Summary:
Hannah and her friend Becky are on a picnic with Hannah's parents when a storm ends up killing Hannah's parents and sweeping the girls into the forest of Tasmania. They are rescued by a Tasmanian tiger who cares for the two girls as if they were her own cubs. The tiger and her mate teach the girls how to survive in the forest. They learn to hunt, lap water, run on all fours, and curl up with their adopted tiger parents for warmth and safety. While surviving in the forest, they lose a lot of the civilized characteristics they had as six/seven year old children. They stop speaking, disregard clothing, and are fearful of humans in general. Becky's father finds the two of them and "rescues" the pair back to their human lives; however, the tiger within them does not want to let go. The two girls long for their tiger parents and are permanently changed by the experience.
My thoughts:
While this is a short book that is marketed towards teens, I wouldn't hand it over to a younger teen. This would be fine with juniors or seniors, but the content and pace are much more suited for an older reader. While the girls are young through most of the story, this is told as a reflection back upon their lives. The dialogue is difficult through parts of the story. It's not impossible, but it is definitely something to read out loud a time or so in order to get the meaning. Overall, the book is very, very slow. Learning of course is not action packed. Overall, I think there are several more lessons that Nowra wanted to teach us about humans, animals, and what is considered civilized. There are some graphic scenes that may affect readers, but that is probably expected once you read the summary.
Hannah and her friend Becky are on a picnic with Hannah's parents when a storm ends up killing Hannah's parents and sweeping the girls into the forest of Tasmania. They are rescued by a Tasmanian tiger who cares for the two girls as if they were her own cubs. The tiger and her mate teach the girls how to survive in the forest. They learn to hunt, lap water, run on all fours, and curl up with their adopted tiger parents for warmth and safety. While surviving in the forest, they lose a lot of the civilized characteristics they had as six/seven year old children. They stop speaking, disregard clothing, and are fearful of humans in general. Becky's father finds the two of them and "rescues" the pair back to their human lives; however, the tiger within them does not want to let go. The two girls long for their tiger parents and are permanently changed by the experience.
My thoughts:
While this is a short book that is marketed towards teens, I wouldn't hand it over to a younger teen. This would be fine with juniors or seniors, but the content and pace are much more suited for an older reader. While the girls are young through most of the story, this is told as a reflection back upon their lives. The dialogue is difficult through parts of the story. It's not impossible, but it is definitely something to read out loud a time or so in order to get the meaning. Overall, the book is very, very slow. Learning of course is not action packed. Overall, I think there are several more lessons that Nowra wanted to teach us about humans, animals, and what is considered civilized. There are some graphic scenes that may affect readers, but that is probably expected once you read the summary.
