Summaries and Customer Reviews are supplied by Amazon.com

Andy Jackson was driving the car that crashed one night after a game, killing Robert Washington, his best friend and the captain of the Hazelwood High Tigers. It was late, and they'd been drinking, and now, months later, Andy can't stop blaming himself. As he turns away from family, friends, and even his girlfriend, he finds he's losing the most precious thing of all -- his ability to face the future.

Average Customer Rating:

Why must the good die young!

Customer Rating:

It is all my fault! I believe Tears of a Tiger is the saddest book I have ever read. This is the first Sharon M. Draper book I have read and I think it is my favorite! This is a modern day story in the town of Hazelwood. The Hazelwood High School basketball team is in a car crash and the star center, Robbie Washington was tragically killed at the age of seventeen (Andy, B.J., and Tyrone survive). Andy Jackson (Robbie's best friend) was driving the car and blames himself for Robbie's untimely death. Andy's friends: B.J., Tyrone, Keisha, (Andy's girlfriend) and Rhonda were able to deal with Robbie's death; Andy could not. Through out the story, Andy tries to deal with Robbie's death, on and off the basketball court. Keisha is an extremely important character because she really helps Andy deal with Robbie's terrible death. I enjoyed this book's different twists and turns and look forward to reading Forged by Fire the second book in this three book series. One of the twists and turns is at the beginning when Robbie dies on the first page. Overall, this sports fiction book has a nice quick speed and easy flow.

Why must the good die young!

Customer Rating:

It is all my fault! I believe Tears of a Tiger is the saddest book I have ever read. This is the first Sharon M. Draper book I have read and I think it is my favorite! This is a modern day story in the town of Hazelwood. The Hazelwood High School basketball team is in a car crash and the star center, Robbie Washington was tragically killed at the age of seventeen (Andy, B.J., and Tyrone survive). Andy Jackson (Robbie's best friend) was driving the car and blames himself for Robbie's untimely death. Andy's friends: B.J., Tyrone, Keisha, (Andy's girlfriend) and Rhonda were able to deal with Robbie's death; Andy could not. Through out the story, Andy tries to deal with Robbie's death, on and off the basketball court. Keisha is an extremely important character because she really helps Andy deal with Robbie's terrible death. I enjoyed this book's different twists and turns and look forward to reading Forged by Fire the second book in this three book series. One of the twists and turns is at the beginning when Robbie dies on the first page. Overall, this sports fiction book has a nice quick speed and easy flow.

SCHOOL LIBRARIAN IN LOUISIANA	Customer Rating:
Emotionally packed book about inner city students who win the local basketball championship and find themselves dealing with the horrific loss of a teammate following a car accident. Who is at fault? How will that individual deal with it?

One bad decision, two lives lost!!!

Customer Rating:

My name is Jazmin and I am a freshman in high school. I had to pick a book for an English project. A friend of mine read Tears of a Tiger and said it had some good life lessons in it. Even though this book is fictional it is a very good book to read for kids my age because it shows how one bad decision can change lives. In this book the main setting is Hazelwood High School. The main character is Andy. Andy made a bad decision one night and decided to drink and drive with his buddies in the car. Well they got into a crash and Robbie lost his life. Now while the others moved on, Andy couldn't cope with the death of Robbie and the book detailed Andy's conflict. Some of Andy's internal conflict made him act out in class, his grades started slipping, he lost his girlfriend, he missed school a lot, wasn't socializing with his friends, and continued to have bad dreams about the crash and Robbie. Throughout the book Andy's friends and family tried to help him deal with his emotions. He even went to a counselor. His girlfriend Keisha always took him places to get his mind off things, but something always triggered his memories and he would become depressed again. It all became too much for Keisha and she broke up with Andy. Andy thought the only way to resolve his conflict was to kill himself. That is exactly what Andy did. After Andy's death kids at school not only had to deal with one of there fellow classmates dying that year, but yet another. Most of his close friends wrote him letters asking questions like, "Why did you do it?", "Why didn't you ask for help?", and "What affect his death would have on his brother's life?" After reading this book I have a greater understanding of how important life really is. This book taught me that life is so fragile; it can end in any moment. I also learned no matter how tough life gets for a person that ending your life is never the answer. Even though the troubled person's pain is gone, the people left behind are left wondering and suffering. The book also reminded me of how we are all one bad decision away from our lives being changed forever.

Sharon Draper knows how to turn kids on to reading

Customer Rating:

I have been teaching middle school for more than twenty years. When dealing with non-readers who can never get past the first few pages of a book before rejecting it as "boring," I hand them a copy of Draper's Tears of a Tiger and suddenly I have created an avid reader. The combination of highly readable text and mature content makes the story irresistible to most middle school students. The class discussions regarding Andy's suicide are deep and begin by focusing on Draper's intent. Students develop great analytic skills and discover the ability of reading to transport them into new worlds. I highly recommend the book.