctant readers as well.  There are two other books in The Perfect Chemistry Series.

Come get it!  We have this and ALL of Simone’s books here in your library!!