Tiger Rising - Softcover

Kate DiCamillo

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1406357634 ISBN 13: 9781406357639

Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd, 2014

Synopsis

The story of a boy who discovers that some things can’t stay locked up for ever.

It''s six months since Rob''s mum died and he moved to Florida. His dad won''t talk about her at all. "Crying ain''t going to bring her back," he says. So Rob fills a suitcase in his mind with all his forbidden thoughts – the rash on his legs, the bullies at school – and keeps it tight shut. But when he finds a caged tiger deep in the woods, his whole life begins to change. That same day he meets Sistine Bailey, another outsider who''s bullied at school. She says they must set the tiger free – and when Rob imagines the tiger rising out of its cage, his suitcase begins to open...

About this title

Review

Kate DiCamillo's first novel Because of Winn-Dixie won a Newbery Honor in 2000 for the no-nonsense charm and wisdom of its down-home young heroine, Opal. Also set in Florida, The Tiger Rising is more of a short story in scope, the tale of 12-year-old Rob Horton who finds a caged tiger in the woods behind the Kentucky Star Motel where he lives with his dad. The tiger is so incongruous in this setting, Rob views the apparition as some sort of magic trick. Indeed, the tiger triggers all sorts of magic in Rob's life--for one thing, it takes his mind off his recently deceased mother and the itchy red blisters on his legs that the wise motel housekeeper, Willie May, says is a manifestation of the sadness that Rob keeps "down low."

Something else for Rob to think about is Sistine (as in the chapel), a new city girl with fierce black eyes who challenges him to be honest with her and himself. Spurred by the tiger, events collide to break Rob out of his silent introspection, to form a new friendship with Sistine, a new understanding with his father, and most important, to lighten his heart. This novel is about cages--the consequences of escape as well as imprisonment. The story and symbolism are clear as a bell, and the emotions ring true. (Ages 9 and older) --Karin Snelson

From the Back Cover

Walking through the misty Florida woods one morning, twelve-year-old Rob Horton is stunned to find a tiger -- a real-life, very large tiger -- locked in a cage. What's more, on the same extraordinary day, he meets Sistine Bailey, a girl who shows her feelings as readily as Rob hides his. As they learn to trust each other and, ultimately, to be friends, Rob and Sistine prove that some things -- like memories, and heartache, and tigers -- can't be locked up forever.

Edition details

• Publisher: Penguin Books Ltd
• Publication date: 2014
• Language: English
• ISBN 10: 1406357634
• ISBN 13: 9781406357639
• Binding: Paperback
• Number of pages: 144