Tears of a Tiger

Tears of a Tiger by Sharon Draper

Every once in a while, I get the next book on my list only to discover it is a sequel. My personality doesn’t allow me to skip the first (second, third…) book. No, I feel it is necessary to go back. My next book doubles, or, in this case, triples. I ordered a new edition of Tears of a Tiger and the cover states, “The first book in the powerful Hazelwood High Trilogy.”

Now the nice thing about this book is that it is a very quick read - two evenings. I’m guessing that the sequels will be equally relaxed in readability. I would say that the prime target for this trilogy is reluctant high school readers and more specifically, African American teens. The sequel is a Coretta Scott King Award winner.

While the actual reading of the book is painless, topics covered cause unrest and discomfort. The book begins with a fatal car crash caused by drunk driving, and the book ends with a suicide born out of guilt and depression. Some books will use such subject matter clearly for sensationalism. That is not the case here. It can be read as a moral warning. This edition includes a Reader’s Guide of discussion topics as well as activities and suggestions for research.

Sharon Draper is a skilled storyteller and therefore, this novel is so much more than a moral warning. Ms. Draper has chosen to tell the story through multiple high school friends so that we see a bigger picture of what is going on. We can see how everyone was affected by the unexpected death of a friend, from a would-be girlfriend to his best friend. And then, that best friend, Andy, takes center stage. And we watch his downward spiral after the accident from multiple viewpoints including his own.

It’s not easy to “watch”. The omniscient reader squirms as mistakes are made and opportunities are missed. The reader is not surprised by the suicide. Everyone else is.

I see this book as a useful instrument for all those who are involved with teenagers. It can be used as both a preventative tool as well as a tool for healing in the aftermath.

So what we have here are four close friends, three of which are on the basketball team, two of which are stars of the team and one who is the captain. They decide to celebrate their victory after a game and there is beer in the trunk chilling. They enjoy a pleasure drive down the highway and they are really enjoying themselves. They’re just having fun and trying to freak out the other drivers. They seem to be succeeding as proved by all the honking. But then Andy, the driver, loses control and drives into a retaining wall. Three of the four manage to get out, but the fourth, Rob, the captain, is stuck – his legs through the window. Rob is coherent and screaming for help, but the car explodes into flames. Andy can still hear Rob screaming his name.

The judge won’t punish Andy enough. The charge of vehicular homicide is dropped. His parents, teachers, friends don’t blame Andy enough. They try to support him and the coach even makes him captain. Rob’s parents don’t hate Andy enough. Andy knows he deserves everyone’s anger and scorn, but instead they either want to help him mourn OR help him move on. Andy’s chooses to heap the guilt upon himself and drown in it. Meanwhile he attempts to convince everyone that he is okay and is handling the situation fine on his own. He succeeds in deceiving everyone. Unfortunately, if anyone had just taken one step further to help Andy, his life might have been saved. Instead the close-knit community must deal with another dead young person. And who is to blame now?