Tyger Tyger

October 18, 2010
Making the leap from picture books and middle-grade novels to YA, Hamilton mines Celtic myth and fairy tales for this engaging adventure, first in the Goblin Wars series. Sixteen-year-old Teagan Wylltson's life may not be entirely ordinary, with an eccentric artist mother, techno-savvy little brother, and an after-school job that involves primate research, but at least she understands it. When Finn Mac Cumhaill, a teenage cousin from a family of "Travelers," comes to stay with them, things get seriously weird. Now Teagan is seeing goblins in the shadows, and mythical monsters are stalking her family. Is Finn, who claims to fight the goblins, the cause or a symptom of something worse? To save someone she loves, Teagan and Finn make a perilous journey into a treacherous supernatural realm, where she learns the truth about her family and its relationship to the goblins. While the plot meanders at times, there's no denying the solid concept or attention to detail present in the overall story. Even the most myth-savvy readers will revel in the clever twists and surprises. Ages 12–up.

October 1, 2010

Teagan Wylltson's life changes when her parents take in a cousin who's in trouble. Goblins frighteningly enter the scene, killing her mother and kidnapping her father, and the handsome cousin, Finn Mac Cumhaill, puts a dent in her plans for a no-romance future until after college. Based loosely on Irish folklore but set in a modern Chicago, the story revolves around Teagan, her  five-year-old brother Aidan and the bodacious Finn's search to rescue Mr. Wylltson from the Sidhe. Laced with humor, packed with surprises and driven by suspense, the plot grabs readers from the start using the stylistic tactics of the best fantasy writing. Major characters are beautifully drawn, and many of the secondary characters are equally distinct. Description of geography and care for the small details of worldbuilding contribute to the feeling of reality and make suspension of disbelief easy. The climax and resolution satisfy but leave enough loose threads to fuel sequels. Buy this novel for readers of Franny Billingsley and Dia Calhoun as well as fans of urban fantasy. (Fantasy. YA)

(COPYRIGHT (2010) KIRKUS REVIEWS/NIELSEN BUSINESS MEDIA, INC. ALL RIGHTS RESERVED.)

Starred review from December 1, 2010

Gr 8 Up-Ancient Irish myths and legends mix and mingle with the modern world in this fast-paced fantasy. Teagan Wylltson's got her life in order. She has a great job at the local zoo and is heading toward a college scholarship. She doesn't need boys distracting her from her plan. But then one day Social Services shows up with them, Teagan's 17-year-old cousin, Finn Mac Cumhaill. Teagan's mother is Irish and was brought to the States by a group of Irish Travelers, but she hasn't had any contact with them for many years, until now. After her mother dies of mysterious causes and her father is abducted by truly evil forces, Teagan, her younger brother, and Finn set off on a dangerous and frightening mission to rescue him. Through the events that unfold both in the modern world and in the world of Mag Mel where Fear Doirich rules and the sprites and goblins live, Teagan's family history unfolds, and she is able to make sense of incidents from her past that have always seemed puzzling. Hamilton has created characters who are quirky and complex. Their stories are tightly woven together and riveting, and readers will look forward to the next installment in the series.-Genevieve Gallagher, Charlottesville High School, VA

Copyright 2010 School Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

November 1, 2010
Grades 7-10 Hamilton uses the Celtic saga of Fionn Mac Cumhaill as a basis for this promising new series about goblins and the Travelers who fight them. Chicagoan Teagan has always been too invested in scienceparticularly animal behaviorto believe in her mothers Irish superstitions. When Finn is sent to live with them, he brings a dangerously seductive sense of wildness into Teagans life. Finn claims to be destined to fight goblinkind, but before Teagan can fully accept his story, goblins attack and force them into Mag Mell, the kingdom of the evil Fear Doirich. Hamiltons convincingly idiosyncratic characters are the heart of the book, though a focus on dialogue occasionally distances readers from an emotional connection. The setting, too, is barely there, despite seeming important to the story. The romance is more successful, starting off heated but cooling quickly into a mild, but tension-filled, relationship. The hints of a tragic fate will keep romance fans reading, while the promise of more magical thrills involving Irish folklore will draw in others.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2010, American Library Association.)