Tears of a Tiger is a 1994 novel by Sharon Draper. It is the first book in her Hazelwood High trilogy.
The story focuses on a drunk driving accident in which Robbie Washington, a high school junior, is killed. Andy Jackson, his best friend, is crippled with guilt as he was driving the car, while his friends are shaken as well. As the school struggles to cope with the tragedy, Andy begins seeing a therapist, and his relationships with his friends begin to deteriorate.
Tears of a Tiger features examples of the following tropes:
- Abusive Parents: Gerald's stepfather is an alcoholic who beats him regularly. It's noted that this keeps going to court with the stepfather regaining custody.
- Adults Are Useless: The adults in Andy's life mean well, but for various reasons are unable to help him with his problems. The school counselor is the worst example, as she dismissed Andy's desire to become a lawyer and brushes off Tyrone and B.J. when they're concerned about him.
- Beneath the Mask: One of Andy's classmates notes that he was always jealous of Andy's care-free nature, but realizes after Andy's suicide that he never realized how much he was actually suffering.
- Beta Couple: Tyrone and Rhonda's much more stable relationship is contrasted with Andy and Keisha's.
- Despair Event Horizon: Andy hits this after Keisha breaks up with him, with fatal results.
- Disaster Dominoes: On the night before his suicide, Andy calls several people to try to get help, but through an unfortunate series of coincidences, none of them is available.
- Driven to Suicide: Andy takes his own life after his breakup with Keisha.
- Downer Ending: Andy commits suicide, unable to deal with the guilt of causing the accident that killed his friend. His loved ones are left completely devastated by his decision, with his family even fracturing afterward, though his little brother Monty tries to keep a positive outlook.
- Idiot Ball:
- As one of Andy's teachers points out, Dr. Carrothers shouldn't have decided to end Andy's sessions after only a few months, no matter how well he thought Andy was doing.
- Keisha is well aware that Andy has thought of suicide and that she is the one person keeping him stable. While breaking up with him is understandable, she simply declares herself "out of his life" and doesn't try to get him help. This leads to Andy killing himself.
- Irony: Andy's coach sponsors an anti-drug and anti-alcohol organization, yet several of his players have problems with alcohol.
- Karma Houdini: Andy sees himself as this, as the most serious charges against him were dropped and he got off with a suspended license and mandatory AA meetings. This contributes to his guilt for what he did, as even he feels like he deserved more punishment.
- Living Emotional Crutch: Deconstructed. It becomes clear that Keisha is the only person keeping Andy out of his depression, which puts a lot of strain on her. She ultimately can't handle it and breaks up with him, which sets off his suicide.
- My God, What Have I Done?: Andy blames himself for Rob's death, since he was driving the car and feels he wasn't punished enough for what he did, causing his already tenuous self-esteem to plummet rapidly.
- Parental Neglect: Andy's parents are preoccupied with their own lives and oblivious to his problems, with his father never having showed up to his basketball games.
- Pet the Dog: Andy's an emotional mess, but he's always nice to his brother Monty, even gushing to his therapist that Monty is the cool one in his family.
- Reasonable Authority Figure: The basketball coach is friendly and supportive to Andy whenever he needs it. Unfortunately, he isn't home when Andy really needs him.
- Scrapbook Story: A lot of chapters consist of newspaper articles, schoolwork, and private diaries of the students.
- The Shrink: Dr. Carrothers is a cool guy who tries his best to help Andy, but is wrongly convinced that Andy is effectively dealing with his problems and dismisses him as "stable," which is the first major misstep that leads to his suicide.
- There Are No Therapists: The school counselor is unhelpful and condescending when Andy's friends try to get him help and dismisses their concerns.
- Vitriolic Best Buds: According to Andy, his friendship with Rob started after a fight.
- Wham Line: "Andy's Final Phone Calls."
