This Red Riding Hood tale set in Malaysia reimagines the adventures of a granddaughter and a wild beast. Rather than a wolf, there is a weretiger who exacts revenge for the rules of the jungle being broken. Rule 1 "Always ask permission before you enter." Rule 2 "Don't challenge what you can't see." Rule 3 "Never use your true name." Rule 4 Never take what isn't yours." Rule 5 "If you hear someone calling your name, never, ever look behind you." As all those who are familiar with fairy tales know - "It is an unfortunate truth about rules that they must, by design, exist side by side with consequences.".
Hamra is having a bad day when the book begins. Everyone has forgotten her birthday. Her grandmother is losing her memory. The COVID pandemic is keeping her parents away from home for long periods of time (nursing and making deliveries). So she might be forgiven for forgetting a rule that no one has ever explained the reason for. But even when she notices her error, she continues to break one rule after another. As a result she must complete a very dangerous quest or the weretiger will punish her family.
Descriptions of the jungle Hamra travels through, the market she visits, even the colors and smells of the foods that are mentioned all build a very definite image of the setting. As readers, we begin to suspect some of the forces at work behind the scenes. There are details in her grandmother's rambling stories that almost seem to match up with the current situation. Sometimes the weretiger lets a hint slip in conversation. We feel as if we are hunters stalking illusive prey as we follow these tracks through the pages.
Alkaf does an excellent job of capturing Hamra's simmering resentment against the state of her family and the fact that she doesn't even have the outlet of school with other kids because of the pandemic. She thinks of her father spending all his time driving around delivering food and PPEs rather than taking groups on tours in his boat. "The boat stayed moored at the dock, just as Hamra stayed home with her aged grandparents, all of them bobbing in place and gathering dust." The author also endears Hamra's friend Ilyas to us, describing him as "a more awkward, teenage boy version of Mary Poppins, except with a Steve Irwin aesthetic."
This book is a great next read for someone who has enjoyed the Rick Riordan Presents books and similar stories based on folktales and lore from around the world. There is magic, danger, survival in the jungle, family, friendship, coming of age, and so much more. Those who read it will learn that "a child can change the shape of the story and in doing so, the shape of the world." Hand this book to a child and empower them to take charge of their own story.
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