I read plenty of Judy Blume books growing up. I don't think many people would argue against she's a talented writer. I've always enjoyed her works and Tiger Eyes is no exception. In this story Davis (Davey) for short is trying the sort through the sudden, tragic loss of her young father. He was 34 years old when his convenience store was robbed and he was shot in cold blood. In the aftermath, her family crumbles. Forced to move to another state and live with her Aunt and Uncle, the family desperately tries to put their lives back in order. Davey just wants to be alone and begins spending time biking and hiking the canyons. There she meets a mysterious guy who she nicknames "Wolf". Together, they embark on a journey of learning to deal with death and the loss of a loved one. This book is set in New Mexico. Writing style is very conversational and just descriptive enough to feel like reality. The book is written in first person told in the voice of the female narrator, Davey.Davey is easy to like, right from page one. She's fairly agreeable, seems to make sound decisions and of course has a good, clean, conscience. She treats grown ups with respect. I felt heartbroken over her loss. It was evident she was suffering, as anyone would who lost there father in such a horrific fashion. Plus, I think she was symptomatic of Post Traumatic Stress Syndrome, she had all the classic signs. I was happy she wasn't resistant to help from her mother's psychiatrist, she really needed some help.Davey's brother provided a bit of comic relief. He's much younger than Davey and deals with his father's death by asking questions, lots of questions. He's struggling with feeling safe again, can you blame him? I liked his innocence and his resiliency. Being young helped him bounce back faster than the rest of his family members. He's a very accepting child. He welcomed his Aunt and Uncle and provided them some happiness in a difficult time. Wolf was a quiet character. Immediately I got the vibe he was the protector type, which is odd because when I first met him he should have been intimidating. I also knew he had to be working through some problems of his own. The way he encouraged Davey without forcing her to reveal more than she was comfortable with made me like him even more.This story spends a lot of time reflecting on death. It hits death from all angles: sudden death, inevitable death and death by human destruction. I found it was a novel which really made me think. The characters were real and three dimensional. I probably would say this story was more character driven than plot driven. The mood many times was a depressing one. Adding to the dark topic of death, Blume also touches on alcohol addition. My favorite part of the book was the way Blume brought Wolf and Davey closer together, even though it was somewhat predictable I still enjoyed it. The ending was slightly open ended. However it was a suitable conclusion because it felt like reality.I'd recommend this to older teens, Judy Blume fans and people who have suffered the loss of a love one. Its a great story about loss and the healing process. Its shows how one family lives through it and comes out on the other side a stronger unit.
I was a massive fan of Judy Blume as a teenager, at the time there weren't the huge range of YA books that we have now and she was one of the few writers that I could turn to when I wanted to read a book about teenagers with real problems, ones that I could relate to. Recently Judy Blume visited the UK and I got the chance to attend an event with her and I can't tell you how excited I was to meet the author who wrote some of my favourite childhood books. It had been a long time since I'd read any of her work though so I decided to re-read a couple of her books before the event.The first one I re-read was Forever and while I did still really enjoy it I have to admit in a lot of ways it was quite dated and I'm not sure if teens today would love it as much as I did when I was younger. Tiger Eyes has a different feel to it, although it lacks modern conveniences such as mobile phones and the internet (no those things really didn't exist when I was a child and doesn't that make me feel old LOL), it didn't feel quite so out of touch as Forever did. I'm not quite sure why that is but it doesn't really matter, it just meant that I enjoyed Tiger Eyes as much as I always used to.Davey is just fifteen years old when her father is murdered during a robbery of their family store. She is completely devastated by his loss and since her mother has completely fallen apart she is feeling lost and alone. Her aunt and uncle offer to take the whole family in so that they can get away from the memories of what happened and Davey finds her life completely uprooted. She's living across the country away from all of her friends and forced to attend a new school where everyone has grown up together and she is the outsider. Her mother and young brother, Jason, seem to be thriving under the care of her aunt and uncle but she is suffocating with their strict rules and more lonely than she's ever been in her life. Can Davey find a way to put the pieces back together and be happy again?Tiger Eyes is a coming of age story but most of all it's a story of loss and grief, it's about coping with the aftermath of something horrific and realising that life does go on even when you really don't want it to. It's about losing someone you love but it's also about realising how important the people left behind are to you, it's about family bonds and making new friends. There are just so many lessons to be learnt from this book and Davey's story is a heartfelt and emotional one. I grieved with her and I felt her loneliness but I also smiled when she started to move forward in her life and I enjoyed seeing her family learn how to lean on each other in their grief. Although there is a hint of romance it is by no means the main focus of the story but that doesn't matter because this book is so much more.Whether you're an old Judy Blume fan, like me, looking to recapture childhood memories or someone who has never read one of her books before I would definitely recommend giving Tiger Eyes a try. It's a beautiful story and one that I'm sure will still be relevant in another 30 years.
What do You think about Tiger Eyes (2005)?
"You have sad eyes, Tiger," he says. "A bright smile but sad eyes."This was a very very well done story. Loss of a parent shouldn't be easy for any family. It should be messy and angry, full of secrets and tantrums and a lot of days spent NOT leaving your bed. I thought that was the best part of this book - that Davey was never perfect and she never tried to be. She didn't go through stages and she didn't handle things right. Shuffled off to live in a strange area, Davey tries to find a new world without her dad.I'm so sad that this is being banned, even so many years later. I don't think the language, drinking (not by Davey) or depression are anything we should dodge or avoid in teen books. It doesn't glorify it or make it seem "cool" (and I could name NUMEROUS other YA books that do!). This is a great cautionary tale but also a REAL story, that shows we are all human. My only regret in this book (view spoiler)[ was the absence of Wolf. I would have liked to have had some closure there. (hide spoiler)]
—Trisha
Carrie AckersonContemporary Realistic FictionDavey Wexler’s dad has been murdered. Nobody knows who did it, but what if the killer comes back? Davey can’t deal with this, so when an aunt and uncle offer her family a holiday with them in Los Alamos, New Mexico, Davey’s mom agrees. As the holiday stretches into an entire school year, Davey makes new friends and her mother gets a marriage proposal. When Davey’s new friend Wolf loses his own father to cancer, both Davey and her mother find enough closure to return to Atlantic City. The tiger-eye stone Wolf gives to Davey goes with her, a stone that’s beautiful because of its banding: golden light beside the dark. This 1981 story is dated but powerful. Please note that the background of the cover art looks nothing like Los Alamos ;-).
—Carrie
I recently came across this edition at the Ogden Farmers' Library Annual used book sale. I was filling up a dollar bag on the last day, stuffing in as much as I could(and then some)! I couldn't wait to take this beautifully scripted Dell edition with Judy's 1980's yellow and black scroll home to my daughter who is entering into the realm of young adulthood. I was so excited, informing her that this was the edition I had and that she MUST READ IT!! NOW!! And of course, I was deflated when she looked at me like I had three heads. A common occurence in our household... Therefore, I have decided to share in my own excitement and re-read some of the favorites I grew up with and that "literally" changed my life and set me on the course of librarianship I would seek many years later. I want the adult me to better understand the teen me and in the process, maybe I will learn why I can't grow up. I know--deep! So I started with Davey, Wolf and Los Alamos. I'm still searching for Wolf in all the romantic-- ah-hem-- "escapist literature" I read. I believe he was my first true love... And of course, I love hiking too!But, seriously-- Tiger Eyes is the epitome of coming-of-age literature. Coming to terms with the hands that life has dealt us and finding the courage to escape the confines of those wonderfully soft, broken-in soiled sheets and pillow that ties us to our bed when we are in the deepest of despairs is something that we can all relate to. I recall Judy and Davey's teachings at the age of thirteen; including the importance of being resilient, conquering your fears and climbing that mountain, no matter how difficult. Even today, I have to channel my inner Davey, accept change and keep climbing, no matter how difficult, dangerous or treacherous the journey.
—Lisa Gricius
