Tig, Heather Smith
Tig, Heather Smith
List: $17.99 | Sale: $12.59
Club: $8.99

Tig

Author: Heather Smith

Narrator: Joelle Peters

Unabridged: 3 hr 19 min

Format: Digital Audiobook Download

Publisher: Tundra Books

Published: 09/03/2024


Synopsis

A new, heartwarming middle-grade story from the critically acclaimed author Heather Smith featuring Tig, a young girl struggling to find peace within herself and in her new family. For fans of Rebecca Stead, Wendy Mass and Lynda Mullaly Hunt.

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 down-and-out to picture-perfect isn't easy, especially in pristine Wensleydale with the idyllic couple and their beautiful home.

Tig, with Peter's support, decides to make their new life messy, starting with daily arguments and her plans to become a competitive cheese racer. She'll run circles around her new guardians, outrun a wheel of cheese, and leave the past buried in her dust. 

But things don't always go as planned, and Tig must decide what to truly leave behind in order to move forward.

About The Author

HEATHER SMITH is originally from Newfoundland and now lives in Waterloo, Ontario, with her husband and three children. Her east coast roots inspire much of her writing. Her novel, The Agony of Bun O'Keefe, won both the Ontario Library Association's White Pine Award and the Ruth & Sylvia Schwartz Award, and was also shortlisted for several others. It also received starred reviews from Kirkus and Quill & Quire, and was named a best book by Kirkus, Bank Street College of Education, Globe and Mail and Quill & Quire (honorable mention), as well as selected as an Outstanding International Book by USBBY. Her most recent novel, Barry Squires, Full Tilt, was longlisted for the prestigious international Dublin Literary Award.


Reviews

Goodreads review by Andria on December 22, 2024

This was a heartwarming, yet sad middle grade book that was handled really well. Loved it. 5 ⭐. ❤️......more

Goodreads review by Shannon on December 19, 2024

Wow, this was an incredibly heartwarming middle grade book by a new to me local author! I loved how precocious Tig is and the way she struggles to deal with being abandoned by her addict mother. Luckily she and her brother Peter are taken in by their uncle and his partner where they finally find a l......more

Goodreads review by Jenny on October 07, 2024

I made the mistake of finishing this book while eating lunch at my desk and then had to work to not just collapse on my desk and cry for 15 minutes. I know why Tig is so tough when she comes to live with her uncle, but it was hard to read about her actions as she put up walls. But, as expected, she......more

Goodreads review by Kate on October 14, 2024

This book was so, so lovely. Not in an "everything is wonderful" kind of way, but in a "this tugs the heartstrings and fills you with empathy for every character" kind of way. Narrator is 11 but has gone through some shit and sometimes acts older, often acts younger. Not as much about cheese rolling......more

Goodreads review by Laurie • The Baking Bookworm on November 28, 2024

4.5 STARS - Eleven-year-old Tig and her slightly older brother Peter have been living on their own since their mother abandoned them. Now they live with their uncle and his partner, and they have a rough adjustment to their new situation. Tig finds solace in her brother and in her imagination as she......more


Quotes

One of Quill & Quire’s Favourite Young Readers Titles of 2024
A 2025 Bank Street College Best Children's Book of the Year
A 2025 Forest of Reading Red Maple Honour Book
An OLA Best Bet


PRAISE FOR Tig:

"A devastatingly honest novel about foster care, neurodivergence, family, and resilience." —STARRED REVIEW, School Library Journal

"In the complex, unforgettable Tig, Heather Smith explores the stunning (and sometimes self-sabotaging) resourcefulness children can muster in the face of adversity." —STARRED REVIEW, Shelf Awareness

"A moving, accessible tale of trauma, laced with a compelling sense of optimism."Kirkus Reviews

"Smith's short, beautifully written, chapterless work contains many section breaks and should appeal to reluctant readers. For middle-grade readers, especially fans of melancholy yet hopeful family tales of overcoming adversity." Booklist

"Smith writes here for a younger audience but with only slightly less painful details. Her writing is succinct and often heartbreaking to read, yet beautifully phrased, filled with believable and memorable characters . . . [I]mportant and unforgettable." CM: Canadian Review of Materials

"Through Tig's eyes, readers experience the profound truth that family isn't always defined by blood, but by the bonds of understanding and acceptance forged through shared experiences." Young Adulting

"It's a story about addiction, abandoned children, survival, imaginary friends, love, and family. The reader will be subjected to lots of new vocabulary words, as one of Tig's interests is reading the dictionary, learning new words, and using them in sentences." Story Monsters Ink


Awards

  • Cybil Award for Elementary/Middle Grade Fiction
  • Hackmatack Children’s Choice Book Award
  • Manitoba Young Readers' Choice Awards (MYRCA) - Northern Lights Award
  • National Chapter IODE Violet Downey Award