Summary:
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.Release Date: November 15, 2010
Publisher: Clarion Books
Age Group: Young Adult
Pages: 322
Review:
This was a strong start to what I suspect will be an excellent series. It was more in the realm of childrens' lit for me, but I still enjoyed it. The plot is somewhat formulaic, but really, what book isn't? There's a reason why authors tend to use the same plot steps over and over: they work!
There are strong side characters that were well-developed and added some humor and light-heartedness to the story. Cindy, Lucy, and Abby were my favorite sideline characters, and the things they did kept me smiling and kept this book from getting too dark. Because the book does trend towards darkness, what with the creepy goblins (who were much scarier than I imagined they would be) and the journey into Mag Nell. There were several unique qualites to Tyger Tyger: the singing, the goblins, Cindy, Tea's interest in animals, Tea's decision at the end of the Mag Nell journey involving Ginny, and more. Tyger Tyger reminded me of The Iron King and Gregor the Overlander, in a very good way.
Just One Gripe:
I was disappointed that this wasn't one of the more "adult" YA books, but I still enjoyed it.
I was disappointed that this wasn't one of the more "adult" YA books, but I still enjoyed it.
The Best Thing About This Book:
The well-placed humor.
The well-placed humor.
Appropriate for a younger audience:
Yes
Yes
As this is more of a children's book, I am scoring it against other children's books. A five star children's book is not equivalent to a five star adult book, in my opinion.
Score:
Score:
Characters: 5/5
Plot: 4/5
Setting/Imagery: 5/5
Originality: 5/5
Ending: 5/5
Total Score: 24/25
Tyger Tyger was a 3 star book for me personally, but I am rating it against other children's lit and it deserved 5 stars for that genre.
*I received a copy of this book from the publisher in exchange for an impartial review.
I really liked this one too! I thought the humor definitely made this book more fun to read! I'm a little biased though I love anything related to Irish/celtic lore! :)
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