The Tiger Mom's Tale by Lyn Liao Butler

THE TIGER MOM'S TALE by Lyn Liao Butler is a debut novel which employs family dynamics and humor to explore feelings of acceptance and belonging. In some ways, it feels like a coming of age story for the main character, Lexa, who has been estranged from her Taiwanese father since age fourteen. The circumstances surrounding their rift is a key mystery in the novel – even though Lexa is now a thirty-something personal trainer dealing with her parents’ separation, her mother’s attraction to another woman, and her own efforts at dating. Half-white and half Asian, Lexa is also coping with the jealousy between her half-sisters – Maddie who is American and Hsu-Ling from Taiwan. At times relying a bit much on stereotypes, Butler does convincingly build empathy for Lexa as she struggles with life-changing decisions and questions of self-identity. THE TIGER MOM'S TALE received a starred review from Publishers Weekly.