YA Book Review: Tyger Tyger by Kersten Hamilton

Tyger Tyger: A Goblin Wars Book
Kersten Hamilton
November, 2010
Young Adult

Teagan Wylltsons best friend, Abby, dreams that horrifying creaturesgoblins, shape-shifters, and beings of unearthly beauty but terrible crueltyare hunting Teagan. Abby is always coming up with crazy stuff, though, so Teagan isnt worried. Her life isnt in danger. In fact, its perfect. Shes on track for a college scholarship. She has a great job. Shes focused on school, work, and her future. No boys, no heartaches, no problems.

Until Finn Mac Cumhaill arrives. Finns a bit on the unearthly beautiful side himself. He has a killer accent and a knee-weakening smile. And either hes crazy or hes been haunting Abbys dreams, because hes 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, Abbys right. The goblins are coming.

Wow. I LOVED Tyger Tyger! What sets this book apart from the rest of the young adult fantasy genre permeating the bookshelves nowadays is the fact that the story (and fantasy world) is original and well thought-out, the characters have a strong sense of family (rare nowadays!), and the romance is sweet and develops over time. No sex, either. Thank goodness! The characters are strong and easy to relate to. They felt real (I especially loved her little brothers character)!

The world(s) the author created are amazingly vivid and complex. Her descriptions of the creatures and their natures had me completely taken in and creeped out! Some of the things the animals (or humans) did were a bit gory, but it didnt turn me off at all this aspect added to the story and made me believe that everything I was witnessing (see, I really felt like I was there!) was real. They werent all horrible creatures, either – there is a little fairy/sprite/tiny winged humanoid like creature at one point who attached herself to Teagans little brother and started nesting in his hair. I loved that! 🙂

Another aspect of this book that I really enjoyed was the Irish/Celtic lore and history. It was really fascinating and added a whole new dimension to the novel and characters.

Im recommending this book to anyone, young or old, who enjoys a good young adult fantasy, is a fancier of goblins, fairies, and the like, or enjoys adventure in made-up lands. Its an engrossing, entertaining read that has me looking forward with eagerness to the sequel! And it does kind of leave you hanging at the end. 🙂

Detailed Rating Breakdown:
Characters: 9/10
Plot: 9/10
Writing: 8/10
Creativity: 10/10
Cover: 3/10 (With all the beautiful covers out there, they could have done better!)

Overall Rating:
(5/5)

Parents Corner:
Violence
Mild Cursing
Sexual Content
Drug/Alcohol Abuse

Buy it at Amazon.com here.

I wanted to add this because I thought it was so cool
The poem bordering the tiger is the same that the book is based on!

image source

Book 2 in The Goblin Wars series, In the Forests of the Night, is coming soon preorder it here!

If you like this book, you might like:

(I can HIGHLY recommend these two books!)

Book source: Digital PDF borrowed from NetGalley and returned after 90 days. Amazon links are my affiliate links.