Her Book Self

I think rediscovering an author I loved as a young reader is akin to reuniting with an old friend.  We've both grown up, we've both changed and matured, but there's enough nostalgia and fond memories to bring us back together with warm comfort.  Last week I came across the book Tiger, Tiger by Lynne Reid Banks.  As a youngster, I loved The Indian in the Cupboard and all the books in its series as well as Banks' standalone novels The Fairy Rebel and I, Houdini (if you click the link for the latter, I had a hamster that looked and acted just like that!)  I naturally assumed that Tiger, Tiger was published around the same time as the others and that I had missed reading it as a child.  However, I was pleasantly surprised to open to the copyright page and see 2004!

The story is a historical fiction set in ancient Rome and tells of two captured tiger cubs - one sent to fight gladiators in the Colisseum and the other tamed as a pet for Caesar's daughter, Aurelia.  Aurelia is quickly enamored with her new pet and is equally charmed by Julius, the tiger's trainer.  Of course the relationship between a slave boy and a Roman princess must be kept secret, but when the gentleness of Aurelia's tiger is called into question, she must do what she can to save both Julius and her pet's life.

There wasn't anything truly amazing about this book - the story was straightforward, the characters not overly complex - but I still greatly enjoyed it.  As much as I've grown and matured as a reader, Lynne Reid Banks still has a style of storytelling that appeals to me.  It was great to find this book and discover that at 81 years old, Banks is still writing and to know that my middle school self's choices of books were pretty darn good ones!