When You Trap a Tiger

Lily, a girl of Korean heritage on her mother’s side, recently finished sixth grade. She is moving from a beach town in California to Sunbeam, Washington. Lily, her older sister Sam, and their mother plan to live with the girls’ grandmother, Halmoni. The story opens with Mom driving through a terrible rainstorm as they approach Halmoni’s house. Lily sits silently in the back, reflecting on being “invisible” (shy, quiet, and forgettable) as Mom and Sam bicker. Sam clearly does not want to move to Washington; she texts her friends continuously and tells Mom, “Just because you randomly decided that you want to see Halmoni more, that doesn’t mean we want to uproot our entire lives” (3).

Suddenly, Lily sees a tiger lying in the road, one as large as their car as if it “belongs in one of Halmoni’s stories” (6). Lily doesn’t understand why Mom and Sam can’t see the tiger. She tries to get her mother’s attention but fails. The tiger gets to its feet and looks directly at Lily through the windshield before walking off. Afraid that the car will hit the tiger, Lily shuts her eyes—but as they drive past, the creature is nowhere to be seen.