'Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother' book review

by diyaa (student)

International Baccalaureate World Literature

Tiger Mother-final lesson

den 30 november 2011

Battle hymn of the tiger mother is a decent book that I enjoyed reading but I would not read it again because nothing special happens in it, the whole story is about how Amy raised her two daughters and her battle with them, but still, it is really important to know about other cultures and their way of raising children, so what I think is that the book is more about debating and hearing different points of views. For example many western parents are against Amy`s way of raising her children and they hate how she underestimates western parents ` efforts to raise their children. Through the whole story, we find how Amy thinks that the western way of raising children is wrong and how they spoil their children and all that is going to negatively affect the western society. To make it clear, I liked how Amy raised her children but I do not really like the way she brags about it. Many parts of her book were about how people think about her, and how they think that her two daughters are great and talented, and thanks for Amy because she is the “perfect” mother that she knew how to raise them. I did not like how Amy made her husband passive in the story, so it is like knowing the story from one direction, the story could have been better if we knew how Jed thinks, if he is glad about what Amy is doing or not.

I liked how Amy starts her book with the list of the not allowed “stuff” that her daughters to do. It attracts the readers and makes them curious about the rest of the story. The first impression the I got when I read the list was that how strict Amy is, but when I continued reading, I found that she was not really so strict, I mean come on, sleepover? Is that really important? I found it useless and it is better to spend time learning how to play violin or piano. Amy was doing the best to make her ...

This is a preview of the whole essay

In summary, I liked how Amy raised her children; she could have been a bit softer but she still did a great job, her daughters are good in everything now especially when it comes to school.

The book was not really my type, so I do not really think it is suitable for teenagers, so the book is good for people who are interested in the Chinese culture, and for parents that want their children to be raised in a Chinese way. I recommend the book for people who are over 16 and interested in these things that I mentioned above.

The list that Amy made was a good start, and I really liked it, but she was too strict, she could have been softer and probably her daughters will listen to her even more, especially her younger daughter. I think Amys way of parenting was good and all she wanted was the best for her daughters and she wanted them to be successful women in the American society. She was a bit harsh sometimes but she was just trying to make everything easer for her daughters in the future, and I think they will be thankful for what their mother did for them.

If I was to write a written assignment about this book, my text type will be a letter asking Amy how she managed to raise her children in such a way especially when she lives in a foreign country. Her children could have been called the police for child abuse. I know that Amy did not use violence with her daughters but we do not really know the truth, because she did not mention it in her book.