WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER

WHEN YOU TRAP A TIGER by Tae Keller

It's very easy to see how When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller was chosen to receive the Newberry Medal. Keller's writing is beautiful and the story quickly picks you up and pulls you in until the very end. However, there are some issues to be aware of.

Life has not been easy for Lily, her older sister Sam, and their mother. First, their father died in an automobile accident that leaves them reeling and Sam panicky every time she gets behind the wheel of the car. Now, they are moving away from their friends and in with their halmoni (grandmother). She's a wonderful, vivacious woman, but something has changed. She is having episodes where she gets violently sick. On top of all of this, quiet, shy Lily keeps seeing a Tiger that no one else is seeing, and it talks to her. In Korean mythology Tigers are the keepers of the stories and this one tells Lily about a girl who stole some of the stories from them and bottled them up. The tiger wants help from Lily to get them back and in exchange will give her a precious gift, but Halmoni has told her in the past that you can't trust tigers.

HEADS UP- This book is heavy on Korean Mythology intertwined some with their religion. For example, The Halmoni mentions multiple times about making food for the spirits to keep them happy. Second, Sam, the older sister, "finds love" with another girl. A couple of situations happen that make the reader start to wonder, but it is verified at the end of the story.