What do you think?
Rate this book
The Time Traveller and the Tiger
Elsie is not looking forward to the long summer holiday with her creaky, old Uncle John. But then the unimaginable happens as Time unravels and Elsie tumbles back to 1940s India to meet her Uncle John as a young boy on a tiger hunt. Can Elsie stop him from doing what he's already told her is a wrong he can never right?
The Time Traveller and the Tiger is a multi-layered middle grade novel rich in adventure, mystery, historical and conservation themes.
The Time Traveller and the Tiger is a multi-layered middle grade novel rich in adventure, mystery, historical and conservation themes.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published July 9, 2020
8 people are currently reading
78 people want to read
Ratings & Reviews
Friends & Following
Create a free account to discover what your friends think of this book!
Community Reviews
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews
November 3, 2020
2.5 stars.
One of Tania's other books 'The One Safe Place' is one of my all-time favourites so I was really excited to see she had a new book coming out. This book, unfortunately, did not live up to my excitement. It has an interesting start but then becomes very slow and kind of frustrating to read. Elsie, who time-travels to the 1940s to stop her great uncle killing a tiger, something he regretted his whole life, takes the time-travel aspect of her journey very easily, and too-readily gives herself away. The time-altering of her return also didn't seem to bother her at all. Child-John was mostly just annoying, and Elsie I never warmed to simply because we never really learn anything about her -- her story is really just John's story, and that was a shame. The story itself stomps back and forth through the jungle (without much mishap) and eventually they are half-kidnapped by some hunters and then resolve to take the hunting lodge down and expose their crooked tiger-killing business. This might have been great if some of these themes weren't so muddled that at times it felt less like environmental heroism and more like annoyance the lodge was cheating by making hunting an easy sport (the sport itself is surely more the issue, not how people go about it?). This book felt to me like it needed some more time being fleshed out, in both character and plot, and further time in editing. It just felt too messy to really engage, and that's such a shame as I have loved Tania's previous books and her settings were lush and well-evoked throughout. It's just not a memorable book.
One of Tania's other books 'The One Safe Place' is one of my all-time favourites so I was really excited to see she had a new book coming out. This book, unfortunately, did not live up to my excitement. It has an interesting start but then becomes very slow and kind of frustrating to read. Elsie, who time-travels to the 1940s to stop her great uncle killing a tiger, something he regretted his whole life, takes the time-travel aspect of her journey very easily, and too-readily gives herself away. The time-altering of her return also didn't seem to bother her at all. Child-John was mostly just annoying, and Elsie I never warmed to simply because we never really learn anything about her -- her story is really just John's story, and that was a shame. The story itself stomps back and forth through the jungle (without much mishap) and eventually they are half-kidnapped by some hunters and then resolve to take the hunting lodge down and expose their crooked tiger-killing business. This might have been great if some of these themes weren't so muddled that at times it felt less like environmental heroism and more like annoyance the lodge was cheating by making hunting an easy sport (the sport itself is surely more the issue, not how people go about it?). This book felt to me like it needed some more time being fleshed out, in both character and plot, and further time in editing. It just felt too messy to really engage, and that's such a shame as I have loved Tania's previous books and her settings were lush and well-evoked throughout. It's just not a memorable book.
September 11, 2020
I received an eARC from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. It has not affected my opinions.
THE TIME TRAVELLER AND THE TIGER is one of those books that didn't really register with me as I read it. I've been sat here for about half an hour trying to work out something, anything to say. It's not that it's a "bad book", but that it wasn't particularly memorable. I didn't form any emotional reactions to the book, which is what I rely on when writing reviews.
The jungle felt very real, though. Hot and stuffy in the day, but cold at night. Bursting with plants and animals, it felt both dangerous and magical all at once - and all very different from the England that Elsie was used to.
Child-John is one of those snooty little boys you see in a lot of old classics - the one who says girls can't do anything and then is wonderfully shown up and sees the error of his ways. What I liked about his character was the dialect he used. It's just so spot on for the era, helping build the sense of time and place - not to mention highlight the contrast between his world and Elsie's.
There is a strong pro-conservation theme in this book - Elsie has found herself back in time with the mission to stop her great-uncle killing a tiger, which he regrets 70+ years later. Add in the secondary character Mandeep's attempts to stop the British hunters stalking in the forest, and the hunt Elsie, Mandeep, and John get caught up in, and the message is very clear throughout
The POV of the tiger was a little odd to get used to at first, but it was probably the most powerful tool shaping the message. It didn't quite humanise the tiger, and it was interesting to see how Tania wrote a "character" without the same level of conscious thought and awareness as her human characters. However, by showing its world and life, she made me want it to survive.
One thing that stood out to me was how calmly Elsie took the fact that she'd slipped back in time. She just took it in her stride, and when going home was raised as a potential issue, she didn't seem that worried. It was a bit odd, and a little unrealistic, that she wasn't freaking out - but appeared to just happily go along with it all.
I think, perhaps, this book would have appealed to me more had I been the target audience.
THE TIME TRAVELLER AND THE TIGER is one of those books that didn't really register with me as I read it. I've been sat here for about half an hour trying to work out something, anything to say. It's not that it's a "bad book", but that it wasn't particularly memorable. I didn't form any emotional reactions to the book, which is what I rely on when writing reviews.
The jungle felt very real, though. Hot and stuffy in the day, but cold at night. Bursting with plants and animals, it felt both dangerous and magical all at once - and all very different from the England that Elsie was used to.
Child-John is one of those snooty little boys you see in a lot of old classics - the one who says girls can't do anything and then is wonderfully shown up and sees the error of his ways. What I liked about his character was the dialect he used. It's just so spot on for the era, helping build the sense of time and place - not to mention highlight the contrast between his world and Elsie's.
There is a strong pro-conservation theme in this book - Elsie has found herself back in time with the mission to stop her great-uncle killing a tiger, which he regrets 70+ years later. Add in the secondary character Mandeep's attempts to stop the British hunters stalking in the forest, and the hunt Elsie, Mandeep, and John get caught up in, and the message is very clear throughout
The POV of the tiger was a little odd to get used to at first, but it was probably the most powerful tool shaping the message. It didn't quite humanise the tiger, and it was interesting to see how Tania wrote a "character" without the same level of conscious thought and awareness as her human characters. However, by showing its world and life, she made me want it to survive.
One thing that stood out to me was how calmly Elsie took the fact that she'd slipped back in time. She just took it in her stride, and when going home was raised as a potential issue, she didn't seem that worried. It was a bit odd, and a little unrealistic, that she wasn't freaking out - but appeared to just happily go along with it all.
I think, perhaps, this book would have appealed to me more had I been the target audience.
October 24, 2020
Elsie has a boring summer ahead with her Uncle John, except it turns out to be a lot more interesting when she magically travels back in time to a tiger hunt being led by…her uncle John as a young boy!
Elsie gets to know John, and his friend Mandeep, who are both on different quests in the Indian jungle – John to hunt, Mandeep to stop hunts. These two are Elsie’s fast-paced yet reluctant guides through her historical connection, and the uncovering of a secret plot run by the evil hunter Sowerby (who, I have no doubt, is based on some awful real-life hunters who have and still do exist today).
The Time Traveller and the Tiger is a very educational, challenging read and asks some often very difficult questions about the human-animal relationships (some that even I found hard to read, so keep this in mind). Yes, this book is a really fun, fantastical romp of a middle-grade story but its serious side depicts how cruel humans have been to wild animals, especially tigers, since we began conquering the earth.
It’s a very original story and it kept me glued to it to see whether Elsie outwitted the hunters and managed to get back home to her “old Uncle John” in time for tea!
Elsie gets to know John, and his friend Mandeep, who are both on different quests in the Indian jungle – John to hunt, Mandeep to stop hunts. These two are Elsie’s fast-paced yet reluctant guides through her historical connection, and the uncovering of a secret plot run by the evil hunter Sowerby (who, I have no doubt, is based on some awful real-life hunters who have and still do exist today).
The Time Traveller and the Tiger is a very educational, challenging read and asks some often very difficult questions about the human-animal relationships (some that even I found hard to read, so keep this in mind). Yes, this book is a really fun, fantastical romp of a middle-grade story but its serious side depicts how cruel humans have been to wild animals, especially tigers, since we began conquering the earth.
It’s a very original story and it kept me glued to it to see whether Elsie outwitted the hunters and managed to get back home to her “old Uncle John” in time for tea!
January 27, 2024
Thrilling time travelling tale. When Elsie smells a rare flower which blooms once in a lifetime, she is transported back to colonial India in order to prevent her uncle making the mistake of his life. I loved the descriptions of the jungle teaming with life and the voice of the tiger was well written. Her young uncle is annoying at first with his old fashioned patronising chivalry which contrasts with his friend Mandeep who is open minded, inquisitive and brave. But the three must work together when Mandeep is captured by an angry hunter who thinks he has sabotaged his targets. Themes of conservation and colonialism. 4.5 stars
December 10, 2020
This book was just so exciting and you can not take your eyes off the book
One of the best books ever!
Just sometime I did not get what was happening then I understand once you read the book more
One of the best books ever!
Just sometime I did not get what was happening then I understand once you read the book more
February 5, 2022
I only gave this book a 4 because it was good but not as good as some of my other reads. It be is a great book about time travelling and a thrilling adventure about a young girl that goes back in time to stop her uncle from killing a tiger.
October 21, 2022
Environmental concerns and colonial injustices are explored with a light and senstive touch. Stunning descriptions. Really great ot read a quiet, nervous protagonist in Elsie. Especially loved the tiger himself, a legend reborn as long as "there is forest deep enough to hold him."
June 13, 2020
Read & reviewed for The Bookbag: http://www.thebookbag.co.uk/reviews/i...
November 30, 2020
It was an ok book. I did struggle to get into the book in places
August 5, 2023
3.5/5.
October 11, 2023
"Glory is fleeting, but obscurity is forever." - Napoléon Bonaparte
With a title like this, more significant and more sinister dangers lie ahead in The Time Traveller and the Tiger by Tania Unsworth. Time travel, historical passages, evil poachers, culture clashes, family difficulties & the question of what it means to be successful. After a mysterious flower transports 11-year-old Elsie to 1940s India, she bumps into her 12-year-old uncle to prevent him from killing a tiger that he regrets seventy-four years later. This book dives deep into moral of what measure is a "non-human". It was once acceptable for the great white hunter to kill tigers, but today they are too endangered for that. So why not start hunting a creature that is just as dangerous as hunting the most dangerous game, but is much more ethical to kill?
Once the victim pulls this off, the hunter's game falls apart, & he will be forced to recognise his victim as an actual threat to him. The turnaround embodied in this trope usually signifies that the hero will soon defeat the villains & put an end to his twisted game. This has roots as far back as Greek Mythology, where a quite literal hunter, Actaeon, is transformed into a deer by Artemis and eventually torn apart by his dogs. Adventure stories frequently invert the trope, telling the information from the point of view of the hunted one who becomes the hunter. This is especially the case in stories where the hunter is not a single person, but a conspiracy; here the intended prey has to solve the mystery of who is attacking them and why, & then find out who belongs to the conspiracy & whom they can trust as allies to help bring it down.
A common plot in time travel stories: The time traveller messes up the past, & has to put everything back the way it was. This trope is when the time traveller, in the end, doesn't quite succeed. The traveller, however, decides that the change the new timeline has brought with it is either a pretty insignificant alteration that he or she could easily adjust to (often happens if he or she is locked out of further time travel), or even outright beneficial, & happily accepts it (i.e. s/he could probably erase the change completely with additional time travelling, but sees no reason to do so, or perhaps doesn't want to risk creating a more massive divergence while trying to fix the small one). Think of it as Doctor Who logic - how time travel works are inconsistent within a single fictional universe.
The main lesson I learned (well, ALWAYS learned) is that humanity shouldn't hunt in moderation. We seem to have reached a certain point where killing for sport transitioned from a wilderness challenge (a test of actual fortitude and reverence for nature) to lazy, wanton killing for its own sake. In other words, think about Sarah Palin shooting wolves from a helicopter or people blinding deers with their headlights & running them over. It's cheap & it entirely misses the point of the hunt. I don't mind zoos because they are often being held for research, wildlife conservation & educational purposes. By contrast, stuff like killer whale shows at Sea World & elephant tricks at the zoo can & often do come off as demeaning. Anyway, this book is a high recommend for readers aged 11 and older. Not too confusing or complicated for such a high concept & setting. Anyone will love this book!
October 9, 2020
First off- thanks to NetGalley, the publisher @headofzeus and the author Tania Unsworth for sharing the eARC! This has not affected my review or rating, which is 4.5 rounded up to 5 stars.
Eleven-year old Elsie is used to being unobtrusive and blending in the background- at school, in choir, even in her parents’ busy lives. She is quiet, careful, and not as dull as everyone thinks.
A scheduling mix-up results in her having to spend a week of her holidays with her Great Uncle John, someone whom she hasn’t met since toddlerhood. Uncle John is kind, gentle and very old. And in his spare room is a tiger-skin rug- a bitter reminder of the one thing that Uncle John has regretted all his life.
An unexpected encounter with a mystical plant in Uncle John’s greenhouse transports Elsie seventy-four years into the past, to the wilds of central India that is still under British rule. Suddenly, she is trailing 12-year old Uncle John who is determined to hunt a tiger so that he can be do that one amazing thing that will make his parents sit up and notice him. So Elsie has to physically stop him from shooting the tiger when it unexpectedly comes in front of them.
But bigger and more sinister dangers lie ahead- an ominous hidden hunting lodge filled with sickening objects fashioned out of hunted animals, and the cold, cruel businessman who owns it, and who has developed an elaborate and evil plot that ensures that each of his “guests” gets to shoot a tiger.
Can the kids overthrow these nefarious plans? Can tigers roam free, safe from the menace of hunting? And can Elsie find her way back home to 2020?
I loved the story because I love the jungles of India and have a deep admiration for the magnificent Bengal Tiger. Another thing that I appreciated was that it touches upon topics like colonialism and how social and economic inequality affects relationships.
But most of all, I loved Tania Upsworth’s writing. Rarely have I seen such beautiful and thoughtful writing in middle-grade books! You can read some excerpts that I particularly loved, as well as....ahem....a lesson in time travel (this book somewhat solved the time travel paradox for me!) in the more detailed review on my blog: https://www.facebook.com/855005157962...
Eleven-year old Elsie is used to being unobtrusive and blending in the background- at school, in choir, even in her parents’ busy lives. She is quiet, careful, and not as dull as everyone thinks.
A scheduling mix-up results in her having to spend a week of her holidays with her Great Uncle John, someone whom she hasn’t met since toddlerhood. Uncle John is kind, gentle and very old. And in his spare room is a tiger-skin rug- a bitter reminder of the one thing that Uncle John has regretted all his life.
An unexpected encounter with a mystical plant in Uncle John’s greenhouse transports Elsie seventy-four years into the past, to the wilds of central India that is still under British rule. Suddenly, she is trailing 12-year old Uncle John who is determined to hunt a tiger so that he can be do that one amazing thing that will make his parents sit up and notice him. So Elsie has to physically stop him from shooting the tiger when it unexpectedly comes in front of them.
But bigger and more sinister dangers lie ahead- an ominous hidden hunting lodge filled with sickening objects fashioned out of hunted animals, and the cold, cruel businessman who owns it, and who has developed an elaborate and evil plot that ensures that each of his “guests” gets to shoot a tiger.
Can the kids overthrow these nefarious plans? Can tigers roam free, safe from the menace of hunting? And can Elsie find her way back home to 2020?
I loved the story because I love the jungles of India and have a deep admiration for the magnificent Bengal Tiger. Another thing that I appreciated was that it touches upon topics like colonialism and how social and economic inequality affects relationships.
But most of all, I loved Tania Upsworth’s writing. Rarely have I seen such beautiful and thoughtful writing in middle-grade books! You can read some excerpts that I particularly loved, as well as....ahem....a lesson in time travel (this book somewhat solved the time travel paradox for me!) in the more detailed review on my blog: https://www.facebook.com/855005157962...
Displaying 1 - 12 of 12 reviews