Kersten Hamilton

*Any political comments will be deleted immediately.*

‘’Magic flows through Epoch, New Mexico. It seeps from the bones of Puerta de la Luna, a village that was hundreds of years old before the United States invaded Mexico and took this territory for its own.’’

Puerta de la Luna...an imaginary place born from the culture of the towns and the natural environment of New Mexico. Glorieta has a sad duty as the mystical Días de los Muertos approach. She has decided to bury her mother’s show more ashes and give her peace after her tragic death three years ago. The young girl, born of an American father and a Mexican mother, represents the best parts of both cultures, her ancestry is a beacon that leads her to connect with the nature and the people around her. Hamilton creates a beautiful character and a book that is ideal for the approaching celebrations of October, in a world that seems to have lost all sense of equality and tolerance.

‘’What if my skeleton comes out while I’m asleep? What if it walks around in the dark?’’

Hamilton succeeds in creating a novel that is equally tender and dark, in a colourful background of mystical tradition and an extremely harsh reality, set within the period of the Días de los Muertos, one of the most famous and fascinating world celebrations, when the dead souls visit their relatives. The butterflies that grace the beautiful front cover of the book depict this belief. The traditions of the Espinosa family, the guardian angels, the talisman that will lead you to Heaven, the sins and confessions, the warmth and bonding of a family that is hard and persistent, almost cruel at times. All aspects of the centuries-old, rich Mexican tradition.

Magdalena’s death has cast a heavy shadow over the entire community. Hamilton makes a special reference to depression and the misconceptions associated with it. The oldest woman of the family cannot comprehend it and goes on talking about ‘’unforgivable sins’’ and ‘’the fires of Hell’’. The knowledge of psychological conditions is hard to be attained when unemployment and uncertainty rule. When danger coming from lack of reason lives among the citizens. The sensitive issues of immigration and blind persecution are discreetly but effectively touched. Racism is also a central theme. The minority of the ‘’faithful Christians’’ of certain parts in the Southern states hate every tradition that isn’t ‘’theirs’’, the epitome of new racism, the ones who act like the best representatives of fascism and the evil notion of white supremacy. However, don’t come into this book thinking that it is an endless gloom and doom. Far from it. There are so many beautiful moments, full of warmth and togetherness. I loved the description of the custom of the blessing of animals in the day commemorating Saint Francis of Assisi, a Catholic tradition still held in many parts of Italy and Spain. I adored the references to the one and only Frank Sinatra.

The characters are excellently drawn. You’ll love or hate them but you’ll be equally interested in all of them. Glorieta is such a gem! Determined, braved, kind, intelligent. Angus is such a cute, gentle soul. Francis is a beautiful character. A brave man of principles and with a firm sense of justice and equality. A man who wants to fight a regime that punishes acts of mercy towards children and helpless women. To stand up to a state that says ‘’our children are better than your children.’’ Now, Glorieta’s father is the exact opposite. A rather weak person that didn’t lose time to remarry after his wife’s tragic death. He is one of those who refuse to face the problem using the same old excuse of ‘’but I am only one person!’’ Yeah, mate, if more people thought like that, we would still hanging people. Lilith is the typical spoiled teenager. It is easy to hate her very soul but in truth, she is a troubled, wounded child full of bitterness because of the way she has been brought up.

This is a beautiful novel, direct and honest, at times painful and terrifying. Will it be too difficult for teenagers? Perhaps, it doesn’t matter. Difficult suits them. Children should be taught acceptance, tolerance, togetherness. Literature is there to help them because their parents are often elsewhere occupied...My profession has taught me this over the years and it is a sad realization but one that applies to a significant minority. How can the world survive the cruelty of children being taken away because of racist, fundamentalist laws? No excuse of so-called security can justify this. Yeah, sure, I mean, let us create the concentration camps of the 21st century...Fortunately, History will remember the so-called ‘’leader’’ of today as she remembers Hitler and Stalin. The question is what happens until then? What happens now? I am sure the quote below encloses the very essence of the problem...

‘’Their lives don’t matter to people who haven’t listened to their stories.’’

Many thanks to Skyhorse Publishing and NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for an honest review.

My reviews can also be found on https://theopinionatedreaderblog.wordpress.com show less

This fast paced urban fantasy is loaded with appealing characters, and a host of figures – heroic and evil – from Irish and Welsh folklore. Young Teagan Wyllston is a promising student and budding scientist. Her close-knit family revels in poems and ancient stories; her father is a children’s librarian, her mother an author and artist of hideous goblins, magical glens, and enchanted creatures, and her young brother Aiden is a small sage with an uncanny musical ear. When they take in show more troubled cousin Finn (based on the Irish hero Fionn Mac Cumhaill), their lives are upended as they are stalked by goblins, shadow men, and mythical monsters who ultimately kill Teagan’s mother and kidnap her father. Teagan, Finn, and Aiden set off to rescue him and save themselves, which takes them on a terrifying journey into other worlds, fraught with ancient spells and steeped in legend. Accompanying the heart-stopping action is a taut romance, though the book is not without its issues. The story started slow, with extraneous scenes that detracted from the otherwise compelling book. This is the first of The Goblin Wars Trilogy.

Curriculum: This book has lots of elements of urban fantasy and ancient legend blended together. As with many stories from folklore, this one addresses many questions about the nature of humanity, free will versus destiny, Christianity as interpreted through (and reconciled with) traditional lore, and morally ambiguous choices. This book would be an ideal backdrop to discussions of these larger issues in a language arts, humanities, or social studies classroom.

PERSONAL CONNECTION: Kids love reading books with elements from mythology. The Irish mythology in this book is perhaps not as well known as classical mythology, but it makes for a very compelling read.

Hamilton, K. (2010). Tyger tyger. New York: Clarion Books. show less

Review courtesy of All Things Urban Fantasy

TYGER TYGER is a dark faerie tale, and I mean that in the best possible sense. The scary creatures that used to frighten and terrorize children in the old original faerie tales skulk through the pages of TYGER TYGER in truly chilling let-me-pop-your-eyeballs-and-slurp-the-juices kind of ways.

All manner of creatures from Irish folklore pop up in this story including pixies that brandish needle sized swords for decapitating their enemies, goblins who show more steal children for eternity, and cat sidhes who crush babies just to hear them scream. They are dark, depraved, and mesmerizing.

The human (or nearly human) characters are less gruesome but no less entertaining. Teagan’s best friend and Mob princess Abby, her adorably precocious little brother Aiden (who shares my loathing of Elvis impersonators), her grizzled and cryptic sage of a grandmother, and the cursed but captivating Finn.

Finn, or course, would be the romantic lead and I loved him from his very first scene. He has a chivalrous and noble streak that balanced out his more reckless independent tendencies. And he has some of the best make-you-swoon lines that I’ve read in a long time.

Reminiscent of C. S. Lewis’s wonderful Chronicles of Narnia books, TYGER TYGER is a twisted tale of goblins and magic filled with honorable yet flawed characters, and a lovely dash of true romance that readers of all ages can enjoy. Sign me up for the next Goblin War book. show less

Did... I find everyone but the hero to be appealing and engaging?: YES. Finn was sadly one-dimensional; a recurrent tertiary character had more heft than he did.

Did... I like, admire, and cheer for Teagan, our heroine?: YES. Much like Aislinn from Melissa Marr's Wicked Lovely, Teagan problem solved and kicked butt, cried and felt fear, fell in love and kept her spunk.

Did... the end of the book wrap up in a totally satisfying and yet awesomely cliff-hanger-y way?: YES. I put it down with a show more laugh and a shriek!

Review: The subtitle of this book -- Goblin Wars -- almost made me pass on reading it, but I really couldn't resist the Blake reference. I'm so glad I gave it try, because this was an unexpectedly engrossing paranormal adventure. Paranormal novels with a mythological basis are hardly new, but Hamilton's focus on the truly dark aspects of Celtic mythology is what made this story so interesting. That, and her really interesting characters!

I had gotten myself into a snit near the start of the novel, when it was revealed that heroine Tegan's mother was an artist. I wasn't sure I could sit through another book with a throwaway parent so I was deeply pleased to discover mama Aileen's career choice was quite deliberate and plot relevant. Whew! In fact, I found the characters -- even the most slight -- to be vibrant and thoughtfully fleshed out. Our heroine Teagan, is smart and funny, tough and emotional, empathetic and interesting. Despite the chemistry she feels for Finn, she remains true to her character and behaves admirably through the book. She didn't turn into a wilting wallflower the moment Finn arrived; she fought goblins and college-aged jerks with guts. Some of the funniest lines in the book came from her! The half star I took off comes solely because our hero, Finn, is the flattest of the bunch. To be fair, he had tough competition, but as the romantic lead and demigod of the bunch, he really should have been more than a Brad Pitt lookalike with an Irish accent.

That tiny quibble aside, I can honestly say I'm hooked! show less