1. 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. THE BOY AND THE GIRL ARE FAR FROM INNOCENT. DEAR LIVES ARE LOST. AND GOOD DOESN’T WIN. IN SOME PLACES, THERE IS SOMETHING ULTIMATELY GOOD ABOUT ENDINGS. IN NEVERLAND, THAT IS NOT THE CASE.”
THUS BEGINS JODI LYNN ANDERSON’S TIGER LILY, A DARK AND HIGHLY ORIGINAL TAKE ON J.M. BARRIE’S PETER PAN CENTERING ON ONE OF NEVERLAND’S MOST OVERLOOKED AND ENIGMATIC CHARACTERS: A NATIVE GIRL CALLED TIGER LILY.
ADOPTED BY THE VILLAGE SHAMAN TIK TOK, TIGER LILY GETS HER NAME FROM THE FLOWER THAT GREW OVER THE PLACE WHERE SHE WAS FOUND. HER ORIGINS ARE A MYSTERY. BULLIED BY THE VILLAGERS AS AN OUTSIDER, SHE QUICKLY LEARNS TO DEFEND HERSELF BY BECOMING THE FASTEST RUNNER WITH THE SHARPEST AIM. BUT NONE OF THE VILLAGE BOYS LIKE TO BE BEATEN, AND SHE DOESN’T EXCEL AT THE SKILLS THE WOMEN PRIZE. LEFT TO WANDER ALONE, SHE TAKES PITY ON A SHIPWRECKED SAILOR. THOUGH THE VILLAGERS FEAR HE CARRIES WITH HIM AN AGING DISEASE FROM WHICH NEVERLAND HAS ALWAYS BEEN FREE, SHE IGNORES THEIR SUPERSTITION TO NURSE HIM BACK TO HEALTH.
“THAT CHILD WILL SPEND HER LIFE ALONE,” ONE OF THE VILLAGE ELDERS SAYS. BUT ONE DAY, AROUND HER 15TH YEAR, HER BETROTHAL IS ANNOUNCED TO GIANT, A WEALTHY VILLAGER, WHO DOES NOT LOVE HER BUT CRAVES HER STATUS AND THE ABILITY TO PROVE HE CAN DOMINATE HER.
"ANGRY AND CONFUSED BY HER FATHER’S CHOICE FOR A MATE, TIGER LILY PROTESTS THE DECISION UNTIL HER FATHER EXPLAINS THAT IT WAS MADE LONG AGO WHEN HE FIRST BROUGHT HER TO THE VILLAGE. THE PRICE OF HER ACCEPTANCE WAS AN AGREEMENT THAT SHE WOULD MARRY THE SON OF ONE OF THE VILLAGE’S ELDERS ONCE SHE CAME OF AGE. TIK TOK TELLS HER THAT HE WAS ALWAYS ABLE TO PROTECT HER BEFORE, BUT HER INVOLVEMENT WITH THE “ENGLANDER” HAS EXPOSED HER TO FURTHER SUSPICION FROM THE VILLAGERS AND HE IS NO LONGER ABLE TO PREVENT THE ALLIANCE. “IT WAS MY JOB TO PROTECT YOU,” HE SAYS. “AND I DIDN’T.”
GOADED BY THE KNOWLEDGE OF HER IMPENDING MARRIAGE, TIGER LILY RUNS WILD. A CHANCE ENCOUNTER IN THE WOODS BRINGS HER INTO CONTACT WITH PETER PAN. THOUGH SHE KNOWS SHE SHOULDN’T BE SNEAKING OFF TO SPEND MORE TIME WITH THE LOST BOYS --- MISTRUSTED AND AVOIDED THROUGHOUT NEVERLAND --- WITH PETER SHE FINDS A KIND OF FREEDOM SHE HAS NEVER KNOWN. IT ISN’T JUST HIS AFFECTION AND ACCEPTANCE, BUT ALSO A LIFE ABSOLUTELY FREE FROM THE GROWING WEIGHT OF OBLIGATIONS AND RESPONSIBILITIES SHE FINDS AT HOME.
BUT TIGER LILY’S IDYLL BECOMES TANGLED --- NOT ONLY BY HER IMPENDING MARRIAGE, BUT ALSO BY THE PIRATES WHO ARE HUNTING BOTH HER AND THE LOST BOYS; BY HER FATHER’S SICKNESS, WHICH FOLLOWS THE ARRIVAL OF ENGLISH MISSIONARIES; AND BY WENDY DARLING, WHO SOON TAKES FIRST PLACE IN PETER’S HEART.