Growing Up & Facts of Life
![Tae Keller - [object Object] author](https://res.cloudinary.com/readsomnia/image/upload/authors/a_a_tae_keller.jpg)
When You Trap a Tiger: (Winner of the 2021 Newbery Medal)
WINNER OF THE NEWBERY MEDAL • NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • WINNER OF THE ASIAN/PACIFIC AMERICAN AWARD FOR CHILDREN'S LITERATURE
Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother.
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal-return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health-Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice . . . and the courage to face a tiger.
Would you make a deal with a magical tiger? This uplifting story brings Korean folklore to life as a girl goes on a quest to unlock the power of stories and save her grandmother.
When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now they want it back. And when one of the tigers approaches Lily with a deal-return what her grandmother stole in exchange for Halmoni's health-Lily is tempted to agree. But deals with tigers are never what they seem! With the help of her sister and her new friend Ricky, Lily must find her voice . . . and the courage to face a tiger.
Editorial Reviews
Winner of the Boston Globe Horn Book Honor Award for Fiction and Poetry
"Roars to life with just a touch of magic." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"A heartfelt reminder of the wonder and beauty in our everyday lives." -Booklist, starred review
"Deeply moving... vulnerable and mythic storytelling in the vein of Erin Entrada Kelly and Kacen Callender." -School Library Journal, starred review
"Keller's (The Science of Breakable Things) #OwnVoices journey through Korean mythology begins with a fantastical quest and slowly transforms into a tale about letting go and the immortality that story can allow." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
"It's a complex, satisfying story, one that foregrounds family and healing alongside a love for Korean folklore." -The Bulletin, starred review
"This beautiful book reminds us that, even in a world filled with stolen stars, crafty tigers, and family secrets that spring from folklore, the most powerful magic of storytelling is the story we decide to tell about ourselves." -Kat Yeh, author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie
"An intoxicating mix of folktale, fantasy, friendship and love (and tigers!). Through a series of challenges--and also a lot of laughter--Lily (a.k.a. Lily Bean, Eggi, Little Egg) finds out what she is made of. She is a character who'll stay with me--and whom I already miss!" -Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Finding My Voice and Somebody's Daughter
"An ambitious and bewitching brew of Korean folklore, magical realism, and classic coming-of-age story,&n...
"Roars to life with just a touch of magic." -Kirkus Reviews, starred review
"A heartfelt reminder of the wonder and beauty in our everyday lives." -Booklist, starred review
"Deeply moving... vulnerable and mythic storytelling in the vein of Erin Entrada Kelly and Kacen Callender." -School Library Journal, starred review
"Keller's (The Science of Breakable Things) #OwnVoices journey through Korean mythology begins with a fantastical quest and slowly transforms into a tale about letting go and the immortality that story can allow." -Publishers Weekly, starred review
"It's a complex, satisfying story, one that foregrounds family and healing alongside a love for Korean folklore." -The Bulletin, starred review
"This beautiful book reminds us that, even in a world filled with stolen stars, crafty tigers, and family secrets that spring from folklore, the most powerful magic of storytelling is the story we decide to tell about ourselves." -Kat Yeh, author of The Truth About Twinkie Pie
"An intoxicating mix of folktale, fantasy, friendship and love (and tigers!). Through a series of challenges--and also a lot of laughter--Lily (a.k.a. Lily Bean, Eggi, Little Egg) finds out what she is made of. She is a character who'll stay with me--and whom I already miss!" -Marie Myung-Ok Lee, author of Finding My Voice and Somebody's Daughter
"An ambitious and bewitching brew of Korean folklore, magical realism, and classic coming-of-age story,&n...
Readers Top Reviews
Kimberly Rae Hans
I'm always a fan for a good Newberry Award read, and this doesn't disappoint. Lily is an eight year old Korean-American child who's family recently and suddenly moves away from California to be near her halmoni (grandmother) in Washington. Lily's Halmony lives in an old house on the hill. The townsfolk call her a witch, but in reality, halmony is a healer, creating concoctions to help the community. She is well loved for her eccentricity and her stories. Including stories of tigers. She warns Lily how Tigers cannot be trusted. Except halmony stole stories from the Tigers. And the tigers want them back. Halmony is sick, and the tiger claims it can help heal her in exchange for the tales...Lily must be brave. But how do you trap a magical tiger? How do you save your family? Lily may be young, but she faces adult circumstances -- courage in the face of uncertainty, perseverance in the midst of despair, and leaning on personal and cultural integrity in the midst of loss and grief. I loved this book. Rich in character development, relevant to many life experiences, excellent themes and clever story, it's one I could see reading again and again. I also want to explore Korean folk-tales now too. <3
c kelleyJennifer
Bought two of these for grandson and granddaughter. They both loved it. Granddaughter wouldn't put it down till it was finished. Both are voracious readers.
Jennifer C.c kell
How many times did I come close to tears while listening to this book? Let me count... 1, 2, 3, ..... 37, 38, ... Okay, I can't actually put a specific number on it, but it was a lot. There was so much going on in this novel that started out as a simple story with a tiger spirit. The feelings that Lily was dealing with, both before and after she found out her grandmother was sick, and the tension that was always there between her and Sam were so realistic that I found myself tearing up or having a catch in my throat so many times. The feelings that are evoked by Lily's simple desire to make her grandmother better, and how she deals with what happens as she tries to achieve her goal, were beautifully written. Then, to intersperse all of that with the stories that we got to hear, both from the grandmother and the tiger, were beautiful. Because I have seen so many other reviews complain about this, I want to address the information that comes up about Sam at the end. <spoiler>Yes, it is revealed that she is lesbian. No, it was not just "thrown in there" or "included to be politically correct." A person's sexuality doesn't have to be plot-relevant to be included. LGBTQ+ people exist, everywhere. Let them exist. And, for those who are grabbing their pearls over a MG book having a lesbian in it, children of all ages have siblings who identify as LGBTQ+; why should they not be represented in the literature, too? Sam is a teenager, so it is perfectly normal that she would be discovering who she is - and that includes her sexual identity!</spoiler> For this book, I listened to the audiobook, which was narrated by Greta Jung. I thought she did a wonderful job, and I really appreciated hearing someone pronounce the Korean words so that, when I pick up the book to read again, I will know how they are pronounced.
Happy GrandmaJenn
My nine year old grand nephew loved this book and started reading it right away. Made a nice birthday present.
Short Excerpt Teaser
1
I can turn invisible.
It's a superpower, or at least a secret power. But it's not like in the movies, and I'm not a superhero, so don't start thinking that. Heroes are the stars who save the day. I just-disappear.
See, I didn't know, at first, that I had this magic. I just knew that teachers forgot my name, and kids didn't ask me to play, and one time, at the end of fourth grade, a boy in my class frowned at me and said, Where did you come from? I don't think I've ever seen you before.
I used to hate being invisible. But now I understand: it's because I'm magic.
My older sister, Sam, says it's not a real supersecret power-it's just called being shy. But Sam can be rude.
And the truth is, my power can come in handy. Like when Mom and Sam fight. Like right now.
I wrap myself in invisibility and rest my forehead against the back-seat window, watching raindrops slide down the side of our old station wagon.
"You should stop the car," Sam says to Mom.
Except Sam actually says this to her phone, because she doesn't look up. She's sitting in the passenger seat with her feet slammed against the glove compartment, knees smashed into her chest, her whole body curled around her glowing screen.
Mom sighs. "Oh, please, we don't need to stop. It's just a little rain." But she ticks the windshield wipers up a notch and taps the brakes until we're going slug-slow.
The rain started as soon as we entered Washington State, and it only gets worse as our car inches past the hand-painted welcome to sunbeam! sign.
Welcome to Halmoni's town, a town of nonstop rain, its name like an inside joke.
Sam smacks her black-painted lips. "K."
That's all. Just one letter.
She tap-taps her screen, sending bubbles of words and emojis to all her friends back home.
I wonder what she's saying in those messages. Sometimes, when I let myself, I imagine she's writing to me.
"Sam, can you at least try to have a good attitude about this?" Mom shoves her glasses up on her nose with too much force, like her glasses just insulted her and it's personal.
"How can you even ask me that?" Sam looks up from her phone-finally-so she can glare at Mom.
This is how it always starts. Their fights are loud and explosive. They burn each other up.
It's safer to keep quiet. I press my fingertip against the rain-splattered window and draw a line between the drops, like I'm connecting the dots. My eyelids go heavy. I'm so used to the fighting that it's practically a lullaby.
"But, like, you realize that you're basically the worst, right? Like, this is actually not okay-"
"Sam." Mom is all edges-shoulders stiff, every muscle tensed.
I hold my breath and think invisibleinvisibleinvisible.
"No, seriously," Sam continues. "Just because you randomly decided that you want to see Halmoni more, that doesn't mean we want to uproot our entire lives. I had plans this summer-not that you care. You didn't even give us fair warning."
Sam's not wrong. Mom told us only two weeks ago that we were leaving California for good. And I'll miss it, too. I'm going to miss my school, and the sunshine, and the sandy beach-so different from the rocky coast at Sunbeam.
I'm just trying not to think about that.
"I thought you should spend more time with your grandmother. I thought you enjoyed that." Mom's tone is clipped. The rain has gotten heavier, and it sucks up her focus. Her fingers white-knuckle the steering wheel. None of us like the idea of driving in this weather, not after Dad died.
I concentrate on the steering wheel and squint a little, sending safety vibes with my mind, like Halmoni taught me.
"Way to deflect," Sam says, tugging at the single streak of white in her black hair. She's still angry, but deflated a little. "I do enjoy spending time with Halmoni. Just not here. I don't want to be here."
Halmoni's always visited us in California. We haven't been in Sunbeam since I was seven.
I gaze out ...
I can turn invisible.
It's a superpower, or at least a secret power. But it's not like in the movies, and I'm not a superhero, so don't start thinking that. Heroes are the stars who save the day. I just-disappear.
See, I didn't know, at first, that I had this magic. I just knew that teachers forgot my name, and kids didn't ask me to play, and one time, at the end of fourth grade, a boy in my class frowned at me and said, Where did you come from? I don't think I've ever seen you before.
I used to hate being invisible. But now I understand: it's because I'm magic.
My older sister, Sam, says it's not a real supersecret power-it's just called being shy. But Sam can be rude.
And the truth is, my power can come in handy. Like when Mom and Sam fight. Like right now.
I wrap myself in invisibility and rest my forehead against the back-seat window, watching raindrops slide down the side of our old station wagon.
"You should stop the car," Sam says to Mom.
Except Sam actually says this to her phone, because she doesn't look up. She's sitting in the passenger seat with her feet slammed against the glove compartment, knees smashed into her chest, her whole body curled around her glowing screen.
Mom sighs. "Oh, please, we don't need to stop. It's just a little rain." But she ticks the windshield wipers up a notch and taps the brakes until we're going slug-slow.
The rain started as soon as we entered Washington State, and it only gets worse as our car inches past the hand-painted welcome to sunbeam! sign.
Welcome to Halmoni's town, a town of nonstop rain, its name like an inside joke.
Sam smacks her black-painted lips. "K."
That's all. Just one letter.
She tap-taps her screen, sending bubbles of words and emojis to all her friends back home.
I wonder what she's saying in those messages. Sometimes, when I let myself, I imagine she's writing to me.
"Sam, can you at least try to have a good attitude about this?" Mom shoves her glasses up on her nose with too much force, like her glasses just insulted her and it's personal.
"How can you even ask me that?" Sam looks up from her phone-finally-so she can glare at Mom.
This is how it always starts. Their fights are loud and explosive. They burn each other up.
It's safer to keep quiet. I press my fingertip against the rain-splattered window and draw a line between the drops, like I'm connecting the dots. My eyelids go heavy. I'm so used to the fighting that it's practically a lullaby.
"But, like, you realize that you're basically the worst, right? Like, this is actually not okay-"
"Sam." Mom is all edges-shoulders stiff, every muscle tensed.
I hold my breath and think invisibleinvisibleinvisible.
"No, seriously," Sam continues. "Just because you randomly decided that you want to see Halmoni more, that doesn't mean we want to uproot our entire lives. I had plans this summer-not that you care. You didn't even give us fair warning."
Sam's not wrong. Mom told us only two weeks ago that we were leaving California for good. And I'll miss it, too. I'm going to miss my school, and the sunshine, and the sandy beach-so different from the rocky coast at Sunbeam.
I'm just trying not to think about that.
"I thought you should spend more time with your grandmother. I thought you enjoyed that." Mom's tone is clipped. The rain has gotten heavier, and it sucks up her focus. Her fingers white-knuckle the steering wheel. None of us like the idea of driving in this weather, not after Dad died.
I concentrate on the steering wheel and squint a little, sending safety vibes with my mind, like Halmoni taught me.
"Way to deflect," Sam says, tugging at the single streak of white in her black hair. She's still angry, but deflated a little. "I do enjoy spending time with Halmoni. Just not here. I don't want to be here."
Halmoni's always visited us in California. We haven't been in Sunbeam since I was seven.
I gaze out ...
