Tigerheart

by: Peter David

Published by: Del Rey Books

Reviewed by Stephanie Boyd

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.