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4.22 AVERAGE
4.22 AVERAGE
This is more of a "Why did this win the Newbery?" rant than an actual review
2020 was a great year for middle-grade books, and I read A LOT of them this year hoping to read the Newbery winner before it was chosen. There were many I was hopeful for, but alas, this book won and I did not read it before.
Now I don't think there's anything wrong with this book other than I did not enjoy it or find it any more deserving than the myriad other books I read this year. Magical realism is hit or miss with me and this was a miss when it came to the magical elements of the story. I honestly wanted some kind of twist that Lily also had a brain tumor and that's why she was seeing the tiger, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I was considering how I would have rated this if I had read it before it won, but honestly think I would have rated it the same. I just think there's more going on in the world than worrying about dying grandmothers and the same quiet kid learning to speak up for themselves trope. Plus, I hate when kids get away with committing crimes because plot. Yes, I know I'm not the target audience for this, but I teach middle school and I feel better about recommending books to kids when I also enjoyed them.
I expect more from the Newbery Committee. I expect them to choose something that exposes contemporary social issues. And they had some amazing books to choose from. From the Desk of Zoe Washington was snubbed, The List of Things That Will Not Change was snubbed, no love for Snapdragon (can we just give graphic novels their own award, please?), and let's not forget Three Keys, Kelly Yang's sequel to Front Desk (which I still say should have won in 2019). Most of the other books I adored got some kind of award so I won't drag this on...but We Dream of Space got an Honor?!?! Ug, that book. Oh well, at least Echo Mountain didn't win (my by far least favorite middle-grade book from last year), and there's an LGBT+ side character so the committee finally acknowledged that queer people exist.
2020 was a great year for middle-grade books, and I read A LOT of them this year hoping to read the Newbery winner before it was chosen. There were many I was hopeful for, but alas, this book won and I did not read it before.
Now I don't think there's anything wrong with this book other than I did not enjoy it or find it any more deserving than the myriad other books I read this year. Magical realism is hit or miss with me and this was a miss when it came to the magical elements of the story. I honestly wanted some kind of twist that Lily also had a brain tumor and that's why she was seeing the tiger, but I knew that wasn't going to happen. I was considering how I would have rated this if I had read it before it won, but honestly think I would have rated it the same. I just think there's more going on in the world than worrying about dying grandmothers and the same quiet kid learning to speak up for themselves trope. Plus, I hate when kids get away with committing crimes because plot. Yes, I know I'm not the target audience for this, but I teach middle school and I feel better about recommending books to kids when I also enjoyed them.
I expect more from the Newbery Committee. I expect them to choose something that exposes contemporary social issues. And they had some amazing books to choose from. From the Desk of Zoe Washington was snubbed, The List of Things That Will Not Change was snubbed, no love for Snapdragon (can we just give graphic novels their own award, please?), and let's not forget Three Keys, Kelly Yang's sequel to Front Desk (which I still say should have won in 2019). Most of the other books I adored got some kind of award so I won't drag this on...but We Dream of Space got an Honor?!?! Ug, that book. Oh well, at least Echo Mountain didn't win (my by far least favorite middle-grade book from last year), and there's an LGBT+ side character so the committee finally acknowledged that queer people exist.
adventurous
emotional
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
A beautiful story of love, family, loss, and heritage. Funny and realistic and magical all at the same time, I absolutely adored this story and highly recommend it!!
Lily and her sister and her mother move back to the small Washington town where her mother grew up and her Halmoni still lives. Deceased father that they still mourn. Lily starts seeing the Tiger from many stories Halmoni shared stalking their family and finds a way to come to terms with grief and her own voice/ identity. Sister finds a girlfriend at end of book. Full of feels and Korean heritage. Excellent for shy girls who are dealing with change. Love that Lily starts to find her own power in identity, and the fairytale quest that lets her embrace her emotions.
adventurous
emotional
hopeful
sad
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
A mix
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Complicated
Flaws of characters a main focus:
No
emotional
informative
mysterious
reflective
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
adventurous
challenging
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
mysterious
sad
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
"Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."
It's the summer before Lily begins seventh grade, and her widowed Korean American mother suddenly decides to move her and older sister Sam from their home in California to Sunbeam, Washington, to live with their Halmoni, who is very ill. Lily claims that her one superpower is the ability to make herself invisible, or what her sister calls a QAG - quiet Asian girl, unlike Sam who is always able to fit in and get along with people. But neither girl wants to move to Sunbeam.
Sure, Lily and Sam had always enjoyed visiting their Korean grandmother and hearing her stories. They especially like the way she would have them pretend to grab a star containing a story. Their favorite story was about a tiger and two sisters who became the sun and the moon to escape the tiger. So when Lily sees a large magical tiger sitting by the side of the road into Sunbeam, she knows she can tell her Halmoni about it.
But Halmoni's reaction when she hears about the tiger, isn't what Lily expects. She tells Lily that long ago she had stolen something from the tiger and stashed it away in some jars. Now, the tiger has come looking for what belongs to her. But what could Halmoni possibly have stolen from a magical tiger? The answer is in a story that Halmoni tells Lily one night about a lonely sky princess who whispers stories to the night. The stories become stars that light the world. But as a little girl, Halmoni didn't like some of the star stories that made her sad and thought they were dangerous. So she stole them and put them into jars. Now, the tiger wants them back.
So with the help of new friend Ricky, they build a tiger trap in the basement, using boxes that Halmoni had stacked by the basement door. One of the boxes contains jars and Lily is convinced that these are the star jars that Halmoni had used to hid the tiger's stories. Sure enough, that night the tiger is in the basement waiting for Lily. When she offers her a deal - return the stories and Halmoni would feel better - Lily is at first hesitant, but later, desperate to help her sick grandmother, she accepts it. With the release and telling of each story star, Lily begins to fill in the blank spots in Halmoni's past, sorting through and separating fact from fiction.
When You Trap a Tiger is just simply a wonderful, unputdownable story. The balance of realism and magical realism is so seamlessly done, nothing jars and even the tiger, appearing and disappearing like a Cheshire cat, becomes believable in the skilled hands of author Tae Keller. Story and characters are well-drawn and equally nuanced, playing their parts perfectly. The cast of characters is small and no character, not even Ricky, is gratuitous.
Keller addresses a number of themes in this book - loss, grief, family history, identity, and LGTBQ - but at heart is the theme of storytelling. As the tiger tells Lily, stories have the power to change someone, even if don't always end happily. The release of Halmoni's stories helps Lily discover not only who her grandmother is, but who she herself is and can be, and the lesson learned is that it is up to Lily to create her own story, making this a powerful coming-of-age tale.
At one point in the book, Halmoni tells Lily "everything a little bit magic." What a wonderful time to be a reader and be able to read magical stories like this.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
It's the summer before Lily begins seventh grade, and her widowed Korean American mother suddenly decides to move her and older sister Sam from their home in California to Sunbeam, Washington, to live with their Halmoni, who is very ill. Lily claims that her one superpower is the ability to make herself invisible, or what her sister calls a QAG - quiet Asian girl, unlike Sam who is always able to fit in and get along with people. But neither girl wants to move to Sunbeam.
Sure, Lily and Sam had always enjoyed visiting their Korean grandmother and hearing her stories. They especially like the way she would have them pretend to grab a star containing a story. Their favorite story was about a tiger and two sisters who became the sun and the moon to escape the tiger. So when Lily sees a large magical tiger sitting by the side of the road into Sunbeam, she knows she can tell her Halmoni about it.
But Halmoni's reaction when she hears about the tiger, isn't what Lily expects. She tells Lily that long ago she had stolen something from the tiger and stashed it away in some jars. Now, the tiger has come looking for what belongs to her. But what could Halmoni possibly have stolen from a magical tiger? The answer is in a story that Halmoni tells Lily one night about a lonely sky princess who whispers stories to the night. The stories become stars that light the world. But as a little girl, Halmoni didn't like some of the star stories that made her sad and thought they were dangerous. So she stole them and put them into jars. Now, the tiger wants them back.
So with the help of new friend Ricky, they build a tiger trap in the basement, using boxes that Halmoni had stacked by the basement door. One of the boxes contains jars and Lily is convinced that these are the star jars that Halmoni had used to hid the tiger's stories. Sure enough, that night the tiger is in the basement waiting for Lily. When she offers her a deal - return the stories and Halmoni would feel better - Lily is at first hesitant, but later, desperate to help her sick grandmother, she accepts it. With the release and telling of each story star, Lily begins to fill in the blank spots in Halmoni's past, sorting through and separating fact from fiction.
When You Trap a Tiger is just simply a wonderful, unputdownable story. The balance of realism and magical realism is so seamlessly done, nothing jars and even the tiger, appearing and disappearing like a Cheshire cat, becomes believable in the skilled hands of author Tae Keller. Story and characters are well-drawn and equally nuanced, playing their parts perfectly. The cast of characters is small and no character, not even Ricky, is gratuitous.
Keller addresses a number of themes in this book - loss, grief, family history, identity, and LGTBQ - but at heart is the theme of storytelling. As the tiger tells Lily, stories have the power to change someone, even if don't always end happily. The release of Halmoni's stories helps Lily discover not only who her grandmother is, but who she herself is and can be, and the lesson learned is that it is up to Lily to create her own story, making this a powerful coming-of-age tale.
At one point in the book, Halmoni tells Lily "everything a little bit magic." What a wonderful time to be a reader and be able to read magical stories like this.
This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library
challenging
emotional
hopeful
reflective
sad
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
emotional
hopeful
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Yes
Loveable characters:
Yes
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes