When You Trap A Tiger

Halmoni always makes Lily feel so special.  She allows Lily to help in the kitchen and shares her stories with the child.  But when Lily, her sister, and mother all move back in with Halmoni, something feels off.  It doesn’t help that a strange tiger only Lily could see appeared in the middle of the road during the drive.  When the tiger keeps showing up in new places, taunting Lily with a way to help her Halmoni get better, Lily is left with one question: how to trap a tiger?

Tae Keller’s When You Trap A Tiger is a lesson in bringing folklore to a modern audience.  Keller’s own Halmoni shared Korean folklore about magic tigers with her as a child and you can tell how deeply connected the author is with these characters.  The novel is crafted in a way that allows the reader’s modern world of libraries and bake sales and sick grandparents to collide with stories passed down through many generations of Korean culture.

I give When You Trap A Tiger 5 out of 5 stars.  I was surprised at how quickly invested I became in Lily’s story and the wellbeing of her Halmoni.  I found no fault in the writing or story craft, and truly enjoyed this book so much I went in search of similar writing that would include Korean folklore as well.  Keller was awarded a Newberry Award for this work in 2021 and I am in complete agreement with the panel!

I would recommend this book to readers of all ages, especially readers looking to connect with their Korean heritage.  I have enjoyed reading several works in 2023 that exposed me to other cultures – this is a great read for anyone because of this, too.  I also think this book would be a great choice for a book club as well – there could be some great discussions around how the characters handle the adversity they face.  Parents, please note that this book does discuss illness and death and, therefore, may need some context and explanation for younger readers.

I chose When You Trap A Tiger for the Booklist Queen reading prompt “a Newberry Award winner”.  This book was the talk of many book clubs and “best of” lists in 2022, but I hadn’t read it yet.  I have really enjoyed reading books about various other cultures in 2023 and this was no exception.  I chose the audiobook version of this one, but I am confident my rating would hold for the physical copy as well.  This month has seen several 5 star books, but this one might just be my favorite!

This post contains affiliate links.

What I’m Reading

• Current print book: Born a Crime, Trevor Noah
• Current audio book: The Personal Librarian, Marie Benedict and Victoria Christopher Murray
• Book I’m most looking forward to: Spare, Prince Harry The Duke of Sussex