This is a stunning book, and beautifully illustrated by David Roberts. Don't be fooled however into thinking that because this is an illustrated book, that it is a children's book - it isn't. The story is a dark fairytale, a disturbing story about werewolves and killing, and the dark natures of man. It is utterly captivating, and once you have started you will not be able to put it back down until you have finished. The illustrations are equally disturbing and complement the story in an integral way, just like those in A Monster Calls. I will be surprised if this is not another double winner of the Carnegie, just like that book was. Read it - and love it.

Beautiful. A fantastic retelling of The Tinderbox from an author who obviously adored the original.

This is the first of my reviews of this year's CILIP Carnegie Medal nominees. Well, my second. Patrick Ness' More Than This I read back in August - see here for my review - six months before the shortlist was announced. And to be honest, it will take some beating!

Anyway, this is my first knowing CILIP Carnegie read.

And I must say I enjoyed it thoroughly! I don't think it's a winner but a great read. I mean, fairytales, wolves, witches, werepeople, cross dressing. And a slightly underused hen. What's not to like?

Fairytales and mythology have continued to inspire writers and are enjoying a revival with Neil Gaiman, Angela Carter, Susanna Clarke, Helene Wecker, Ali Smith, Ali Shaw, Erin Morgenstern and the ubiquitous Disney - who would watch Frozen when you could read The Girl With Glass Feet? So, in this environment, expectations are high for Tinder. Heady company, Ms Gardner!

And the opening lines do not disappoint.

Once in a time of war, when I was a soldier in the Imperial Army, I saw Death walking. He wore upon his skull a withered crown of white bone twisted with green hawthorn. His skeleton was shrouded with a tattered cloak of gold and, in his wake, stood the ghosts of my comrades newly plucked, half-lived, from life. Many I knew by name.
Based on the first fairy tale Hans Christian Anderson's wrote, The Tinderbox, Tinder's narrator is Otto Hundebiss, a common soldier drafted into the Imperial Army during the Thirty Years War of 1618-1648. Following the slaughter of his compatriots, Otto drifts into a fairytale world of hidden castles, unruly princesses and fearsome werewolves. Following the structure of the original take, Otto has to face three trials in order to retrieve a mysterious tinderbox, keeping the riches he finds there. Instead of returning it to its owner, he keeps the tinderbox, causing her to be killed. In a nearby town, he discovers that the tinderbox grants him the power to summon monstrous werewolves.

The language of the novel maintains the sparseness and occasional lyricism of the classic fairytale. There's not the depth of character or psychology you might expect: Otto never becomes more than a cipher for the traumatised child soldier, the common man struggling against social inequalities, or sexual maturing. He doesn't work as a character, even though Gardner does toss us flashbacks to the horrors that Otto has experienced. But that's all okay because this is, at the end of the day, a fairy tale.

The illustrations in the book by David Roberts are also worth a mention: they are gorgeous! Simply gorgeous. Stylised and unreal but gorgeous.



The novel certainly holds the imagination with the quality of an hallucination or a dream and a similar logic. Gardner has said that the novel was inspired by the experiences of returned soldiers from Iraq and Afghanistan and of child soldiers in Rwanda as well as the Thirty Years War. For me, these real world parallels were mere echoes - although parents may want to exercise caution as the fate of Otto's sister becomes clear as well as the fate of the daughter of a neighbouring farm. It is perhaps here that the more modern conflicts and our outrage at the use of rape as a weapon of war become most patent.

A fairy tale for older children (15+) about love, war, death and sacrifice. A surprisingly good read!

Retelling oscurito y molón, perfecto para estas fechas, y las ilustraciones son una PASADA ♥

Incredible book with beautiful illustrations. By the end all I could say was 'woah' - it was so unexpected. I hope that I can find a copy soon because the illustrations are my favourite thing about it, without a doubt. It was a fantasy book mixed with a modern-war era and the elements complimented each other so well, that it's definitely one of my favourite illustrated novels.

On the shortlist for the Carnegie 2015, Tinder is Sally Garner's retelling of the Hans Christian Anderson classic tale 'The Tinderbox.' I love a good fairy-tale, and I love a beautifully illustrated book... But I really didn't like this like I expected to. I never found that really magical spark that pulls me into the story... if I hadn't had a quiet day to get it down in one go, I have a feeling it would have taken me a while to get to the end of this one.

Otto Hundebiss (which means Dog Bite) is a soldier in the bloody Thirty Years War, but he manages to defy death and is given some mysterious dice that tell him which direction to travel. He meets a beautiful young princess hiding out in the woods and they fall in love, but she is captured and returned to her castle. He vows to find her again, and on the way shelters in a bizarre wooden castle, where he completes a task for the witch who lives there and comes away with a tinderbox and a lot of gold. The box gives him power over three wolves.

There are some improvements on the original tale, but it largely follows the same story. The Princess, Safire, is more of an actual character that he actually meets and gets to know (rather than blindly kidnapping her). She's tough, tomboyish and knows how to use a rapier which I always appreciate in a female character. She is still the prize in this story, but they did at least spend a night together to fall in love first... And this is still a traditional fairy tale so I guess we can't have everything.

What this book does do successfully is explore the horrible brutality of war. Although disguised by the flowery, traditional language the crimes of men during war time are made starkly, horribly clear in the fate of Otto's sister, and his memories of what the other soldier tried to make him do. He was only a thirteen year old boy at the time (he is eighteen when the story begins) and he continues to be haunted and traumatised by what he has experienced. Until he meet Safire he doesn’t even have a purpose or direction save for what the dice tell him.

It is dark, with the shades of light and dark that the best fairy tales have. The ending is delightfully twisted, and leaves on a note of poignancy that had my thinking for a few moments afterwards. I do wonder on the intended audience for it though. I think a lot of younger readers will be put off with the very traditional style of the writing (it does require some real concentration) and would likely miss the messages of the story. I’m not sure on how it will appeal to the majority of older readers either being a fairly straightforward tale, although it is a lovely book. Personally I’m not a fan of David Robert’s illustrations, but I know a lot of people love them. They are suitably creepy, and I love the use of the red, but there is something off putting about the way he draws faces to me.

I’m disappointed that I didn’t love it. It was just an OK read. Nice to look at (apart from the faces I don’t like!) but never had that spark I was looking for. Some parts really dragged, and I was never exactly gripped by it.

Oh well, onto the next one! I’ve not had much luck so far with this year’s Carnegie Shortlist!

I really enjoyed this dark fairy tale! The creepy illustrations really added to the story and made it very unique.