Tiger Daughter

Because of 13-year-old Wen Li Zhou’s struggles with math, her father often deems her a “useless, insolent child.” His verbal abuse also extends to her mother; once a vivacious woman, she now acts reserved to avoid Wen’s father’s outbursts. Wen finds peace with her best friend Henry Xiao. Both teens live in Australia with their Chinese immigrant families, and both plan to take the upcoming entrance exam to an “amazing, government-funded selective school,” believing that attending it will change their lives for the better. When Henry’s mother dies by suicide, however, everything comes to a standstill. Henry won’t leave his house, and Wen’s parents want her to stay away from him, but she refuses to let him suffer alone. To help Henry, Wen must tap into her own strength and learn to stand up for herself. Lim (the Mercy series) draws on her own experiences as a migrant child growing up in Australia, as outlined in an author’s note, to deliver an eye-opening novel that covers weighty issues of abuse, grief, mental health stigma, racism, and sexism alongside the harsh realities faced by Wen and Henry’s families. A tidy, uplifting ending, paired with Wen’s vulnerable first-person voice, round out this heartstring-tugging read. Ages 10–up. (Aug.)