"To Beat a Tiger" by Newbery Medal-winning author Elizabeth Foreman Lewis is a powerful, gripping story of survival, brotherhood, and resilience set against the backdrop of Japanese-occupied Shanghai during World War II.
Sixteen youths huddle together in the outskirts of Shanghai in a desperate effort to survive the perils of ongoing war in China.
"To beat a tiger, one needs a brother's help."
In the crowded, war-torn streets of Shanghai, survival is a daily battle. As the Japanese occupation ravages China, a diverse group of young refugees from different corners of the country find themselves destitute, alone, and pushed to the absolute edge. Among them are Yen, a scholar's son fleeing the ruins of Nanking; Wang, a farmer's boy from Foochow; and Tu, a former porcelain apprentice.
With their families gone and their futures stolen, these boys must cast aside their differences to form an unlikely gang of street scavengers. Banding together in a desperate bid to keep hunger and the harsh realities of war at bay, they live hand-to-mouth, testing the limits of their resourcefulness every single day.
But on the streets of a city under siege, danger takes many forms. As they navigate a treacherous world of thieves, occupiers, and desperation, the boys face a harrowing choice: do whatever it takes to survive, or cling to the deeply rooted values of honor, loyalty, and humanity that define who they are.
A timeless and evocative historical saga, "To Beat a Tiger" explores the enduring power of friendship and the extraordinary lengths to which the young will go to find a way back home.
