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Inspired by Korean history and mythology as well as the enduring love story of the authors’ grandparents,
In a world of ki powers, the Dragon Empire rules with dragon ki—the power of strength. The empire has invaded and occupied the Tiger Republic, claiming it as their own, and they are on the precipice of eradicating every tiger. On the night of a rare tiger-slaying ceremony, the lives of sixteen-year-olds Seung Lee and Eunji Choi become irrevocably linked when Seung, a servant for the wealthy Choi family, catches Eunji out without a chaperone.
Desperate for his secrecy, Eunji agrees to tutor Seung for the Adachi Training Academy exam, which could be his ticket out of a life of hardship. In between their study sessions, Seung introduces Eunji to a new world—one filled with fragrant street food, winding back roads, and the freedom she craves. Their final outing takes an unexpected turn when they encounter the last tiger and realize what they mean to one another.
Their lives diverge after the exam, however, with Seung following in his father''s footsteps as he''s thrust deep into the mines and Eunji set to marry the heralded son of a prominent Dragon family. Forced apart, they wrestle with their fates and find themselves seeking a way to change the future they feel trapped by. Their shared knowledge of the last tiger’s whereabouts sets them off on separate missions to find the last tiger. Facing seemingly impossible odds, Seung and Eunji must embrace their power or risk losing their chance to save themselves and discover who they really are.
About the author
Julia Riew is a writer, librettist, and composer-lyricist best known for Shimcheong: A Folktale which is currently in development for the stage with Tony Award–winning director Diane Paulus and GLAAD Award–winning playwright Diana Son. In addition to the recipient of the 2022 Fred Ebb Award for Musical Theater Songwriting, Julia has been Playbill’s Featured Songwriter of the Month, a Woman to Watch on Broadway, a Princess Grace Award Honoraria recipient, the inaugural Harvardwood Artist Launch Fellowship winner, and the inaugural Musicians United for Social Equity (MUSE) Linda Twine Scholarship winner. Julia graduated magna cum laude and Phi Beta Kappa from Harvard in 2022 with a BA in theater and music. IG: @JuliaRiew (62K+) TikTok: @JuliaRiew (137K+). More here: JuliaRiew.com
Brad Riew is an MFA candidate in Fiction at New York University's creative writing program. He graduated from Harvard College in 2018 with a degree in Psychology, where he won the Ecker Short Story Prize. The Last Tiger, co-written with his younger sister Julia Riew, is his first novel. Brad lives in Brooklyn, New York.
