Hello, everyone!!!! Welcome back to my blog!!!!!! Isabelle Knight here again with a long overdue book review of Tae Keller’s amazing When You Trap a Tiger!!! So if you guys are up to date on my YouTube channel, or my blog, you will know that I recently did a mini book haul!!! Hurrayyy!!! BOOKS GALORE!!! And I got a whole lot of MG fantasy books!!! And one of them was a book I’ve been wanting to read FOREVER (seriously, it keeps popping up in my Kindle recommendations!!! All the time!!! And it’s not even on Kindle Unlimited! Which is rather sad, but hurrah, I finally got it!!!).
Well, all of them were books I’ve been wanting to read forever. XDDD But this one even more so!!!! If you guys don’t already know, When You Trap a Tiger is a middle-grade novel by Tae Keller. It’s a contemporary novel, but it’s got some amazing, wonderful, fantasy elements (like the tiger! And the stories!!! And Halmoni!!), and a lot of aspects from Korean culture!
The book follows the main character, Lily, and her family as they move in with her sick grandmother. But when they do, a magical tiger straight out of Halmoni’s Korean stories arrives and Lily discovers a secret family history – Halmoni stole something from the tigers, a long time ago. And now they really, reaaaaally want it back. Lily meets one of the tigers, who gives you a deal – return what Halmoni stole in exchange for Halmoni’s health. But you can’t really trust a tiger, and with the help of her sister, Sam, and her new friend Ricky, Lily has to find her voice and the courage to face a tiger.
This book really follows her and her family throughout their journey, and one of the reasons I absolutely love this book is because it’s a contemporary novel, so it’s set in the real world. But at the same time, it’s got all these fantasy elements, like the tiger and the family secret! And it’s all just woven perfectly together to create this immersive world that just hooks you straight in!
And I won’t ramble on any longer before I tell you this – I cried while reading this book. Yes, I cried. Because this book… Well, it’s not like the usual adventure books in MG fantasy. It’s more like a quieter one, one that follows the characters. I think this book is very character driven and you really relate to Lily and feel her pain, her joy, and what she really wants! This is the kind of story that just takes you along, and as you learn more about the characters and their journey, it just slowly, slowly makes its way into your heart until the climax – when it really shows you the truth, what it’s really trying to tell you. Then it just breaks your heart open from the inside (which is a good thing!!!).
I just absolutely ADORE this book!!! And everything in it is just so wonderful, especially the moral and what it’s really trying to tell. This book had me sobbing on page 269 and I guarantee you shall cry too. Don’t worry!!! It’s a good sign. ;D
My favorite scene is this book is undoubtedly the one on page 269, where Lily meets the tiger again and she realizes the truth, she realizes what she’s learned from all the stories, from her journey, and all that is just so so true. And a very much needed reminder in the harshness of the world today.
My favorite character… Oh my stars, I love all the characters!!! They’re just so endearing and amazing! And when I say all, I mean all. Well, almost all. Because this isn’t an adventure story, this isn’t a battle between good and evil, like my Enchantria series. It’s more of a character driven story, it’s about finding yourself and the strength to stand up and embrace the truth, which I think is just so so beautiful!!! But if I had to pick some, they would be Lily, Sam, Halmoni, the tiger. (in that order).
And yeah. I absolutely love this book, and I definitely give it five stars!!! It’s so beautiful, so true, and I think the world needs more books like this. :))) I would recommend this book to middle-graders who are 8 to 12 years old. But honestly, this book is perfect for anyone, up to the oldest person alive!!! I’d recommend this to people who needs a little reminder of how amazing the world can be, how to find hope, and to anyone who loves a beautiful, endearing, MG fantasy read!!!
So, yeah! I think that wraps up this review of When You Trap a Tiger. Thank you guys so much for coming, and I hope you enjoyed this blog post and will consider picking up this book! It’s amazing!!!! And also, don’t forget to check out my own book series, Enchantria! It’s amazing too!!! Prophecies! Portals! Magical forests! Fairies! Guardians! Quests! Danger! Evil sorceresses! It’s all in there! (sorry if that was a lot. But as Abbie Emmons says, the writer is their own biggest fan. ;D And I absolutely love my books!!! How could I not?).
Happy Chinese New Year, and I will see you again in the next post!!!! Adios for now!!!
Isabelle
P.S. Don’t forget to check out even more fantastic book reviews (eeek! Marvelous Middle Grade Monday! It’s awesome!) here! And of course, definitely don’t miss my digital book signing, where I will be giving away free, digitally signed copies of my middle-grade fantasy novel, Enchantria: Guardian’s Heir! You can sign up with the form here!
Welcome to our group, Isabelle. We’re so glad you’re here. I like fantasies that also have contemporary themes. This one sounds so good from your review. I’m looking forward to seeing what else you read.
I love nearly all fantasies! And of course, middle-grade! Middle grade fantasy is one of my favorite genres of all time! When You Trap a Tiger is definitely one of my favorites!
And thanks!! I’m really excited to do this! Hopefully I’ll have time to do this regularly!
Hi Isabelle, thrilled to see you joining MMGM! What a fantastic review, I will add this book to my TBR! Thanks for the recommendation!
Yeah, I absolutely LOVE this book!!! It’s one of my absolute favorites!!! Not sure yet if I’ll be doing MMGM regularly – most of the book reviews are on my YouTube channel. But I think I could manage both. I have a LOOOT of books I’ve read and have yet to review!
This one is on my TBR, too. I think I already have a copy of it– I just need to read it! Some of the descriptions you listed made me think of Hamra and the Jungle of Memories by Hanna Alkaf (there’s also a stolen object, a tiger, and someone’s health at risk). It’s a Malaysian spin on Little Red Riding Hood. Thanks for sharing your review!
Oh wow, that book sounds absolutely amazing! Now I have another book to add to my TBR lol. I was just reading the description on Goodreads, and eek, it sounds absolutely amazing!
I remember reading this one and really connected with the story telling within the plot. Finding your voice is so important for all young people and Lily’s journey was memorable. Your review makes me want to revisit When You Trap a Tiger again. Thanks for joining us this week on MMGM. I hope you will be back on a future Monday as time allows.
Yay! Hopefully you do! This book is amazing and is one of my favorites! And yes, I do hope to be back on a future Monday!
Thank you for joining MMGM, Isabelle and special thanks for sharing MG fantasy novel with elements of Korean culture. I will add this to my list to read.
Happy to join! I hope to be back for a future Monday, if all goes well! And you’re welcome! This has been on my TBR forever, and I think this is definitely a book that deserved the Newbery Honor Award! Korean culture (all of the legends and stuff) has really fascinated me, and it was so fun and also heartbreaking to join Lily on her journey where she really finds out who she is and what her story is, or what she wants it to be along the way!
Great review and welcome to MMGM!
Hello! Thank you for the welcome and for reading!