When You Trap a Tiger

Lily is a girl of Korean ancestry on her mother’s side; her father’s ancestry is not mentioned, though Halmoni refers to him as a “white man” (163). At the start, Lily moves from a sunny coastal California town to a rainy town in Washington, ironically named Sunbeam, to spend more time with her grandmother Halmoni. She finished sixth grade before the move and travels with her mother Joan and teenage sister Sam; the girls’ father Andy died in a car accident when Lily was four.

Upon arriving, Lily recalls how she and Sam spent three years living at Halmoni’s after their father’s death. Back then, Lily and Sam were much closer; the latter is otherwise preoccupied with friends and fights with Mom. Lily misses Sam despite being in close proximity. Lily shares a bond with Halmoni as the only one of the trio who accepts Halmoni’s advice and stories without question. Because of this bond, she’s eager to tell Halmoni about the tiger she sees in the road on the way to her house.

Lily has trouble making “sticky” friends; friends tend to drift away after a while and not stick with her. She claims her secret power is being “invisible,” allowing others to discount her own quiet, obedient nature.