Tiger Magic

Tiger's Apprentice #3

by Laurence Yep

Tom has always been a reluctant apprentice. But since his grandmother's death, he's assisted the tiger Mr. Hu in guarding the magical phoenix egg. When the phoenix hatches prematurely, Tom faces his greatest challenge of all. The phoenix believes Tom is his mother, and suddenly it's Tom's turn to be a good teacher and parent, which is especially hard when your child has the power to destroy the earth.

A full-blown war has erupted between evil Lord Vatten's troops and the Alliance led by Mr. Hu. Tom and his motley crew of friends are in for the battle of their lives - and the hardest part may be keeping their allies united in the fight.

In this exciting conclusion to the Tiger's Apprentice trilogy, Laura Ingalls Wilder Award recipient and two-time Newbery Honor author Laurence Yep reveals the ultimate strength of loyalty, friendship, and family and how the true power of magic is knowing when to use it.

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

288 pages, Hardcover

First published January 1, 2006

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]

This was written long before Rick Riordan made fiction based on mythology popular. Since it came before, it doesn’t follow some of the tropes of the current stories. Instead it follows a much older one where defeat follows success. This trilogy did not hold my interest the way it probably should have. I found it had too many characters, and the description of each type of monster would break up the story so I’d lose track of just what was happening. Tom has matured a great deal through these 3 titles. That can be difficult for an author to carry off. He succeeds in his final test in this book, even with others pressuring him not to do his final decision.

Recommended for those who are more familiar with the mythology and can read without trying to visualize the various creatures involved.

[Amanda Wel]

Tiger's Apprentice #3

[Bridget · Rating 5 out of 5]

GREAT!!!!! the phoenix is SOOO cuute. good plot. AWESOME BOOK!!!!!!

[Loren · Rating 5 out of 5]

A truly epic conclusion to The Tiger's Apprentice Trilogy. I LOVED it! (even though I read it back in the 5th grade and do not really remember anything about it :)

[Gail Morris · Rating 5 out of 5]

the fighting is fierce the battles are tragic and the end is sad but sweet.