“I’m just a kid! What power do you think I have?”
“If you want, you have enough power to help me.
… …Can you do it?”

2023 British Book Awards Book of the Year
Guardian, The Times, Waterstones Children's Book of the Year

How does a boy survive in a dark world?

Tiger is an adventure story set in a 'virtual dystopia' where slavery and racial discrimination reign supreme.
One day, a week before the winter solstice, in London, the capital of the British Empire.
Adam Alhambra, a boy from an immigrant family, sets out on a delivery trip carrying a bundle of clothes made by his family's shop.
Although he goes out every day to earn a living for his family, Adam is always afraid of going outside.
Adam, who has dark skin, is persistently followed by the label of “foreigner” and harsh stares.
“Keep your head down and walk.
They say that if you make eye contact with people, you will suffer greater misfortune.
“No one, no one should look at you.” (Page 11) Nothing will change even if you strictly follow your father’s instructions.
Even trying to leave the Soho ghetto where they live means enduring strict checks and insults from guards.

But even this Adam is in a better position than the slaves brought from Africa.
The slave that Adam encountered in the mansion while making a delivery kept bowing his head even to the young Adam, and the handcuff marks on the slave's wrists were clearly visible.
Even on the gallows outside London, public executions are held frequently as if they were some kind of grand spectacle, and one day Adam witnesses the sight of a slave boy as young as himself being hung on the gallows, protesting that he is a 'free man'.
One day, while barely holding on in a violent reality, Adam suddenly encounters the mysterious being 'Tiger', and now the story progresses from a desperate survival story to an exciting adventure story.

Tiger, the immortal being that travels across worlds

Adam lives in a world where tigers have long since become extinct due to indiscriminate hunting and destruction.
In such a situation, the tiger that suddenly appears from the darkness is both a benefactor who saves one's life and an object of fear.
Adam suppresses his fear and calmly pulls out the arrow stuck in the tiger's shoulder.
In this way, the two become friends and benefactors who save each other.
This tiger, named 'Tyger', is a character inspired by William Blake's poem 'The Tyger' (1794).
Just as Blake's tiger symbolizes the wondrous power that created the world, the tiger in this book is also a divine being from another world.
Although now hiding in the rubble as a wounded tiger, Tiger can become anything, move freely between worlds, and possess supernatural powers.
And above all, it is an 'immortal being'.


Why has such a tiger appeared in such a dark world? And why is he hiding among the rubble, bleeding to death? Who is "Urizen" chasing Tiger, and who is the "Guardian" who will protect Tiger? To return Tiger to his world, he must find the Guardian, but where and how can he find him? Adam, perplexed by Tiger's unbelievable tale, promises to protect Tiger to the end.

Adam and Zaidi Uncover a Great Secret

Thanks to Tiger, a secret friend no one knows about and a being he must protect, Adam smiles for the first time in a long time and steps out into the world with anticipation instead of fear.
The outside world, which used to be a place where we had to walk with our heads down in fear, has now been transformed into a place of exciting adventure.
Adam's adventure becomes more exciting with the appearance of a Muslim girl, Zaidi.
Zaidi is also a foreigner, and has dark skin and curly hair that he covers with a hood.
He is also just like Adam in that he is in charge of delivering books for his father's bookstore and printing house.
But unlike Adam, Zaidi was born with an optimistic and energetic personality.
Even with his hood pulled down low, he walks down the street without hesitation, his eyes always sparkling with curiosity, and he either firmly encourages Adam when he hesitates or takes a step ahead.
Moreover, Zaidi, along with his father Solomon, has been chasing the secret surrounding Tiger for a long time, and is currently monitoring the nobleman 'Sir Mortimer Maldehyde' who is believed to have a clue.
As Adam and Zaidi get closer to the secret, a bigger secret is revealed, and it becomes clear that something more important than Tiger's life is at stake.
It is the ‘survival of all mankind.’


The Power of Possibility to Save the World

Tiger tells Adam and Zaidi that there are countless worlds that exist simultaneously, completely different from the one we live in now.
Depending on the choices we make and the efforts we make, a completely different world unfolds.
Therefore, the dystopia that appears in this book may be seen not as our past or future, but as an ‘alternative present’ created by our wrong choices.
Tiger reveals to Adam and Zaidi the secret of the 'three powers' hidden within them.
Adam and Zaidi learn the 'power of perception', 'power of imagination', and 'power of creation' to save the world, and finally face the true nature of Urizen.

The highlight of Adam, Zaidi, and Tiger's fight against Urizen is a nail-biter.
In particular, the battle between the blood-soaked Tiger and the arrogant Urizen is fierce and even brutal.
Eventually, Tiger collapses in the snow, covered in blood, and Adam and Zaidi hold hands.
At that moment, a 'light so strong and bright that it could destroy everything' surged up and became a huge 'river of light' that stretched out towards 'infinity'.


Ultimately, what saves a world headed for destruction is the 'power of possibility.'
“There are infinitely many possible histories in the world, and likewise, there are infinitely many different possible versions of yourself.
So keep questioning the world and everything in it.
“Ask what could have been different.” (Page 205) Author SF Side, through Tiger’s mouth, says that if we believe in the ‘power of possibility’ and reach out for hope until the end, we can gain incredible strength, and that the power to save the world in crisis ultimately lies within us.

Stories of the 'Dispossessed' and the 'Strugglers'

This book is a story about two brave children and a divine being named Tiger, but it is also a story of the 'dispossessed' and 'struggling people'.
Zaidi's father, Solomon, was kidnapped while training as a guardian in Timbuktu, West Africa, sold into slavery, and later freed.
After losing his wife during a harsh life of slavery, he struggles to save the world while raising his newborn daughter Zaidi alone.
The old woman, Judith, is a person who has built a library in an underground tunnel deep underground and is protecting the great heritage of mankind.
Later, Judith and her colleagues at the underground library open a school open to all children who are "talented in writing and drawing," regardless of race, gender, or origin.
Adam, who wants to be a painter, and Zaidi, who wants to be a writer, become the first students at a new school.

'Old Jack' and 'Big Jackie', whom Adam meets on his delivery route, are poor commoners.
The two lived peacefully, herding sheep on an unclaimed land, until Mortimer Maldehyde took everything from them and they joined the rebellion.
At first, the protesters vent their anger on foreigners who are less powerful than them, but when they realize who their true enemy is, they rush to Mortimer Maldehyde's mansion.
Although this book is an adventure story set in a fictional dystopia, the characters and events within it are by no means unfamiliar.
As we follow the thrilling story, we soon realize the hidden message: "Don't turn a blind eye to the tragedy unfolding in one corner of the world."
Perhaps this book is appealing that only by looking back at the suffering of the refugees in Gaza, the migrant workers trapped in a factory engulfed in flames, and the countless other vulnerable beings in the world can we preserve world peace.
Dave McKean, famous for his picture book The Day I Swapped Two Goldfish for My Dad, offers bold and beautiful illustrations that leave an overwhelming impression throughout the book.
This book will also be very welcome to readers who love picture books and graphic novels.