When You Trap a Tiger: (Newbery Medal Winner)

This is a young adult book, so none of the bad language and other adult stuff. It is powerfully written, gripping story of three generations of Korean women in America and their gradual understanding of their relationships. I have not cried for years after reading a book, but this book touched my soul.

Absolutely loved this book. Easy read and entertaining from the start. The essence of family and personal strength makes it a great story to read with a child

This author is amazing. We ran right out and got more of her books. Everyone will find something to relate to in this story. Adults should read this too.

Lily and her family had to leave California to stay with their grandmother (or halmoni) who is getting sick in her old age. For years she entertained the girl and her sister with tales from Korea about magical tigers and loving sisters. However, their grandmother's condition worsens and Lily is surprised when she's confronted by a magical tiger who wants her to return something. How will Lily be able to help her family and escape the tiger?It didn't take me long to become engrossed in this book. The story and characters just grab you in a way that makes you want to keep going with it. Lily is someone who grabs your sympathy because she has to deal with a multitude of problems internal and external, and you do feel sorry for her. Her grandmother/halmoni is also a fun person to follow, with her knowledge on traditional Korean customs and eccentric habits. Everyone was well thought out and well written, so good job to Tae Keller.I also love how the mystical elements are woven in to the narrative without overpowering Lily's struggles. It was fun to see tigers being represented as more supernatural entities instead of just mundane animals you'd see at the zoo. I also love the use of folk tales as an element of the story, connecting our heroes to their heritage as well as their present. I would recommend this book to people looking for a fun fantasy that also contains a passion for one's heritage.There are some things to be aware of. One of the conditions of the characters reflects a real-world challenge that may be hard for some readers who have experienced it. There is a gay couple in the story for those who don't like such relationships. There is a use of some stereotypes (like a super-rich white kid), but it doesn't define who the character is.Parents and teachers can use this story to illustrate to kids the magic of looking to the homelands of their ancestors and learning about their customs and traditions. This story can also be used as an object lesson to illustrate the importance of loving our family and helping them when they need our help. An activity that parents and teachers can also associate with this book is to inspire children to research some old folk tales from the lands of their ancestors, and try to write stories inspired by those tales.

I love this story that mixes magic with the realities of real life . Most stories let magic fix what is wrong in the world, but here the magic collides with the truth for an ending the reader can believe could actually happen. This story and another "My Brother's Keeper" have characters with Korean ancestors. The customs and beliefs they live by provide insight into a culture we rarely get to glimpse. The stories take place nearly 75 years apart, but the characters in both must look inward to face their worst fears and find the courage to risk their lives for people they love. For anyone who has ever felt she isn't enough to be recognized or loved, by her parents, siblings, or community, it takes real strength to persevere when you might be wrong, and if so, even more strength to admit and learn from it if you are wrong. In this book Lily discovers that , and also that no one can fix everything, even a with magic. In the end she knows the best magic is what is inside her heart, and she will always be brave enough to face the tiger inside her.

Easy read, beautiful story!

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.

My three daughters and I read this book every night. I lost my mom to breast cancer almost 5 years ago (her anniversary was a week before we finished the book) We all cried. We also laughed. We all loved this sweet story about family love. It was very reminiscent of our story with my mother and my girl`s grandmother (Halmoni). We did skip a part at the end, if I have to be honest, due to the fact that I choose to raise and expose my children to lifestyles on my terms. But, overall a very well written book.

I like the realistic way that this book addresses the way cultural values create dilemmas for children who are second generation.

Bel libro con un tocco di fantastico, dedicato ai ragazzi. Utile per le tematiche affrontate, che sono appunto l'elaborazione del lutto e la ricerca delle proprie radici.

This book felt like it was trying too hard, the characters, plot and solution felt off and too vague. The dialogs felt too adult for the young characters but at the same time their attitude and actions were too childish.I didn't like the imagined tiger scenes. I felt they created a promise they never delivered on.All in all I didn't enjoy this read and didn't feel it was told in a way that will make it interesting or enjoyable for the targeted age group.I'm afraid this book received an award mostly because of the Korean background of the characters, but that in itself wasn't enough to make it the great read I hoped for.

A beautiful story about the trials and tribulations of family.

Good