Scan barcode
A review by lauriehnatiuk
Music for Tigers by Michelle Kadarusman
5.0
Thank you to the publisher for an ARC of this book for #bookportage.
I loved spending time and getting to know not only Louisa but her extended family in Tasmania Canadian author @michellekadarusman’s upcoming novel Music for Tigers will be a wonderful addition to classrooms and librarians and will be of interest to a wide range of readers which is one of its many strengths.
Louisa lives in Toronto but is being sent to Tasmania to spend the summer with her mother’s brother. Louisa does not want to go. She is a violinist and has an upcoming audition and going to an off the beaten path residence is not appealing at all.
Upon her arrival Louisa has to make adjustments. Her uncle is focused on a dying pig-footed bandicoot rather than her, she is isolated in the middle of the Tasmanian jungle surrounded by all kinds of creatures, noises and unwanted smells and her nearest neighbour is a mother and her son Colin, who is autistic and is a jeep ride away.
Despite all the sudden changes, it is her own family’s history of her great grandmother Eleanor and her tie to the animals ,in particular the Tasmanian Tiger that allows her to open her eyes and her heart to the rainforest. Colin also comes to stay with her uncle and takes Louisa on hikes and shares his knowledge of the animals and plants that live there and the two become friends. Louisa learns that her great grandmother too was a musician and it was her music that played a role with the Tasmanian Tiger and helped repopulate them. Louisa learns and begins to understand the deep rooted connection her uncle and family has with the animals and the land. In the same way, her grandmother’s music helped the Tasmanian Tiger, she too has the chance to use her music to possibly save a Tasmanian Tiger thought to be extinct.
Themes of animals, protecting the environment, music or playing an instrument, wonder how to make friends, autism, anxiety, fitting in, family relationships are all covered in this moving story - there is something for everyone to identify and connect with in this story. I loved how the friendship Colin and Louisa developed and how they both supported one another (especially the camera scene). As an animal lover I enjoyed learning more about unfamiliar animals and appreciated the presence of the Aboriginals and the important role they had in the story. Preorder or look for it April 28.
I loved spending time and getting to know not only Louisa but her extended family in Tasmania Canadian author @michellekadarusman’s upcoming novel Music for Tigers will be a wonderful addition to classrooms and librarians and will be of interest to a wide range of readers which is one of its many strengths.
Louisa lives in Toronto but is being sent to Tasmania to spend the summer with her mother’s brother. Louisa does not want to go. She is a violinist and has an upcoming audition and going to an off the beaten path residence is not appealing at all.
Upon her arrival Louisa has to make adjustments. Her uncle is focused on a dying pig-footed bandicoot rather than her, she is isolated in the middle of the Tasmanian jungle surrounded by all kinds of creatures, noises and unwanted smells and her nearest neighbour is a mother and her son Colin, who is autistic and is a jeep ride away.
Despite all the sudden changes, it is her own family’s history of her great grandmother Eleanor and her tie to the animals ,in particular the Tasmanian Tiger that allows her to open her eyes and her heart to the rainforest. Colin also comes to stay with her uncle and takes Louisa on hikes and shares his knowledge of the animals and plants that live there and the two become friends. Louisa learns that her great grandmother too was a musician and it was her music that played a role with the Tasmanian Tiger and helped repopulate them. Louisa learns and begins to understand the deep rooted connection her uncle and family has with the animals and the land. In the same way, her grandmother’s music helped the Tasmanian Tiger, she too has the chance to use her music to possibly save a Tasmanian Tiger thought to be extinct.
Themes of animals, protecting the environment, music or playing an instrument, wonder how to make friends, autism, anxiety, fitting in, family relationships are all covered in this moving story - there is something for everyone to identify and connect with in this story. I loved how the friendship Colin and Louisa developed and how they both supported one another (especially the camera scene). As an animal lover I enjoyed learning more about unfamiliar animals and appreciated the presence of the Aboriginals and the important role they had in the story. Preorder or look for it April 28.