Tiger's Blood: The Tiger's Apprentice, Book Two

Tiger's Apprentice #2

by Laurence Yep

Tom hadn't wanted the apprenticeship . . . but having accepted, he at least had to try to be worthy . . . Powerful magic saves Tom's life but weakens the Guardian of the phoenix egg, the tiger Mr. Hu. The egg can bring peace to the world -- or its destruction. Only the tiger's apprentice, Tom, can now keep the egg safe. But Tom is just a beginner at magic and is more likely to make a mistake than save the world. So Tom, Mr. Hu, and their motley crew of friends flee to the underwater dragon kingdom with the egg. They soon discover that nothing is as it seems and an unstoppable evil is advancing. When the egg is stolen, Tom and his friends must risk everything to recover it. In this second book of The Tiger's Apprentice trilogy, two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep returns to the magical world hidden within our own, where good and evil battle for control and the test of a friendship can decide the fate of both worlds.

Genres: Fantasy, Fiction, Adventure, Asian American, Magic

240 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2004

About the author

Born June 14, 1948 in San Francisco, California, Yep was the son of Thomas Gim Yep and Franche Lee Yep. Franche Lee, her family's youngest child, was born in Ohio and raised in West Virginia where her family owned a Chinese laundry. Yep's father, Thomas, was born in China and came to America at the age of ten where he lived, not in Chinatown, but with an Irish friend in a white neighborhood. After troubling times during the Depression, he was able to open a grocery store in an African-American neighborhood. Growing up in San Francisco, Yep felt alienated. He was in his own words his neighborhood's "all-purpose Asian" and did not feel he had a culture of his own. Joanne Ryder, a children's book author, and Yep met and became friends during college while she was his editor. They later married and now live in San Francisco.

Although not living in Chinatown, Yep commuted to a parochial bilingual school there. Other students at the school, according to Yep, labeled him a "dumbbell Chinese" because he spoke only English. During high school he faced the white American culture for the first time. However, it was while attending high school that he started writing for a science fiction magazine, being paid one cent a word for his efforts. After two years at Marquette University, Yep transferred to the University of California at Santa Cruz where he graduated in 1970 with a B.A. He continued on to earn a Ph.D. in English from the State University of New York at Buffalo in 1975. Today as well as writing, he has taught writing and Asian American Studies at the University of California, Berkeley and Santa Barbara.

Reviews

[Joan · Rating 3 out of 5]

Thomas has to take on more responsibility with his master Mr. Hu asleep, recovering from injury. Or does he? Very good till I discovered it was a cliff hanger, which I hate! On to the last book, if the library has it!

[Katy Lovejoy · Rating 4 out of 5]

Not quite as good as the first one, but I love how this series keeps you guessing on who's truly evil until the very end

[Hannah Crossett · Rating 5 out of 5]

Excellent sequel to a thoroughly engrossing mythology-based YA fantasy series!

[Ceridwyn · Rating 3 out of 5]

I like the characters in this series, and I like the Chinese mythology that is brought to life. However, characters get forgotten, I feel, until they are needed for a plot point. The underwater world was fun to explore.

[Amanda Wel]

Tiger's Apprentice #2

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

EXCELLENT!!! Truly a thought provoker. LOVED LOVED LOVED IT!

[Angela Barakat]

I read this with my son.

[Gail Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

this book was just as good as the first book in the series