The Tiger Rising

         I just recently finished a book called The Tiger Rising. It was a wonderful story about a boy named Rob who has a rash on his legs. Everybody thinks it's a medical issue but really it's sadness. His mother just died and he is very sad. In his mind there is a mental suitcase where he keeps things like his mother's name, tears and the tiger. He lives in Florida in a motel called the Kentucky Star. There is clear woods right behind it and Robert has a secret. The owner of the Kentucky Star has caught a Tiger from the woods and it is deep in the woods in a cage... Rob is the only other person who has seen the tiger besides the owner. When the "new girl" in his school arrives Rob finds this sassy girl to be quite interesting. Her name is Sistine like the Sistine Chapel. She has a lot of questions for Rob like: Where's your mom? What's your mother's name? Where's the "tiger"? Rob is surprised that when he was widdling in his room he carved Sistine. Somehow he ends up showing her the tiger.
        The owner of the motel gives Rob a job; to feed the tiger. He says he wants it fat before he kills and skins it. When given the job Rob is also given the keys to the cage. The relationship between Rob and the Tiger is amazing to read. When I was reading it I felt like I was actually in the story!