Cheripko, J. (1996). Imitate the tiger. Honesdale, PA: Bell Books.Jan Cheripko is a high school English teacher who has won several awards with his book, Imitate the Tiger.
The protagonist and narrator of the novel, Christ Serbo, is a high school football player and is considered an at-risk teenager. Most of the novel is told in a flashback as journal entries. Chris is an alcoholic and gets sent to a rehabilitation school. In his journal, Chris writes about what led him to his downward spiral.
The language in Imitate the Tiger is definitely of the adult variety. Yet, Chris is a round and complex character to whom most teen readers can identify; he is very realistic. Chris's actions, dialogue, personality and backstory is very realistic. His mother died when he was very young; his father is absent; therefore, Chris's aunt takes over as guardian. Chris has friends who aren't the best influence and pines after a girl who broke his heart for an older boy.
Most of the conflict within the novel is internal conflict while Christ struggles against his own desires. Some students may say that the conflict is between Chris and his alcohol dependency.
I feel as though even though this book should definitely be geared to a high school audience, it is a great book for teaching character, and internal conflict along with moral issues. Imitate the Tiger, is without a doubt, one of those books that truly teaches a theme of self-acceptance to the readers.
Questions: How am I like Chris? How can I avoid his lifestyle? Can I stand up to peer pressure, even when everything seems like it's falling apart?
Related Readings:
Thirteen Reasons Why
The Perks of Being a Wallflower
No comments:
Post a Comment