Tigerheart [Englisch] [Taschenbuch]

Peter David's dazzling imagination shines again in this timeless story of a boy, Paul Dear, who wants to make his mother happy after tragedy strikes. Paul's journey to solve this dilemma leads him to the Anyplace, a fantasy realm inhabited by many colorful characters including The Boy, the pixie-with-a-potty-mouth Fiddlefix, Gwenny, the Indian Princess Picca, and a wise snow tiger. The bad guys, Captain Hack & his sister Mary Slash, and their merry band of pirates, are also interesting and scary adversaries for our hero. As Paul and his allies fight Hack, Slash and the Bully Boys, their struggle leads them to several surprising discoveries, The Boy facing his worst fears and the transformation of Paul over the course of this journey into a hero.

David creates a world captured perfectly through the eyes of a child: the naïveté of Paul, the arrogance of The Boy, the overly-responsible Gwenny, the distrust of all adults and the fears of growing up and losing your imagination all infuse the story with a sense of wonder and magic of the Anyplace while still making you scared of the bad guys, curious as to what will happen next. The characters are deep and richly created, with their emotions and motivations grounding the story while allowing them to drive the story forward without it feeling forced. The decisions the characters make are true to themselves and you feel for them when they are in danger, making a funny remark or feel touched by their perceptions of the world they live in. It mixes all of these elements well, along with a witty narrator breaking the fourth wall, talking to the reader and making you laugh out loud in between filling the reader in on what's happening.

David has a wonderful knack of writing humorous material and incorporating it into the story. I particularly enjoyed little asides, like how the origins of the eensy weensy spider, liars whose pants are on fire and chickens who absolutely, positively, must cross the road, all come from the Anyplace. The Boy's opinion that people don't know what they want because children want to grow up into adults while adults just want to recapture their youth was also funny, yet rings true for many people. It also represents the core philosophy of The Boy and his inner motivations. Gwenny contemplating being a social worker when she grows up was too perfect for words and a great character beat for her as well.

While many of these characters and situations appear to be analogous to certain aspects of "Peter Pan", the classic upon which this tale is based, the novel stands on its own as a wonderful work in its own right. As someone who hasn't read "Peter Pan" but is familiar with the characters and the animated Disney movie, I thoroughly enjoyed reading this story, as it is engaging and original. David excels at taking something familiar and uses it as the foundation to create something new and different, effortlessly moving the story in unexpected directions into an exciting, touching and fitting climax.

At its heart, amidst all the adventure of pirates and flying children, is a boy who just wants to make his mother happy and to have a complete & happy family, a story I think we all can relate to. This is a tale for all ages to read and enjoy, whether you are reading it to your children curled up in your lap or by yourself under a nightlight, conjuring up images of distant and magical lands as you explore a world made of dreams.

Paul grew up with stories of pirates, fairies, and The Boy (aka, Peter Pan), but when he began to realize that perhaps, just maybe he was in fact, The Boy, his world changed. Pixies began to visit him and he started regularly visiting the land where Pan ruled. Yet, things are not what J.M. Barrie, much less Disney, made it out to be. He finds a world darker than his dreams, where he needs courage, and he finds he is not sure he wants to be The Boy.

**** If I had to pick only one word, I'd review this with the word unusual. Mr. David mirrors the linguistic style of Barrie and of Frank Baum, both writing intelligently and keeping it simple enough for young readers to comprehend at least the superficial meanings. Though there are parts that are unclear, this seems to be the author's intention, so I will not quibble. There is a psychological profundity like unto Alice or to the classic movie, Labyrinth, which may be explored or not, but you can enjoy the story without pondering it. ****

Tigerheart is NOT another rendition of the Peter Pan story as "The Boy" is not the main character. Paul Dear is the star of this tale! Paul is an imaginative young boy encouraged to believe the impossible by his fun-loving, whimsical father and yet grounded by his no-nonsense mother.

When his baby sister dies and his parents marriage is dissolving under the stress, he decides that he, Paul, must do something to save his family and make everything right again. So Paul travels to "The Anyplace" to find another baby sister for his mother to love and make everyone happy again. Of course things don't exactly go as Paul plans and that is where the adventure comes in-with a white tiger, wild Indians, wicked pirates, and of course "The Boy."

I thoroughly enjoyed reading Tigerheart and have started reading it again with my 10-year--old son who is also enthralled by the imaginative tale. This is a marvelous book to read with your children. Author David narrates Paul's tale with a lot of humorous and enlightening asides to make sure the reader gets all the details straight. The story is filled with charm and wit as well as suspense and adventure.

This is truly a story for all ages. The adult reader will have no trouble understanding the underlying messages and humor while the children are wrapped up in the trials and tribulations that Paul is experiencing on his quest to find a little sister in "The Anyplace."

There are some new and entertaining characters in Paul's tale. "The Boy" had gotten rid of Captain Hack in the old stories, but not his vengeful sister, Captain Slash. And I particularly liked the white tiger, which is only associated with Paul.

Go ahead, grab a comfortable seat, gather your family, and enjoy spending time together reading this book!

Armchair Interviews says: Another excellent book for middle reader/young adult.