Review: Tyger Tyger

by Kersten Hamilton
publisher: Clarion Books
date published: November 15, 2010
format: hardcover
pages: 322
source: library
Amazon / Goodreads / B&N
challenges: Goodreads 2011 Reading Challenge; 2011 YA Reading Challenge

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."

What I Thought

I was very conflicted when reading Tyger Tyger. On the one hand, the plot was riveting and the characters were well-thought out. Each had their own quirk, emotions, and thought process, all of which I found to be very appealing. On the other hand, however, I had a lot of trouble letting go of what I know about Irish mythology. Hamilton admits in the author's notes at the back of the book that she was inspired by Irish mythology and took artistic license to create this story. That didn't make it any less hard for me to let go of my conceptions of how these well-loved tales should be presented.

Hamilton did do a great job of maintaining the relationships between different mythological figures. Fionn Mac Cumhaill (the mythological figure) did encounter Fear Doirich, though he is often labelled a "dark druid" or "the dark man," not a fallen angel styling himself as a god (though I will have too look through my collection of books about Irish mythology and folklore to be absolutely sure that he wasn't considered a demi-god or the like). Hamilton even slipped in a reference to Fionn's wife having been transformed into a deer by Fear Doirich, which I appreciated. She also was very adept at presenting some of the darkest beings the world of faerie holds. Creatures like Jenny Greenteeth and sprites make appearances to keep the characters on their toes and keep the reader worried for their well-being.

As for the settings, the land of Mag Mell is every bit as confusing, sinister, and magical as you could possibly want a faerie realm to be. It is so pervasive that it almost completely overshadows the Chicago neighborhood Teagan and her family live in. One of my favorite settings was the park behind the library with its wrought iron fencing and old trees. I loved that it was the portal in this book. There is one snag, however: Mag Mell is supposed to be a place more like Valhalla in Norse mythology. In fact, Mag Mell means "plain of joy" and is an otherworld realm that can be reached upon death or through the achievement of glory. Much like Tir na Nog, it is a place one would want to go after death.

Even for all of my neurotic nit-picking (it's a thing; please look over me) I really did enjoy the flow of this book. It is very hard not to like Finn, Teagan, Aidan, Aileen, John, and Mamieo (though I found Teagan's friend Abby to be a pain in the butt, much like I would imagine Teagan does when she has to listen to her lectures). The villains were creepy, as they should be, and the escapes were harrowing. There was very little I would wish to be different. As a result, I give Tyger Tyger 4 hoots.