Prodigal Tiger coming March 17th, 2026 from G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers; 352 pages
Content Warning: Blood, violence
About the Author: “Samantha Chong is a Malaysian fiction writer, and her debut YA novel, Prodigal Tiger, will be published by Putnam Children’s in spring 2026. Samantha is constantly exploring what it means to belong, whether that’s tied to places, people, or the myriad of ways that someone can carve out their space in an increasingly shifting world. When she’s not writing, Samantha is out looking for hidden histories, cooing over cats, or attempting to whip up culinary creations” (Bio from author’s Goodreads profile).
Find Samantha Chong on the following platforms:
When Caroline’s brother, Aaron, goes missing under mysterious circumstances, she returns home to Penang Island after spending the past five years in exile attending a magic academy in New York. With her brother meant to inherit their father’s position as Protector of the Island and his disappearance leaving her next in line, Caroline decides to do everything in her power to find him. She discovers Aaron has been captured by ghosts with designs of revenge on her family, and that they intend to bring the entire island under their control by using him to steal its magic. In the process of trying to save him, Caroline learns more about her family legacy than she ever wanted to know.
This book brings the island of Penang to life in a fantasy world beautifully crafted as a love letter to Malaysian folklore. I enjoyed being immersed in both Samantha Chong’s world-building and the authentic cultural details of language, food, geography, and history sprinkled throughout the story. The animal and object-based magic system both facilitates the creation of vivid, flashy scenes and reflects the personalities and positions each character holds in magical society. But I think what captured my attention the most was the journey Caroline goes through as a protagonist. The initial mystery behind the circumstances of her exile gets the reader’s attention early on, but once I got to know Caroline better and see her struggle with the weight of her mistakes, I became invested in seeing her grow past them and overcome her guilt. Once I got a closer look at the Council I was glued to the page. However, while the stakes are set up well as the story progresses, I felt like the book’s suspense suffered in the payoff of tense plot points. There were times where a crisis came up only to be resolved too quickly, or the tension was undermined by a solution that came too easily. Towards the end I found myself growing suspicious of plot points I would have otherwise been excited for because of that, but the desire to see Caroline’s growth as a character kept me reading on. Nevertheless, for a person who wants a fantasy book with an authentic basis in folklore, I’d still recommend picking up Samantha Chong’s debut novel.
Prodigal Tiger releases on March 17th, 2026.
Pine Reads Review would like to thank NetGalley and G.P. Putnam’s Sons Books for Young Readers for sending us an ARC in exchange for an honest review. Any quotes are taken from an advanced copy and may be subject to change before final publication.
Julia Smith, Pine Reads Review Writer