Andy was a happy, popular, well-rounded student, until he was driving under the influence with his friends and crashed, killing his best friend. Andy was with his friends (Rob, C.J and Tyrone) after a big win and they went to the trunk of Andy’s car to get drinks. They hopped in the car and started drinking. They decided to start driving and one of the friends suggested not to, but they didn’t listen. They headed off and suddenly the car was on fire and Rob was stuck in it. Andy tries to free him but his friends pull him off and then the car explodes, Rob is dead. They are all sent to the hospital and return to school the next day. Andy receives compassion and hate from his peers. His girlfriend, Kiesha, helps him mentaly throughout the book and is always there for him; however, Andy’s parents were never there for him and barley even know him. Around half way through the book Andy receives therapy because he is experiencing depression and needs help. He goes there once a week for an hour a day and talks about Rob and how he has been feeling. Andy is struggling in school more and skipping classes. His depression is only getting worse and Keisha just broke up with him so he has nobody to help him. He finally can’t stand it anymore and shoots himself in the head with a shotgun.
The plot of The Tears of a Tiger engroses the reader as Andy blames himself for his bestfriends death and continues to struggle throughout the book. Ever since the accident Andy’s grades start to go down hill, he barely pays attention in class, and he sometimes even misses classes. Andy’s grades start to go down because he doesn’t really care anymore, “ I don’t care, if I can get a D that’ll do” also “ You know those giant pools they have at the swimming pool? That's my grades.” He barely pays attention in class or does anything, “Making it to school everyday? Ya, but I don’t do much when I'm there.” He also even skips classes,” Uh, I had a cold. I stayed home a day or two.” As Andy struggles more and more throughout the book, the reader finds it to be more intriguing because they wonder what will happen to him if he continues to live like that.
Although the plot of The Tears of a Tiger is very intriguing, it is sometimes hard to understand who is talking. The format of the book doesn’t include the names of the people who are talking, so you have to think about who is talking off of context clues. Instead of putting the person’s name and then a colon, the author puts a dash. Also, the book doesn’t contain quotes so that also makes it hard to know if someone is talking or thinking. If the author added the person who is talking name, the book would be much better and it could allow the reader to focus on the book and not have to think about who is talking instead of knowing from the beginning.
Lastly, if someone were to take this plot of this kind seriously, one must feel that they must be responsible and safe after drinking alcohol. The plot of The Tears of a Tiger can relate this since Andy and his friends didn’t think before they acted, causing Andy to go into a large scale of depression and eventually killed himself. Although the book is sometimes hard to understand, I definitely recommend this book if you're looking for a good read.