What an unexpected book!
Often, I don’t know much about books before I read them. Some books keep showing up on my social media. Others are recommended to me multiple times by children I teach. Usually, it takes me a while to get around to reading them, and based on who recommends a book to me, I sometimes have preconceived notions about what a book will be about. For instance, despite its name, I expected When You Trap a Tiger to be realistic fiction, with no fantasy or fable thrown in. I was pleasantly surprised to be wrong!
Lily and her family move into her grandmother’s house to take care of her. When the girl realises how sick her grandmother is, she knows that there’s only one way to save her. The tiger from all her Halmoni’s stories needs to be placated. She must do what it takes, and she must act on her own.
The traditional Korean stories her grandmother has shared with the children tell Lily that you should never start talking to a tiger because they’re tricky creatures. But if talking to a tiger is the only way to save her grandmother, what can she do?
When You Trap a Tiger is a lovely story about love and grief. As Lily slowly discovers, she isn’t alone in doing whatever it takes to keep someone she loves safe, however alone she may feel. What I loved most about the story is the way in which she finds community. She finds people willing to help in different ways, even if they cannot quite understand her. Because, after all, who can understand another’s grief?
Making mistakes, forging ahead, creating new relationships … all these come together in When You Trap a Tiger, a lovely blend of folktale, fantasy and realism.
| Title | When You Trap a Tiger |
| Author | Tae Keller |
| Tags | Middle Grade, Fantasy, Folktale |
| Rating | 4.5 |
| Ages | 10+ |
Leave a Reply