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Book Review of Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother

Battle Hymn of the Tiger Mother
Missy1019 avatar reviewed on + 104 more book reviews


I was interested to see what all the hype was about and very curious to read this story. It started out very engaging and I could very well relate to what she was saying growing up in an Asian home myself. But the whole story revolves around her obsession with getting her children to practice music which 1) you get tired of even reading about and 2) really feel bad for the children. She tries to redeem herself in the end by saying how her children appreciate her for pushing them so hard but I can't imagine what the children lost in the process. She defines that giving her children this hard discipline leads to happiness in the Chinese sense which I don't agree. Success does not mean happiness and the way she ended her story was weak, as if she had to come to conclusion as to how she chose to raise her children to justify her doing it in this way.