Reviews

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller

catfishmaggie's review against another edition

adventurous emotional funny inspiring mysterious fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.75

Was offered this book by a colleague who finished it on a work trip. I did not expect it to make me cry! I loved Lily challenging herself to be brave (and even a little explosive) in defense of her halmoni. And the trajectory of her sister, Sam, delighted me as well. I will be thinking about this tiger for a while…

happylilkt's review against another edition

3.0

My children and I started out enjoying this book quite a bit- we were hooked from the beginning. But what I thought was a fantasy/ magical realism book turned out to be something quite different. Overall, a good message- one that I found quite tender given my own recent loss- but I think this book would be best as a read aloud with discussion. There's a lot going on in the resolution.

bookish_4life's review against another edition

emotional medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Plot
• Strong character development? It's complicated
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

thisismeandme's review against another edition

adventurous emotional hopeful inspiring mysterious medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

eam541's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

jenmangler's review against another edition

3.0

Keller's writing is so beautiful. There were so many passages I stopped and re-read because they were just so beautiful. And I really enjoyed the Korean folklore that made up the backbone of this book.

mdevlin923's review against another edition

3.0

Lily and her mother and sister are moving from California to Washington to be with her Halmoni (grandmother). Halmoni is from Korea and tells her grandchildren many fairy tales from Korea...which Lily loves. But Halmoni is sick, and Lily has started seeing a tiger. When Lily talks to the tiger, she learns that Halmoni has stolen stories. If Lily can find the stories and return them, the tiger will help Halmoni. So Lily does everything she can to help her grandmother and keep her family strong.

An emotional read about the loss of a loved one, and how you cab accept their death.

thegigglingwillow's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

5.0

My daughter gives this 4.5 stars, and my son gives 4.75 stars. I'll give this 5 stars, simply because I never want to forget the way that both of my kids hugged me, wiped away my tears, and kissed my cheeks while I struggled to read the hardest chapters. And the connection of that family love to the story itself.

The only stars lost by my kids were because of the sadness. It had an incredible message of the importance of not bottling up our feelings, not making ourselves choose between strength and sensitivity. All the while, this book is about loss and grief, with a touch of magical spirituality that ties in flawlessly.

gls_merch's review against another edition

emotional mysterious sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.0

jnishi's review against another edition

5.0

Wow. I don’t even know how to begin to describe the beauty of this book. It broke my heart and made it whole again. As a half-Asian woman who lost her mother when she was young, this book spoke to me. It got me. It is beautifully written and full of so much heart it had me openly crying on the train. Fantastically beautifully.