Secondary Character Saturday: Tink from Tiger Lily

Hannah over at In the Best Words started up a new meme which I love and will try to participate in as much as possible. Saturdays are now dedicated to honor the characters that don't always get their voices heard, who support (or work to destroy) our beloved protagonists. This is for the third wheel in the love triangle (can you have wheels on a triangle?), for the BFFs, the family members, or even just the kind and loving (or deceitful and creepy) stranger who shows up and changes the game. We all know these stories wouldn't hold up without support so I'd like to take the time to highlight the best secondary characters I come across. This is an opportunity to talk about what makes these characters special, maybe to speculate what their world would be like without them, or maybe cast them in their own primary roles.

Tink from Tiger Lily by Jodi Lynn Anderson

I'm not sure if Tink really counts she was technically the narrator of this story. But the thing is, this isn't Tink's story. It's all about Tiger Lily. Tink is just the small bug-like creature that follows Tiger Lily around on her adventures and comments on them. 

At first, I was really bummed that the story wasn't told by Tiger Lily. I mean, her name is the title. But as Tink laid out the story, brick by brick, I begin to see why she was the narrator. Tink can't talk to people so she can in no way affect how the story plays out besides the occasion bite or hair pull which just gets her swatted away. But she can sense emotions because she is so good at listening and she can break apart from Tiger Lily to find out what's going on on other parts of the island. 

So what you end up getting is a sense of every person's emotions along with a map of what is going on everywhere. You are the first to know what the pirates are up to, what Pan and his lost boys are doing and how it will affect Tiger Lily. And like Tink, you can't warn anyone even though you know everything is about to go to hell. Tink is basically a representation of every reader out there who is burden with the knowledge and no way to tell anyone.

On top of this, you get Tink's thoughts on things and at rare times, you get to see how her presence affects the story. For instance, Tink is always saying no one notices her but certain times both Tiger Lily and Pan take note of her and help her in some small way before going back to ignoring her presence. These moments make Tink glow.

I just really appreciated knowing the reasons Tink did things. She was still that fun loving pixie we all remember but now we get to understand what spurred her actions. Her addition to the story was vital and I loved her as Tiger Lily's little shadow!