Tiger Eyes
Encyclopedia
Tiger Eyes is a young adult
Young adult literature
Young-adult fiction or young adult literature , also juvenile fiction, is fiction written for, published for, or marketed to adolescents and young adults, roughly ages 14 to 21. The Young Adult Library Services of the American Library Association defines a young adult as "someone between the...
novel
Novel
A novel is a book of long narrative in literary prose. The genre has historical roots both in the fields of the medieval and early modern romance and in the tradition of the novella. The latter supplied the present generic term in the late 18th century....
written by Judy Blume
Judy Blume
Judy Blume is an American author. She has written many novels for children and young adults which have exceeded sales of 80 million and been translated into 31 languages...
in 1981
1981 in literature
The year 1981 in literature involved some significant events and new books.-Events:*PEN/Faulkner Award for Fiction given for the first time...
about a young girl attempting to cope with the murder of her father.
Plot summary
The book begins when the main character, Davis "Davey" Wexler, has to go to her father's funeral. Her father was killed in a shooting at the 7-Eleven7-Eleven
7-Eleven is part of an international chain of convenience stores, operating under Seven-Eleven Japan Co. Ltd, which in turn is owned by Seven & I Holdings Co...
convenience store
Convenience store
A convenience store, corner store, corner shop, commonly called a bodega in Spanish-speaking areas of the United States, is a small store or shop in a built up area that stocks a range of everyday items such as groceries, toiletries, alcoholic and soft drinks, and may also offer money order and...
where he worked. Davey's mother thinks Davey, Davey's younger brother, Jason, and she herself all need a change of environment and so they go to live in Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos, New Mexico
Los Alamos is a townsite and census-designated place in Los Alamos County, New Mexico, United States, built upon four mesas of the Pajarito Plateau and the adjoining White Rock Canyon. The population of the CDP was 12,019 at the 2010 Census. The townsite or "the hill" is one part of town while...
with Davey's Aunt Bitsy and Uncle Walter, who are from her late husband's side of the family. Over the course of their year in Los Alamos, Davey meets a mysterious boy named Wolf in a canyon. Later on she finds out Wolf is the son of the terminally-ill patient she looks after as a candy striper
Hospital volunteer
Hospital volunteers work without regular pay in a variety of health care settings, usually under the supervision of a nurse. Most hospitals train and supervise volunteers through a specialized non-profit organization called an auxiliary. The director of the auxiliary is usually a paid employee of...
. Davey also learns how to deal with the grief she feels that she couldn't save her father's life, and she overcomes her fears. Davey, her mother and Jason leave Los Alamos to return to Atlantic City at the end of the book, ready to start a new life.
Controversy
Judy Blume states in her book Places I Never Meant to BePlaces I Never Meant to Be
Places I Never Meant to Be is a book edited by Judy Blume and first published in 1999. The book is a collection of short stories written by authors who have been censored or banned in some form in the United States...
that this was the only book she has written that she has voluntarily censored. In the original draft submitted to her editor the character Davey masturbates while thinking about Wolf. Her editor pointed out that the book was likely to be read by many more young readers if the scene was left out. After agonizing over the decision, Blume agreed and removed the passage.
This book is on the American Library Association
American Library Association
The American Library Association is a non-profit organization based in the United States that promotes libraries and library education internationally. It is the oldest and largest library association in the world, with more than 62,000 members....
list of the 100 Most Frequently Challenged Books of 1990-2000 at number 89.
Film
A film version of the novel, directed by the author's son Lawrence Blume, is currently in production (October 2010) with a projected release date sometime in 2012. Willa Holland
Willa Holland
Willa Joanna Chance Holland is an American actress and fashion model. She is best known for her role as Kaitlin Cooper, Marissa Cooper's devious younger sister, on the television series The O.C.. She also appeared as Agnes Andrews on The CW series Gossip Girl...
has been cast as Davey, Tatanka Means as Wolf and Amy Jo Johnson
Amy Jo Johnson
Amy Jo Johnson is an American actress, singer, songwriter and musician.She is best known for her roles in the televison series as the constable Jules Callaghan in the Canadian CTV television series Flashpoint, the famous jockey Tina Sharp in the ABC Family's original show Wildfire, the rookie cop...
as Gwen Wexler.