Tig
“The sympathy on his face leaked out his pores and dripped on the floor. I put on my imaginary boots and splashed in his pity puddle. He got drenched. I stayed dry. My yellow raincoat matched my boots.”
WINNER of the 2025 Governor General's Literary Award — Young People's Literature!
After months of living without electricity or parents, Tig and Peter are forced to move in with their Uncle Scott and his partner, Manny. The transition from down-and-out to picture-perfect isn't easy, especially in pristine Wensleydale with the idyllic couple and their beautiful home.
Tig, with Peter's support, decides to make their new life messy, starting with daily arguments and her plans to become a competitive cheese racer. She'll run circles around her new guardians, outrun a wheel of cheese, and leave the past buried in her dust.
But things don't always go as planned, and Tig must decide what to truly leave behind in order to move forward.
(Tundra Books 2024 - Publisher’s Page)
Reviews
"Smith writes here for a younger audience but with only slightly less painful details. Her writing is succinct and often heartbreaking to read, yet beautifully phrased, filled with believable and memorable characters . . . [I]mportant and unforgettable."
- CM: Canadian Review of Materials
“A devastatingly honest novel about foster care, neurodivergence, family, and resilience.”
– School Library Journal Starred Review
“Through Tig’s eyes, readers experience the profound truth that family isn’t always defined by blood, but by the bonds of understanding and acceptance forged through shared experiences.”
– Young Adulting
"With a gentle touch and a dollop of humour, Smith unveils Tig's painful history and then leads her back towards love, in the form of two uncles, a dog and a wheel of cheese. This taut, powerful novel will make you angry and hopeful; it will make you cry and laugh, sometimes all on the same page. Tig is truly a love story."
- Governor General's Literary Award Assessment Committee
“Smith’s short, beautifully written, chapterless work contains many section breaks and should appeal to reluctant readers. For middle-grade readers, especially fans of melancholy yet hopeful family tales of overcoming adversity.”
- Booklist
“A moving, accessible tale of trauma, laced with a compelling sense of optimism.”
- Kirkus Reviews
