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When You Trap a Tiger

Tae Keller (Goodreads Author)

4.38 · Rating details · 196 ratings · 66 reviews

Some stories refuse to stay bottled up...

When Lily and her family move in with her sick grandmother, a magical tiger straight out of her halmoni's Korean folktales arrives, prompting Lily to unravel a secret family history. Long, long ago, Halmoni stole something from the tigers. Now, the tigers want it back. And when one of those tigers offers Lily a deal--return what ...more

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Hardcover, 304 pages

Published January 28th 2020 by Random House

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· 196 ratings · 66 reviews

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Mar 04, 2020 Abigail rated it it was amazing

Shelves: favorites, middle-grade, friendship-is-the-best-ship, sibling-love, rtc, contemporary, made-me-cry, 2020-march-reading

I'M NOT OKAY 😭 full review to come after I recover

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Sep 07, 2019 Lorie Barber rated it it was amazing

I was in a bit of a reading slump when this book came to me from the publisher via a member of my reading group. Ill be forever grateful that it did.

You never know what a book will truly be for you until you read it. It might give you the gift of humor. It might show you the world in a new way. Or it might help heal a part of you that is broken.

Sure, I could describe When You Trap a Tiger as MG magical realism. But when a book acts as a window and a mirror (Sims Bishop, 1990) simultaneously, ...more

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Mar 02, 2020 Alex Baugh rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, magical-realism, grandmothers-and-granddaughters, korean-americans

"Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."

It's the summer before Lily begins seventh grade, and her widowed Korean American mother suddenly decides to move her and older sister Sam from their home in California to Sunbeam, Washington, to live with their Halmoni, who is very ill. Lily claims that her one superpower is the ability to make herself invisible, or what her sister calls a QAG - quiet Asian girl, unlike Sam who is always able to fit in and get along with people. But neither girl "Long, long ago, when tiger walked like man..."

It's the summer before Lily begins seventh grade, and her widowed Korean American mother suddenly decides to move her and older sister Sam from their home in California to Sunbeam, Washington, to live with their Halmoni, who is very ill. Lily claims that her one superpower is the ability to make herself invisible, or what her sister calls a QAG - quiet Asian girl, unlike Sam who is always able to fit in and get along with people. But neither girl wants to move to Sunbeam.

Sure, Lily and Sam had always enjoyed visiting their Korean grandmother and hearing her stories. They especially like the way she would have them pretend to grab a star containing a story. Their favorite story was about a tiger and two sisters who became the sun and the moon to escape the tiger. So when Lily sees a large magical tiger sitting by the side of the road into Sunbeam, she knows she can tell her Halmoni about it.

But Halmoni's reaction when she hears about the tiger, isn't what Lily expects. She tells Lily that long ago she had stolen something from the tiger and stashed it away in some jars. Now, the tiger has come looking for what belongs to her. But what could Halmoni possibly have stolen from a magical tiger? The answer is in a story that Halmoni tells Lily one night about a lonely sky princess who whispers stories to the night. The stories become stars that light the world. But as a little girl, Halmoni didn't like some of the star stories that made her sad and thought they were dangerous. So she stole them and put them into jars. Now, the tiger wants them back.

So with the help of new friend Ricky, they build a tiger trap in the basement, using boxes that Halmoni had stacked by the basement door. One of the boxes contains jars and Lily is convinced that these are the star jars that Halmoni had used to hid the tiger's stories. Sure enough, that night the tiger is in the basement waiting for Lily. When she offers her a deal - return the stories and Halmoni would feel better - Lily is at first hesitant, but later, desperate to help her sick grandmother, she accepts it. With the release and telling of each story star, Lily begins to fill in the blank spots in Halmoni's past, sorting through and separating fact from fiction.

When You Trap a Tiger is just simply a wonderful, unputdownable story. The balance of realism and magical realism is so seamlessly done, nothing jars and even the tiger, appearing and disappearing like a Cheshire cat, becomes believable in the skilled hands of author Tae Keller. Story and characters are well-drawn and equally nuanced, playing their parts perfectly. The cast of characters is small and no character, not even Ricky, is gratuitous.

Keller addresses a number of themes in this book - loss, grief, family history, identity, and LGTBQ - but at heart is the theme of storytelling. As the tiger tells Lily, stories have the power to change someone, even if don't always end happily. The release of Halmoni's stories helps Lily discover not only who her grandmother is, but who she herself is and can be, and the lesson learned is that it is up to Lily to create her own story, making this a powerful coming-of-age tale.

At one point in the book, Halmoni tells Lily "everything a little bit magic." What a wonderful time to be a reader and be able to read magical stories like this.

This book is recommended for readers age 9+
This book was purchased for my personal library ...more

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Jan 28, 2020 Roubeeni Mohan (bookish_owl06) rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, arc, 2018-release, published-in-2020, read-in-2020, tae-keller

Disclaimer: I received this ARC from Times Reads in return for my honest review

Tackling grief, loss, family dynamics and cultural heritage, this book combines wonderfully contemporary events with folk stories or family stories and traditions handed down from one generation to the next. I really appreciated how Lily wasn't perfect and made some big mistakes, and how real the conflict between Sam and her mother appeared to be, just as the mother of the girls had substantial differences with ...more

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Sep 11, 2019 Tory rated it liked it

Shelves: middle-years, 2019

I'm just not a magical realism person. This story confused and frustrated me. There's a good heart here but it's not the book for me.

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Jan 28, 2020 Jen (Pop! Goes The Reader) rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, contemporary, favorites, realistic-fiction, fabulism, read-in-2020

Did you find this review helpful? Find more of my reviews at Pop! Goes The Reader!

I am a girl who sees invisible things, but I am not invisible.

Lily is so used to being invisible, shes convinced its her super power. Its especially difficult to speak up when her outspoken older sister, Sam, is doing enough talking for the both of them. (What Sam doesnt realize is that shes already rocking our boat. If I rock it, too, the boat will flip. Well drown.) It becomes difficult to remain quiet, however, ...more

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Feb 19, 2020 Allison Parker rated it it was amazing

Shelves: juvenile, folklore, bildungsroman

Lily feels invisible. Her older sister scoffs at her quiet nature, labeling her a QAG - quiet Asian girl. But Lily doesn't really think she has magical abilities, until she sees an enormous tiger in the road on the family's way to their beloved and eccentric Halmoni's house. The tiger, reminiscent of her grandmother's stories, appears to Lily, and only Lily, even speaking to her about her Halmoni's fate. The beast promises Lily that she will help her Halmoni, whose health is failing, but only if ...more

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Mar 06, 2020 Abby Johnson added it

This is a lyrical, magical portrait of a girl coming to accept the imminent death of her grandmother. It deals with the power of story and what it means to have a family and to be part of a family. Lily is a kind of misfit kid whos used to being invisible and when her family loves in with her grandmother she begins to make some different kind of friends in the new town.

Hand to fans of Erin Entrada Kelly. ...more

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Mar 30, 2020 Jadora R. rated it really liked it

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Jan 03, 2020 Ava Budavari rated it really liked it

Shelves: own-voices, asian-pi-voices, anticipated-2020, middle-grade

A gorgeous story about grief, ancestry, family and love, When You Trap A Tiger is a beautiful middle fade you wont want to miss. The writing is stunning and the story will touch anyone of any age deeply. Pick up your copy on January 28, 2020. ...more

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Jan 16, 2020 Jen Petro-Roy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, arc, ebook, 2020

Just beautiful.

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Feb 24, 2020 Cindy rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, contemporary, 2020

STUNNING. More to come!

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Feb 27, 2020 Rebekah Lawler rated it liked it

Shelves: middle-grade, magical-realism, listened-to-audiobook, 2020-releases, read-in-2020

3.5 stars

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Jan 13, 2020 Kari rated it really liked it

Shelves: new-release, author-of-color

I received this book as an ARC through the bookstore I work at.

As a Middle Grade book, I loved it. It's easy to read without talking down to kids. It tackles the hard stuff with hope, love, and magic. I loved the representation and how Keller included different aspects of her culture. But, mostly, it was just a really good story where our main character got to be a hero and learns about the power of stories (which I am ALWAYS on board for.) I had fun with the characters and enjoyed the whole ...more

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Mar 30, 2020 Erica rated it liked it

Shelves: middle-grades, own-voices, mystery, fantasy

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Korean American Lily, her older sister Sam, and their mom are driving out to her grandmother's house to move in with her. During the tense drive, Lily sees an enormous tiger standing in the middle of the road in the pouring rain, but they drive right through it - she knows it's a magic tiger, and it fits in with her self-image as an invisible person (not just shy like her sister says, but magic).

Her Halmoni (Korean for grandmother) is an unusual person - by appearance & by behavior if Korean American Lily, her older sister Sam, and their mom are driving out to her grandmother's house to move in with her. During the tense drive, Lily sees an enormous tiger standing in the middle of the road in the pouring rain, but they drive right through it - she knows it's a magic tiger, and it fits in with her self-image as an invisible person (not just shy like her sister says, but magic).

Her Halmoni (Korean for grandmother) is an unusual person - by appearance & by behavior if compared to the other people in her small town. Much of her peculiarity apparently is typical of traditional older Koreans - some superstitions, some traditional medicine, some unique foods, which only seem peculiar to the people in the town because they don't know many Asian people in general, and she's the only Korean person around.

Since Halmoni is very ill, and both Sam and their mother reject her "magic," folk stories, and traditional practices, Lily isn't sure who to turn to for help.

Not the local librarian, who is hostile when she enters the building, nor teenage Jensen, the library shelving clerk - who gives her a tour of the collection that in real life would be conducted by the friendly, trained librarian. By chance, she finds Ricky, a boy just her age, in the library for tutoring, whose family has a history of hunting tigers.

This story will work reasonably well for readers ages 10 to 12 who embrace books about GRIEF and OVERCOMING SHYNESS. The magical realism is captivating as a mystery - is it all in her head, or does this really happen? - and the ending is sad but also satisfying. I would recommend it to readers who enjoyed other novels about illness and family trauma.

(view spoiler) ...more

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Feb 06, 2020 Kelsey rated it it was amazing

Ever since she was a small child, Lilys Halmoni has told her stories about tigers and warned her of their duplicity. When Lilys family moves to Washington and she sees a tiger in the middle of the road, she learns that the stories her Halmoni told her are tangled with half-truths, stars, and family secrets. In an effort to save her Halmoni from her terminal illness, Lily traps the very tiger that she was warned about but will it help heal Halmoni, or will the terrible stories grow teeth?

From Ever since she was a small child, Lily’s Halmoni has told her stories about tigers and warned her of their duplicity. When Lily’s family moves to Washington and she sees a tiger in the middle of the road, she learns that the stories her Halmoni told her are tangled with half-truths, stars, and family secrets. In an effort to save her Halmoni from her terminal illness, Lily traps the very tiger that she was warned about — but will it help heal Halmoni, or will the terrible stories grow teeth?
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From the moment Lily looked out of the car window and spied a tiger in the rain, this story had my heart. It’s so much more than a novel about a girl learning to deal with the loss of her beloved grandmother — it’s a story about the blending of generations, the blending of cultures, and the blending of magic, myth, and reality. The very real and extremely raw challenges that Lily faces (moving to a new town, making new friends, dealing with a terminally ill family member, growing apart from her sister and mother) are infused with magic in a way that keeps readers questioning what is real and what is merely imagined.

One of the most obvious examples of this is that Lily repeatedly encounters and converses with a tiger, but only in the dead of night, and once after she admitted to falling asleep. It would be easy to write off the tiger as a figment of her sleep-deprived imagination, but at the end of the story, the tiger clears a path through the rain — a path which Lily’s sister, Sam, can clearly see. Of course, Halmoni can see the tiger as well, but there are several heartbreaking scenes sprinkled throughout the novel that make it clear that hallucinations are a side effect of her brain cancer. So what is real, then? What power do words, stories, and seemingly-empty jars have?

As someone who doesn’t know much about Korean folklore and spiritual practices, I was fascinated with the mythology and descriptions of ritualistic practices such as kosa and using mugwort for protection. The author’s note at the end of the novel delves further into the author’s connection to her Korean heritage, sharing how the things she wrote in earlier drafts of the novel often had some basis in reality…almost as if by magic.

As a reader, writer, and teacher, I love this book because it is a story about stories. Lily finds inner-strength, yes, but it’s clear that words have power. Strength and truth lie, in part, in being brave enough to forge our own stories. ...more

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Jan 27, 2020 Tasha rated it it was amazing

Shelves: childrens-books

Lily, her mother and sister move in with her elderly Korean grandmother. In the small town, Lily soon discovers that everyone knows and loves her grandmother, who wears glamorous clothes and tries to offer advice and help to her community. Halmoni has always been special to Lily too, sharing stories of tigers, girls and stars with her and her sister. So when they are heading to Halmonis house and Lily sees a tiger out of the car window, she knows its from her grandmothers tales and that tigers Lily, her mother and sister move in with her elderly Korean grandmother. In the small town, Lily soon discovers that everyone knows and loves her grandmother, who wears glamorous clothes and tries to offer advice and help to her community. Halmoni has always been special to Lily too, sharing stories of tigers, girls and stars with her and her sister. So when they are heading to Halmoni’s house and Lily sees a tiger out of the car window, she knows it’s from her grandmother’s tales and that tigers are tricksters. As Lily starts to understand that her grandmother is severely ill, she believes that she can help by working with the tiger to release the stories from her grandmother’s jars. The stories emerge and shine in the darkness, returning to the sky as stars and allowing Lily to hear some of the more difficult stories for the first time. Yet, Lily isn’t sure if the tiger is actually real and if the tiger is, can she be trusted to really help Halmoni?

Keller’s novel for middle grade readers explores the complexity of stories both in terms of folklore but also stories of previous generations in a family and the difficulties they faced in other countries and in traveling to the United States. The power of stories themselves is never in question here, shining through as each tale is shared. They connect, explain and inspire. But stories here are also hidden, carefully kept from others so that their pain need not be shared. This too speaks to their incredible power and the importance of them being told. So in the end, whether you believe in the tiger or not, you will believe in the stories themselves and their magic.

This novel is so beautifully written. Readers will experience it as a series of jars to be opened and released by them. The tales themselves are told in language and tones that really make them understood to be part of an oral tradition. The rest of the book, the story of Lily and her family, is layered and fascinating. All of the characters are complex and have multiple dimensions to their personalities. Lily is caught up in her own world of tiger traps and magical jars, but everyone else has their own perspectives on what is happening to Halmoni and their family.

A powerful book of stories, magic and tigers. Appropriate for ages 9-12. ...more

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Jan 11, 2020 Barbara rated it really liked it

Shelves: strong-women, animals, death, literacy, cultural-identity, families, romance, community, weather, travel

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here. Because of her Korean grandmother's illness, Lily, her older sister Sam, and her mother come to stay with her in her Sunbeam, Washington, home. Lily adores her Halmoni and the stories she tells, and she becomes convinced that making a deal with a tiger, one of the characters from those stories, will help save the ailing woman's life. After all, she has learned that her grandmother stole stories from the tigers long ago, capturing them in bottles. But as she meets with the tiger, her grandmother ...more

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Feb 10, 2020 Miz Lizzie rated it really liked it

Shelves: realistic-fiction, childrensbooks, families, death, fantasy, storytelling, folklore, animals, asian-american, elder-care

While in the car on the way to her grandmother's house, Lily sees an enormous tiger in the road. The tiger is hunting for the stories the Lily's halmoni (grandmother) stole from her. Lily, her older sister Sam, and mother are staying with Halmoni for the summer because, it turns out, Halmoni is seriously ill. Lily thinks she can save her grandmother, if only she can be brave enough to face the tiger and hear her stories. This is an interesting story of a family in crisis that draws on Korean ...more

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Sep 22, 2019 Kristin Crouch rated it it was amazing

Thank you to the author for sharing a review copy with Collabookation.
There is so much love in this story, it kept me fulfilled all the way through. Lily, her mom, and her big sister have just unexpectedly up and moved in with Halmoni (the Korean word for grandma). Lily treasures time with her Halmoni, and they bond over Korean tales. But when Lily starts seeing the tiger her Halmoni has always warned her about, she realizes that some stories can take hold of us.
This book is about lots of ...more

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Mar 26, 2020 Laura Gardner rated it it was amazing

⭐⭐⭐⭐⭐ for this gorgeous book by @tae_keller
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Lily, her sister, and her mother have moved in with her sick Korean American grandmother, her Halmoni. Lily feels lost -- shes shy and quiet in normal circumstances, but now with her beloved grandmother sick she feels especially unmoored. When Lily encounters a magical tiger, she makes a deal -- she will return the stories her grandmother stole in exchange for healing her grandmother. Lily is assisted in her task by a new friend, Ricky, as well as ...more

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Mar 27, 2020 Liz Friend rated it liked it

Shelves: fantasy, contemporary-fiction

The story: Without warning, Lily and Sam's mother moves them to Oregon to live with Halmoni, their Korean grandmother. Sam is angry, but Lily is astonished--and frigthened--to see an enormous tiger blocking the car on their way into town. As she has more encounters with the tiger, Lily comes to realize that it is far more than a dangerous predator...it is a mythical creature, which possibly has the power to heal her grandmother--as long as Lily will listen to its stories. Little does Lily ...more

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Jul 13, 2019 Cassie Thomas rated it it was amazing

Why does hope always come at a price?

Lily, her mom, and sister move in with her sick halmoni (grandmother) without fully understanding the meaning behind why they had to pack up and leave their lives. When a tiger starts appearing to Lily, she suddenly realizes there is a lot more to her Halmoni and her illness that what she truly understood. The tiger offers Lily a deal, one of which promises to heal her Halmoni - but Lily has grown up hearing her Halmonis stories of how not to believe the ...more

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Mar 23, 2020 Alenka rated it really liked it

Shelves: middle-grade, queer, fairy-tale-folk-tale, grief-loss, immigration

This review has been hidden because it contains spoilers. To view it, click here.

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Aug 04, 2019 Katie Reilley rated it it was amazing

Thank you to the author & publisher for sharing an ARC with our #bookexpedition group!

Lily and her mother and sister are leaving their California home behind to move in with her sick grandmother (Halmoni) in the state of Washington. After years of listening to warning stories about tigers, a magical tiger just like the ones from her Halmonis Korean folktales arrives and offers Lily a deal that may help her grandmother. But Lily knows that tigers cant be trusted and has a difficult choice to ...more

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Feb 26, 2020 Josephine rated it liked it · review of another edition

Shelves: newbery-2021

Halmoni is Korean and when she lived in Korea she stole painful stories from under the noses of magical guardian tigers and hid them away in star-jars so she wouldn't have to hear them. Now, it is present-day Washington and Halmoni is sick with cancer. Lily is her granddaughter who is out to trap the tiger and make a deal with the magical tiger who's stalking her family. If Lily can find and open the jars, freeing the stories, then the tiger will heal her Halmoni. The only way to free the ...more

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Mar 04, 2020 Aileen (Allie) Barton rated it really liked it

Title: When You Trap a Tiger
Summary: While 7th grader Lily, her older sister, Sam, and their widowed mom are moving to take care of their sick Halmoni, Lily sees a tiger. Fearful of what this means, she tell her Halmoni. Her Halmoni explains that she stole stories from this tiger and the tiger has come to take the stories back. Through magical realism, the author tells a story that proves that stories belong to no one and sometimes it is through stories we process trauma and pain.
Literary ...more

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Mar 08, 2020 LS Johnson rated it it was amazing

Shelves: want-to-read-2020

Magical Realism.....hmmmm....not usually my favorite. But in this book, its the vehicle to deliver a message about the worth of families, the ability to deal with deep grief, the amazing strength of women and the value of heritage. This is jumping to the top of my 2020 favorites list. Some favorite quotes from the book: When you believe, that is you being brave. Sometime, believing is the bravest thing of all. And also: Everybody have good and bad in them. But sometimes they so focused on sad, ...more

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Feb 08, 2020 Sylvia rated it it was amazing

Shelves: middle-grade, contemporary-fantasy

When You Trap a Tiger is a magical story about the power of stories and how they can shape a person, and about the family history, strong Korean women (grandmothers, mothers, sisters), and unexpected friendships. When Lily and her mom and sister move back in with her Korean grandmother (halmoni), she runs into a tiger from her halmoni's tales. Before long, Lily finds herself making a deal with the tiger in an effort to save her grandmother and finding herself in the process. This books is so ...more

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Mar 20, 2020 Brittany rated it it was amazing

Shelves: fantasy, lis-672, folklore

I loved this so much; the writing is fun, touching, and full of unique imagery. When You Trap a Tiger is a beautiful magical realism story surrounding Korean folklore exploring several themes. Sisterhood. How remembering the good and bad, and embracing the different aspects of ourselves, help us define who we want to be in the present. That we all have a story worth telling. We all have our own special superpower. And that "Sometimes, believing is the bravest thing of all." I also didn't expect ...more

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About Tae Keller

Tae Keller

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TAE KELLER grew up in Honolulu, where she wrote stories, ate Spam musubis, and participated in her schools egg drop competition. (She did not win.) After graduating from Bryn Mawr College, she moved to New York City to work in publishing, and she now has a very stubborn Yorkie and a multitude of books as roommates.

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