Tiger Daughter

By: Rebecca Lim

Narrated by: Siho Ellsmore

★FIVE STARRED REVIEWS★ NAMED A BEST BOOK OF THE YEAR BY KIRKUS REVIEWS, BOOKLIST AND MORE!

Equal parts heartbreaking and hopeful, Tiger Daughter is an award-winning novel about finding your voice amidst the pressures of growing up in an immigrant home told from the perspective of a remarkable young Chinese girl.

Wen Zhou is a first-generation daughter of Chinese migrant parents. She has high expectations from her parents to succeed in school, especially her father whose strict rules leave her feeling trapped. She dreams of creating a future for herself more satisfying than the one her parents expect her to lead.

Then she befriends a boy named Henry who is also a first generation immigrant. He is the smartest boy at school despite struggling with his English and understands her in a way nobody has lately. Both of them dream of escaping and together they come up with a plan to take an entrance exam for a selective school far from home.

But when tragedy strikes, it will take all of Wen’s resilience and tiger strength to get herself and Henry through the storm that follows.

Tiger Daughter is a coming-of-age novel that will grab hold of you and not let go.

Critic reviews

“What a powerful read! Heartbreaking and ultimately uplifting, Wen and Henry are characters you can't help but care deeply about. A beautiful emotional story that hits hard and deep and will leave readers thinking about it for a very long time." —Ellen Oh, author of Finding Junie Kim

★ "Tough but uplifting and, above all, heartfelt." —Kirkus Reviews, starred review

★ “Young readers will enjoy the story’s satisfying conclusion and its reminder to work hard and never forget your dreams.”—School Library Journal, starred review

★ "Empathy and kindness prevail in this novel as mother and daughter both learn it is better to risk everything to do what is important rather than take no action, turning a bleak story into one about resilience and change." —The Horn Book, starred review

★ "An eye-opening novel that covers weighty issues of abuse, grief, mental health stigma, racism, and sexism." —Publishers Weekly, starred review

★ "A middle-school must-read."—Booklist, starred review

"An immersive coming-of-age exploration that should resonate regardless of readers' backgrounds....champions empathy and kindness." —Shelf Awareness

Beautiful, strong, and full of hope

I loved the strong, female protagonist. I love the way the story addresses mental health, family, and friendship. I also loved the portrayal of the immigrant families and characters and the realness of the conflicts they face. Middle grade readers will love this book.