The Tiger Rising by Kate DiCamillo [book review]

Book: The Tiger Rising

By: Kate Dicamillo

Published: July 1, 2002

Publisher: Candlewick Press

Pages: 128

Genre: Middle-Grade Contemporary

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The Tiger Rising Book Summary

When walking through the woods one morning Rob Horton is surprised to find a tiger in a cage. On the same day, he meets Sistine Bailey. She’s new to town and readily shows her emotions as much as Rob tries to hide his. As they grow closer and become friends they realize that nothing can stay locked forever, not even a tiger.

What I thought

So, The Tiger Rising obviously isn’t my typical read. Most of the books I go for are exciting thrillers and horror. Or the books evoke some kind of emotion out of you. So, why did I pick up The Tiger Rising?

I picked up The Tiger Rising because the movie was filmed in my hometown. I was so excited about reading it for that reason. When I lived there really wasn’t a lot there. Not only that not many people knew where we were. Heck, many people still don’t know where it’s at, but it’s awesome that multiple movies have been filmed there including this one.

I wanted to read the book before it came out in theaters. But I kind of regret reading the book now. To me, it just wasn’t that good. For starters, I feel like the story is too short. There’s no depth to the characters and they are slightly annoying. I get it, It’s a kid’s book but I have read multiple kids’ books and the characters have never really bothered me so that’s not exactly the reason.

I think my issue was with Sistine. Her issues with the south bothered me and I found her a bit annoying. I wish she didn’t.

The plot is slow and I felt like we should’ve gotten more to the plot and overall story. It’s slow and the ending rather sucked. The trouble that Sistine and Rob went through just for crap to hit the fan at the end was terrible. Just why? I hate that the story ended up being kind of crappy. I do feel like the movie is going to be two times better. At least I hope so anyway because I will be going to see it anyways.

If you enjoy kids’ books then make sure to check this story out. Who knows you might like the book more than I did.

If you enjoyed books like The Tiger Rising you might also enjoy The Beast and the Bethany.