TEARS OF A TIGER:  PLOT SUMMARY

Tears of a Tiger is a novel about a high school student named Andy Jackson.  The novels opens with a newspaper article about a car accident that killed the town's star basketball player, Robbie Wachington.  Andy was the driver of the car and his three friends, Robbie, B.J. and Tyrone were the passengers.  Three of the boys were drinking which was the cause of the accident.  Andy, B.J., and Tyron all left the scene of the accident with minor injuries, the memory of hearing Robbie scream to his best friend "Andy! Andy! Help me--Help me--Oh God, please don't let me die like this! Andy!..." (14), and the images of the burining and Robbie's Nike's sticking out of the windsheild. 

After the accident, the boys return to school and the accident continues to stay with them.  Andy starts to see a psychologist to get help but the memories of the accident are more than he can handle.  He begins to date a girl named Keisha who really helps him through the rough times.  Andy is appointed the basketball team's captin, which is the position that Robbie held.  Andy's own parents never come to the games but Robbie's parents continue to come even though their son is no longer alive.  Although his visits to the psychologist are supposed to be helping Andy adjust, his grades begin to suffer and hholoe becomes really moody.  Several times throughout the novel he walks out of class, snaps at someone or starts to cry uncontrollably.  Everything seems to remind him of Robbie and he feels guilty for his death.  B.J. and Tyron go to the school's counselor to get help for Andy but she dismisses the boys and tells that that Andy will be just fine.

Christmas is really a hard time for Andy.  He and Robbie used to go to the mall to play jokes with the mall Santa Clause.  Also, every year Robbie's mom calls Andy to tell him to come get his stone (the present that Santa leaves for bad children); however this year, she is hardly able to wish him a Merry Christmas because the pain of not having her son around in too great.  Robbie's psychologist suggests that Andy write a letter to Robbie's parents as a theraputic exercise.  Andy writes a letter about all the good memories he and Robbie shared and how he always felt like he was part of their family.  Shortly after mailing the letter to the psychologist and to Robbie's parents, Andy is declared stable by the psychologist and only needs to speak with him on a "as needed" basis.

B.J. and Tyron seem to have moved on from the accident and have adjusted pretty well.  Andy, however, has everyone fooled into thinking that he is adjusting well to the accident and Robbie's death except for his girlfriend Keisha.  She is the only one who truly knows what kind of pain Andy is dealing with and it starts to really get to her.  Andy volunteers to be the announcer for the school talent show.  During his performance as MC he is a crowd pleaser but off stage he is in a really horrible mood.  Keisha and Andy get into a huge fight the night of the talent show and break up.  Evereything is Andy's world seems to be going in a downward spiral.   

After Andy's breakup with Keisha, he learns that college scouts has come to his high school looking for him but Andy was not there because he had skipped school that day.  Andy continues to pretend that everthing is O.K. but his report card is sent home and his Dad can see that his grades are suffering tremendously. Andy and his father have a long talk about assimilating into the "white world" and going to college to be successful.  This is the begining of the end for Andy.

That same night, Andy tries to call his pscyhologist but he is away on personal business so the best the secretary can offer Andy is the fill in.  Andy decides he will try and call the basketball coach who has been really supportive of Andy throughout the school year.  He reaches the coach's answering machine.  Lastly, Andy tries to call Keisha but her mom answers and yells at Andy for calling in the middle of the night.  Andy feels helpless.

"Nobody's home.  Nobody cares. Maybe I'll try to sleep. I wish I could sleep forever" (159) 

The next day, Andy leaves for school but turns around half way and goes back to his house. Alone in his house, feeling like no one cares, Andy takes his own life with his father's riffle.

The school brings in a counselor and has the students write letters to Andy.  Many of the students express anger towards Andy's actions and are mad at him for taking his own life and forcing them to deal with death again so soon after Robbie's death.

The novel closes with Andy's younger brother, Monty, saying goodbye to Andy at his gravesite. 

                                                                         If the story could be told in three pictures, it would look something like this