mlinder18's profile picture

mlinder18 's review for:

When You Trap a Tiger by Tae Keller
5.0
adventurous emotional funny hopeful inspiring sad fast-paced
Plot or Character Driven: Character
Strong character development: Yes
Loveable characters: Yes
Diverse cast of characters: Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus: No

An absolutely beautiful story about family, generational trauma, sisterhood and loss. Although this is a "middle grade" book I still found it impactful and we'll written. 

This story follows a young girl whose family moves from California to the east coast to live with their grandma or Halmoni. Halmoni is ill and the young girl does everything she can to keep her alive and well, which means talking to a magical tiger.

The magical realism was done so well. Nothing was so over the top and it was alluded to that the magic was really just inside her head the whole time. 

My favorite thing about this book was the emphasis on how important stories are. They hold so much weight and can change ones perspective. Also, stories and their meanings can change as you change and grow.