The Sultan's Tigers

Gr 4–7—In this follow-up to Island of Thieves (Houghton Harcourt, 2012), Tom Trelawney once more finds himself on a quest with his daring yet morally ambiguous Uncle Harvey. This time, the pair is reunited on the occasion of Tom's grandfather's death. When the boy is threatened by a mysterious man named Marko, he learns of some letters written by his Trelawney ancestor describing the location of a stolen tiger statue (based on the real-life "sultan's tigers" in Mysore, India)-worth two million dollars. Tom and Uncle Harvey embark on a race to get to the statue before Marko, both to satisfy the Trelawney love for adventure and to cover Uncle Harvey's debts. Fast-paced action is to be expected from this title, which has compelling, movie-poster-like cover art, but there's a lot more to it than that. As Tom explores India for the first time, he learns about the current state of affairs, especially the level of poverty afflicting the region. What could have just been an exotic thrill ride turns into a reflection on American privilege. The Sultan's Tigers is a rollicking story that works as a stand alone and is a great choice for reluctant readers, especially those looking for books with male protagonists.—Jessica Ko, Los Angeles Public Library