Wild Lily

by K.M. Peyton

Overview

It's the 1920s -- cars and planes are new.

Lily Gabriel is scruffy and confident and takes no nonsense from anyone. Antony is rich, spoiled, and arrogant, and Lily is completely and utterly -- no nonsense! -- in love with him.

So join Lily as she falls... Falls in love... Falls out of the sky... Falls through time...

And effortlessly, inescapably, falls into her future.

Life is never what you expect or what you predict. But if you're lucky, you hold onto exactly what you need -- a young and wild heart. Wild Lily is a striking, timeless coming-of-age story that reminds us that the untamed life is always worth living.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781338081602
Publisher:	Scholastic, Inc.
Publication date:	02/28/2017
Pages:	336
Product dimensions:	5.90(w) x 8.30(h) x 1.40(d)
Age Range:	12 - 17 Years

About the Author

K. M. Peyton is the highly acclaimed author of more than sixty novels, including the much-loved Flambards series, for which she was awarded the Carnegie Medal and the Guardian Children’s Fiction Prize.

She has two grown-up daughters and lives in Essex, England, with her husband. You can find her online at kmpeyton.co.uk.

Editorial Reviews

02/13/2017
A spirited heroine propels this historical novel from Peyton (the Flambards series), which begins in 1921 at an estate in the British countryside. Thirteen-year-old Lily, the motherless daughter of the estate’s head gardener, harbors a not-so-secret love of her master’s spoiled, handsome, and charismatic son, Antony, and she will do anything he asks of her, including parachuting out of a plane he received for his 17th birthday. An atmospheric sense of place pervades Peyton’s story: Antony and his father occupy an “impressively gloomy” mansion, while his deaf and blind sister, Helena, lives in a beautiful annex cared for by nurses. An ill-fated party thrown by Antony for his posh Eton friends in a grotto, with Helena as the star attraction, turns tragic and coincides with the revelation of Antony’s father’s illegal dealings, which thrust Antony out of his life of privilege. The narrative rambles as the characters age (the book concludes in the 1980s), and the central premise of Lily’s enduring love for the inconstant Antony tests belief given his consistently shallow and selfish behavior. Ages 12–up. (Feb.)

Publishers Weekly

Advance praise for Wild Lily:

"Once I started reading, I wasn't able to put it down! The characters of Lily and Antony are just perfect and the storyline is wonderfully unguessable. I loved it every bit as much as I knew I would -- for me, it's even more perfect than Flambards. Not many books make me want to throw myself out of an airplane, but this one did!" -- Jill Mansell, New York Times bestselling author

From the Publisher

Anthony’s father grants his wish and buys him a plane for his seventeenth birthday. Anthony soon learns to fly and tries to convince his friends to go up with him. However, they have seen how Anthony flies and lands and want no part in the adventure. All that is, except for thirteen-year-old Lily, who is madly in love with Anthony, and would do whatever he asks. He even convinces her to use the parachute that comes with the plane. Lily does make the jump and enjoys a profoundly moving experience. Anthony decides to throw a giant party, marking the end of summer and the beginning of their college career. His goal is to introduce his sister Helena to his friends. Helena is both deaf and blind; she lives an isolated life in her rooms on the estate, cared for by two nurses. Somewhat predictably, the party ends in tragedy. While set in England in the 1920’s, this title is less historical fiction and more a coming of age novel. The characters often act without considering the consequences, with mixed results. They are not very engaging to today’s middle and school students, the intended audience. This book might be an additional purchase for teachers whose students are fans of Downton Abby. Reviewer: Betci Weldon; Ages 12 up.

Children's Literature - Betci Weldon

12/01/2016
Gr 8 Up—Set mostly in the early 1920s, this novel follows the lives of Antony and Lily. Antony is the son of a wealthy man, and he enjoys the privileges accorded to him because of his station in life. Lily's father is the head gardener for the Lockwood Estate, where Antony makes his home. While home on holiday, Antony and his small group of friends from the village have as many escapades as money and the lack of adult supervision will allow. Lily and her brother, Squashy, who has special needs, are tolerated as tagalongs. For Lily, this is the best part of her dreary life, because she believes herself to be in love with Antony. Lily follows him around, steadfast in her devotion, content to receive whatever crumbs of affection he chooses to bestow upon her. Antony, though, rarely gives her a thought unless he needs something from her. Despite warnings from her common sense and intuition, Lily commits many foolhardy acts at Antony's request, including putting her life in jeopardy. Antony is self-absorbed and rarely thinks things through, and the consequences of his actions seem to surprise him. He knows he can count on Lily's love for him; she is always around to pick up the pieces when life goes sour. VERDICT At best, a cautionary tale for young people who desperately pine for attention. Mildly interesting to readers who enjoy historical fiction set in the 1920s.—Lisa Wurch, Cuyahoga County Public Library, OH

School Library Journal

2016-11-02
With this book, the 86-year-old Peyton celebrates her 70th year as a published author. For his 17th birthday, in 1921, white upper-class Eton student Antony Sylvester asks his father for an airplane. No one knows how his father makes his riches, but Antony and his deaf and blind sister, Helena, live in splendor on a palatial estate, Lockwood Hall, with an army of servants. Antony gets his plane, but only Lily, the 13-year-old daughter of the estate's head gardener, will dare go up in it with him. Antony then involves her in a complicated scheme to throw a house party in his father's absence, during which Helena drowns. Antony's father returns, murders a policeman, then forces Antony to fly him to France. Just when this melodrama is gathering steam, it falls apart entirely: Antony's father is never heard from again, the house is sold, Antony fumbles about trying to gain employment. Lily grows into an adult who never stops carrying a torch for wet, unambitious Antony. Peyton's writing is as smooth as ever; her evocation of English society and the early days of flight are all spot-on, but Antony's both unlikable and strangely powerless. Lily's more inspiring, but very little of the book is told from her perspective, and her continued adoration of Antony as she ages feels off. Not up to the standards of Peyton's best. (Historical fiction. 12-16)

Kirkus Reviews