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.

July 1, 2011

Gr 7 Up-Teagan Wyllston, 16, has a goal-get into Cornell and become a vet. There's no place in her life for boys. But when she meets the mysterious Finn Mac Cumhaill, he sets sparks flying. Her mother dies suddenly and her father disappears as Tea's Irish Traveler family history comes to light in the first strikes of a deadly goblin war. Teagan's brother, Aiden, is blessed with a gift for music that comes in very handy as he, Tea, and Finn quest throughout the legendary realm of Mag Mel, where dangerous sidhe live and the dreaded Fear Doirich rules. Kersten Hamilton's first book (Clarion Books, 2010) in a projected series, drenched in Celtic myth and legend, keeps a leisurely pace through the first half, but builds momentum and action toward an abrupt cliffhanger ending with promise of romance to come between Tea and Finn. Celeste Ciulla imbues her narration with the magic of Ireland, trading multiple Irish accents easily. Fantasy fans will enjoy this goblin tale and look forward to the next installment.-Charli Osborne, Oxford Public Library, MI

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