Heather Smith does it again. I love Tig’s story. A book doesn’t need to be big to make an impact. It gave me all the feels. It’s middle grade fiction perfection - dealing with difficult subject matter in a way that kids can understand, but still hits all of the emotions, if you’re an adult reader.
4.5 stars for Tig, Uncle Scott, Manny, Peter, and a very good dog.

Such an intriguing story. I did not expect the twist at the end, for sure. Great for read aloud.

This was an interesting read for sure. I'm not sure if it's something I'd read with my kids, some parts I just didn't like for my children. It's definitely an interesting story though.

Trigger Warnings: Child abandonment, alcoholic parent, abuse

After months of living without electricity or parents, Tig and Peter are forced to move in with their Uncle Scott and his partner, Manny. The transition from on your own, to picture perfect is rough. Tig, along with Peter’s support, decides to make it messy, with daily arguments and stubbornness, and plans to become a competitive cheese racer.

This is a heartbreaking, and heartwarming, middle grade novel that I was not expecting to make me cry, but here we are. Tig is one of those characters I will think about for a long time (if not forever). I also think I will be rereading this at some point as well for reasons you may understand after reading it.

Tig is a heavy book, but still written well for middle grade readers. Tig herself is going through a lot of trauma and you’re seeing this new environment through her eyes as she goes through it and sometimes even processes/revisits trauma she’d experienced before. She is really blessed with supportive and empathetic adults like her Uncle Scott and Manny.

This novel is a short, but terrific read. Tig will grab your heartstrings and race you down the hill with them.

*Thank you Tundra Books and NetGalley for an advance digital copy of this book in exchange for an honest review

Being left behind changes you. In their four months on their own, eleven-year-old Tig, and her slightly older brother Peter, learned that when you have nothing, you know who you are. Now, at Uncle Scott and Manny’s comfortable home, Tig struggles to figure out where an angry, bouncy, rude, scrappy, destructive kid fits into their happy life. Tig’s lively, quixotic nature, love of words and lack of impulse control make for great dialog and plenty of action. Neglect, abuse and addiction are sensitively and age-appropriately handled and woven into an entertaining and accessible narrative with wide appeal. Humor, craft projects, neighborhood friends and a quirky list of goals inspire, while a major reveal encourages empathy and a profound respect for Tig’s creative resilience. Big and her biologic family read as white, close friends are Filipino. Thanks to Tundra Books and NetGalley for an Advance Reader's copy in return for an unbiased review.

11-year-old Tig survived with her brother for several months on their own after being abandoned by their alcoholic mother. Now they are living with their uncle and his partner and trying to create a new life. Tig has tons of emotional scars. This is a short, thoughtful book that takes place over the course of one summer.

Tig was an excellent middle grade read. It tells the story of Tig and her brother as they navigate abandonment by their mother and step-father which reminded me a little of Pipi Longstockings. Then, they are sent to live with their uncles and the transition is tough but the love and support they show is heart warming. I think this would be a great addition to any classroom or public library and will become a favourite! Tig is set to release Sept. 3, 2024

My only complaint, if you would call it that, is that there were not chapters and I found this structure detracted from the story a bit for me.

Thank you Net Galley, Heather Smith and Tundra Books for the opportunity to preview this title and the opinions shared are my own.

Tig is a beautiful, heartbreaking book about a young girl who moves in with her uncles after being abandoned by her mother.

This book is very emotional and reflective, but so amazingly done. It was hard and often upsetting to read, so that is something to keep in mind if picking it out for a child.

I loved Manny and Uncle Scott. They were both such supportive, empathetic figured for Tig. I really appreciate that the author did show them being upset with Tig or unsure how to handle situations, because no one would be able to be perfect in the situation they were thrown in. It made them feel much more realistic. I also really loved Tig and seeing how she worked through her feelings and memories.

This is a pretty heavy book for a young reader, but as long as they can handle that I think it would be an amazing book to read. I highly recommend it and would absolutely read more by this author.

In this emotional and ultimately hopeful middle-grade novel, eleven-year-old Tig and her brother Peter are taken in by her uncle Scott and his husband Manny after her mother abandoned her months before. Tig finds it difficult to adjust to her new home and aims to demonstrate her displeasure through her rebellions, big and small. Told in Tig's unique and spirited voice, Tig opens a window into the heart of a traumatized child who is reluctant to trust those who take her into their care. Young readers with big feelings and trauma might see themselves in Tig as she causes trouble and wants to be better in the same breath. Adults can learn a lot from this book, too, from recognizing the complicated feelings children often can't articulate to seeing Scott and Manny's beautiful example of holding space for a child who desperately wants to trust despite being hurt. This is an excellent addition to an upper elementary or middle school library.

Wow! This is an emotional and extremely well-written story. Tig and her brother Peter are found abandoned and are taken in by Uncle Scott and his partner Manny. Thank goodness for Scott and Manny! Tig is not easy to be around, but Scott and Manny are the perfect parents. Trauma is hard to deal with though, and Tig needs to work out her past.

This is an author I adore, and I highly recommend this book for kids ages 10-15, with trigger warnings for abuse and abandonment. It would make an excellent middle-grade Book Club choice too. Passages would be great to use as mentor texts.

Thanks to NetGalley, the author and publisher for an advanced copy of this book.

I loved the book Tig by Heather Smith. This heartfelt book is a great book for all readers, especially those who enjoy coming of age stories. It serves as a poignant reminder of the complexities of growing up and the power of friendship has when it comes to healing. Smith created a compelling narrative that has left a lasting and meaningful impression on all things life throws at us such as love and loss.

A very niche-book that is hard to recommend and yet I'd highly encourage anyone to read it. Between the description of the inner workings of Tig's mind, the way she felt abandoned and grows familiar with her new surroundings, the twists in the story, the dictionary descriptions which helps to broaden one's own vocabulary, it was a great read. I laughed, cried, and was curious to see where it would all lead. The ending is beautiful, the depth with which it's written very much spot-on in regard to the story it's telling. Did love it a lot. It's still hard to recommend because it is a triggering subject (child abuse and abandonment) and languagewise the child has to be quite eloquent already (or willing to learn bigger/more complex words).

An absolute delight, this middle-grade story is voiced for us by eleven-year old Tig herself, weaving a first person narrative that so rings with authenticity, poignancy and most of all, charm, it is impossible for the reader not to fall completely under her spell.

Heartlessly abandoned by her alcoholic mother and her abusive boyfriend, Tig — accompanied by her only slightly older brother, Peter — with her cheeky mix of bravado, insecurity and wild imagination, hide out in their attic, dumpster-diving for food, and avoiding adult contact for several months. And they almost get away with it, before circumstances conspire to see them ousted, and sent to live with Uncle Scott and his partner Manny, who live nestled in the countryside of Wensleydale, North Yorkshire (an outwardly idyllic location, where racing logs of locally-produced cheese down rolling hills is not as unusual as it may sound).

For Tig and Peter, whose trauma runs deeper than either will let on, trusting anyone (adult or child) comes at a cost they are unwilling (and unable) to pay.

“Families were hard because you always have to worry whether you're good or bad and you'll always wonder if someone will leave you even if you're almost sure they won't.”

Needless to say, it’s a tough adjustment for all, and the events that follow will certainly test each family member to their absolute limit.

A gorgeous story, rendered with both a lightness and a molten core, Tig’s tale will tug at your heart mercilessly — for this reader, passing the lump-in-the-throat test so seamlessly, it was really never in any doubt at all.

Highly recommended, this huggable book is certain to become a favorite, for adult and young readers alike, and anyone, really, inspired by the healing power of unconditional love, and the journey we may take to get there.

A great big thank you to Netgalley, the author, and the publisher for an ARC of this book. All thoughts presented are my own.
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Wow.

I have never read a book by Heather Smith before, but I'm now grabbing for her back list. Her poetic, yet edgy, and deceptively simple prose is quite simply breathtaking.

Told from the perspective of 11 year-old Tig, this contemporary coming-of-age story touches on substance abuse, family violence and abandonment with deft, unpretentious power, yet Tig's voice provides an always-believable balance of creativity and longing and joy.

A short, but completely satisfying read for 9-12 year-olds who love Kate DiCamillo.

Many thanks to the author, the publisher and Netgalley for an advance e-copy of this title.

Any fans of Kate DeKamillo would LOVE this. Reading about the resilience and trauma these siblings went through was heartbreaking, but what was beautiful was watching Tig slowly open her heart for a chance at family. Thank you NetGalley for the chance to read, I will be buying this for my classroom :)

This is a heartbreaking, eventually heartwarming, coming of age story of eleven year old Tig and Peter, who, as this begins, have been abandoned by her mother, trying to get by on their own without electricity, until they end up in the police station. It is then that her Uncle Scott and his partner Manny are called down to the police station, and while Tig, short for Tigger, is not happy with the way things happened at first, she eventually lets her guard down enough to let her Uncle Scott and Manny in.

This story is shared from Tig’s perspective, the journey she will take in order to allow herself to consider that she now is part of a family. A family that actually wants her, even when she is acting up, being difficult. There is a real home to live in, a sense of security. After all she has been through, eleven years of no one ever wanting to be part of her world, she finally realizes that she is actually wanted, that they are now family.


Pub Date: 03 Sep 2024


Many thanks for the ARC provided by Penguin Random House Canada / Tundra Books

I’m not crying, you’re crying. Maybe we’re both crying. Tig and Peter are taken in by her Uncle Scott and his partner Manny after a long stretch of fending for themselves; her mother disappears and leaves them without anything. Tig, short for Tigger, is traumatized and unwilling to let her walls down, but the story is told from her perspective, a whip-smart and tough mind adjusting to her new surroundings.

Smith’s writing is as edgy and clear as Tig’s personality, and her story is told with the gentlest touch, showcasing the very real trauma that her character has faced. Even though I cried during several moments in the book, this slim novel is a feel-good story. The reality of life and the saving grace of love are both on display - and Tig is such a fantastic character: so raw, rough and tumble, and too smart for her own good. The stream-of-consciousness voice is so well done. The reader is along for the ride with Tig the entire way, feeling her pain and inability to be loved. This book will break your heart but in the best sort of way.

Thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for this ARC.

Eleven year old Tig and her brother Peter move in with their Uncle Scott and his partner Manny after being abandoned by their alcoholic mother.

I read this book with my ten year old son: he likes realistic fiction and characters he can identify with. While I hope he never has to experience the kind of trauma the title character faced, he can definitely understand having emotions that are too big for him to process alone, and I suspect they are not alone in that. Many kids will be able to understand what this feels like, and that’s why this book is great for helping children develop empathy.

I love Uncle Scott and Manny so much. They are the emotionally mature and stable parents that Tig needed in so many ways. They are thrown into the situation of having to take in the children with no time to prepare, and yet they rise to the occasion in 1000 little ways. Tig resists their attempts to make her feel loved in the beginning, but I love their patience and subtle perseverance with her. Scott and Manny are role models for the rest of us- parents just trying to do the best we can.

This story is written so well, and my son and I adored it. It was emotional and sweet, and while he can be a tough critic, he really got into it. It led to some very good conversations between us. We will be sure to recommend it!