The novel When You Trap a Tiger, written by the author Tae Keller in 2020, tells a very emotional story about a girl named Lily discovering her inner self to find a way to help her sick grandmother. The story is set in the town of Sunbeam, Washington, it follows a young named Lily, who moved from California to Sunbeam, Washington to live with her grandmother, who always had a sense of magic and mystery around her.

At the beginning of the book, Lily starts off as a QAG (Quiet Asian Girl), she is a quiet little 8 year old, who can turn invisible when she wants to. One day, Lily, her sister Sam, and her mother move from the sunny state of California to the rainy town of Sunbeam. They are going to live with their Halmoni, (the Korean word for grandmother). On the drive to Sunbeam, rain is pouring down, and that is when Lily sees a tiger in the middle of the road, looking directly at her. She asked her mom to stop but neither her sister nor her mom seems to be able to see the tiger. Later Lily finds out that her Halmoni is sick, then the tiger came again and said that it will be able to cure Lily’s Halmoni’s sickness, but under one condition, for Lily to give back something that her Halmoni stole. But to make matters worse, her Halmoni demands that Lily stay away from the tiger no matter what, even though that might be the only solution to save her Halmoni

At a first glance, the book is like a really simple children’s book, about a caring granddaughter trying to save her grandmother, but if you look closely enough, it actually has a deep and emotional meaning to it. Lily starts off as the QAG, but due to her grandmother’s sickness, she stops wanting to be invisible and releases the tiger inside of her so that she could stand up for her family. There are times where it seems impossible, but Lily keeps going and pushing forward, not once giving up on her goal.

When You Trap a Tiger will win the hearts of readers of all ages, it blends together the concept of magic and troubles in real life. The troubles and pain that Lily went through, will leave you sorrowful, but the courage she had, the unrelenting effort she put into saving her grandmother, will leave you heartwarmed at the same time. It mixes all the feelings of sadness, happiness, and courage, in order to create this emotional masterpiece.