YA Review: Tyger, Tyger

Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton (Goblin Wars #1)

Published: November 15th, 2010 by Clarion Books

Genre: Fantasy / High fantasy (maybe)

Binding: ARC

Page Count: 304 in my ARC, but I think the hardcover has more

Part of a series? Thankfully, yes. The second comes out in October 2011, I believe.

Amazon link. (That's a pretty good price, too.)

Summary (from goodreads): Teagan Wylltson's best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creatures - goblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible cruelty - are hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isn't worried. Her life isn't in danger. In fact, it's perfect. She's on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. She's focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finn's a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either he's crazy or he's been haunting Abby's dreams, because he's talking about goblins, too . . . and about being The Mac Cumhaill, born to fight all goblin-kind. Finn knows a thing or two about fighting. Which is a very good thing, because this time, Abby's right. The goblins are coming.

Review: I cannot say how AWESOME this book was. Told in third person past tense, it's stepped in Irish mythology, subtle humour blended brilliantly with the tension. (If you have a copy, pages 49, 156, 176 are my favourite funny moments.) The longer I read it, the more my notes disintergrated into, "This book is so cool," and "I love this book," type of notes.

Plot: Well, the summary is pretty awesome already. So, yeah, we'll stick with that. I really ought to just get rid of this section...

Characters: Teagan kicked BUTT. She was smart, focused, protective of her family, and just plain awesome I loved how tough she was when she needed to be, and, of course, how smart she was. Smart girls rule! She reminded me a lot of Claire from the Morganville Vampires books (and we all know how much I love those books). I found her interest in animals very interesting, though. You don't (at least, I don't) see that often.

And Finn. *sigh* Oh my gosh, but that boy is... yum. Gorgeous Irish accent. A tattoo and a scar. (Scars are hot sometimes...) Wild. And that smile... and you disregard that total fangirling moment. But, wow, I loved him. He was sweet and nice to Teagan's little brother, protective, gorgeous.

Yeah. *fans self*

Now, if you think I just focused on the cute boy, I didn't. Teagan's younger brother was a really great character, not the usually annoying little brother fare you often find. I really liked him, along with so many of the other characters. They were almost all wonderful, quirky and interesting.

Cons, complaints, bad stuff, etc: The only thing I can really think of was that at a couple points in the book, it skipped again a few months and there wasn't a marker or subtitle saying something. It was confusing for a couple minutes. But they could have changed that in the hardcover, and even if they didn't, not the biggest deal in the world.

PG-13 stuff: Well, there's obviously "mature content," due to the nature of the book, but language-wise, it's pretty mild. 12 and up seems totally appropriate.

Cover comments: I really, really like it. It's different from what's trendy right now and very suitable for the genre. The details on the tree are gorgeous, aren't they?

Conclusion: Tyger Tyger reminds me some of A Wrinkle in Time - in the best possible way. It's different and sweet, scary and sexy. I highly recommend this one. 4 and a half roses.



Other notes:
- They live near Lake Michigan, and that was cool to me because I used to live in that area (on the Canadian side, of course.)
- "Bring on the Irish accents!"
- I decided I want a pet hedgehog. Then I had a sad moment later in the book.
- I liked that Finn called Aidan, "boyo," and Teagan, "Tea."
- "SHINY TRUCK."
- "I. Want. The. Next. One." (Seriously.)

Peace and cookies,
Laina