Tyger Tyger: A Goblin Wars Book (vuoden 2010 painos)

Eh. That's my summary of the book, eh. It wasn't awful but it certainly wasn't great. It jumped all over the place and the celtic myths and legends got super confusing after a while.

The story follows Teagen and her brother as they discover their world is not as it seems. It turns out their Irish heritage is based more on legend than normal history. Goblins, angels, and shadow men are real and it's up to Teagen and her brother Aiden to team up with their cousin, Finn, (and soon to be love interest... weird) to defeat the Goblins and save their dad.

It's an alright book, but I was not intrigued enough to pick up any of the other books in the series. The characters all act waay older than their age and hardly seemed surprised when their world is turned upside down, totally not believable. Then again neither is anything in this story. It's a great idea but it needed more development or something. The only redeeming thing is the fact that their dad is a kickass librarian. But even that still couldn't save the story. Oh well. ( )

'Tyger, Tyger' was an entertaining, YA read. I fell in love with the Wylltson family, as well as the world they lived in. Teagan Wylltson grows up surrounded by fairy tales in the truest sense of the word, dark legends filled with magic, heartbreak, and precious few happy endings This theme made for a strong book, as Teagan deals with loss, change, and the realization that you don't always make the right decision.

Abigail liked it too, read her review at All Things Urban Fantasy. ( )

Teagan's life is thrown upside down when the mysterious Finn Mac Cumhaill enters her life and reveals that all the Irish myths and folktales about goblins are actually real. When Teagan's mother dies after being touched by a goblin and her father is kidnapped by them, Finn, Teagan and Teagan's brother, Aiden, must enter the mystical realm of Mag Mell to save him. I picked up this book because the goblin storyline is different from what I normally read, but the author fell short of delivering a magical world that was wholly realized. Hamilton did not give enough description of Mag Mell and there was no logical transitioning between scenes so that many times I felt as if I'd skipped entire chapters. I don't think I'll be reading the rest of the series. ( )

This book has a little bit of everything: Irish mythology brought to life in modern times; evil, homicidal Sidhe, difficult life choices, humor, and the blossoming of wuv, twu wuv. It's a breezy sort of story and a highly enjoyable read. ( )

This fast paced urban fantasy is loaded with appealing characters, and a host of figures – heroic and evil – from Irish and Welsh folklore. Young Teagan Wyllston is a promising student and budding scientist. Her close-knit family revels in poems and ancient stories; her father is a children’s librarian, her mother an author and artist of hideous goblins, magical glens, and enchanted creatures, and her young brother Aiden is a small sage with an uncanny musical ear. When they take in troubled cousin Finn (based on the Irish hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill), their lives are upended as they are stalked by goblins, shadow men, and mythical monsters who ultimately kill Teagan’s mother and kidnap her father. Teagan, Finn, and Aiden set off to rescue him and save themselves, which takes them on a terrifying journey into other worlds, fraught with ancient spells and steeped in legend. Accompanying the heart-stopping action is a taut romance, though the book is not without its issues. The story started slow, with extraneous scenes that detracted from the otherwise compelling book. This is the first of The Goblin Wars Trilogy.

Curriculum: This book has lots of elements of urban fantasy and ancient legend blended together. As with many stories from folklore, this one addresses many questions about the nature of humanity, free will versus destiny, Christianity as interpreted through (and reconciled with) traditional lore, and morally ambiguous choices. This book would be an ideal backdrop to discussions of these larger issues in a language arts, humanities, or social studies classroom.

PERSONAL CONNECTION: Kids love reading books with elements from mythology. The Irish mythology in this book is perhaps not as well known as classical mythology, but it makes for a very compelling read.

Hamilton, K. (2010). Tyger tyger. New York: Clarion Books.