After being forced to fight in battle and looking into the eyes of death, Otto Hunderbiss can only dream of a life away from war. then he meets Safire, a feisty tomboy who’s fate is to marry the terrible prince. With the help of his newly acquired tinderbox, he tries to save her, but when you are a soldier like Otto on the run, not everything turns out in your favour…
Not only is the book beautifully written it is also beautifully illustrated. This is especially useful in some of the scenes where description alone wouldn’t explain it enough. All of the drawings are in black, white and red which really made the creepiness of the grey wolves and Safire’s trademark cloak stand out more.
The book is based on Hans Christian Andersen’s Tinderbox fairy-tale, which I hadn’t heard of before, however I hear that Tinder is the story retold with different character personalities and in a different era. Personally, I think this book is basically a fairy-tale for teenagers, which is something that makes it really unique.
The main reason why I read Tinder is because it is shortlisted for the Carnegie medal. One of the things I would just like to point out is that on the website it says suitable for 11+, however I think that this book is more of a 13+, although the website does say that it is just a guide.
I definitely recommend this book to any teens that enjoy fantasy books!
Next up: John Green’s An Abundance of Katherines!
Fiction for Teens 