From Robin Gow, the award-winning author of Dear Mothman, comes a gripping middle-grade novel in verse about a boy who digs up and loses control of a saber-toothed tiger.

STARRED REVIEW “Deeply cathartic; balances emotional depth with engrossing suspense.” ―Kirkus Reviews

STARRED REVIEW “A heartening, deeply felt work.” ―Publishers Weekly

STARRED REVIEW “Using a fascinating mixture of metaphor and reality, this verse novel explores the explosive nature of anger and the pain it can cause when left untended.” ―The Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books

Jasper’s favorite person is his older brother, Callan. They go on fossil-finding missions and stay up late while their parents work nights. Callan even helped Jasper pick out his new name when he came out as trans.

But Callan starts to grow distant and leaves for college without taking Jasper on a promised fossil dig. Jasper feels abandoned—and angry. Who needs Callan? He will dig by himself, in his backyard. As he digs, he hears a voice: the bones of a saber-toothed tiger. He’s buried deep, and he wants Jasper to DIG.

Jasper is sure a discovery like this could change the world, or at least get Callan to text him back. But as the saber-toothed tiger finds freedom, Jasper realizes he may have unleashed a monster that no one was ready for, and that anger can empower you—or destroy you.

Also by Robin Gow

Dear Mothman
Gooseberry

Format: Hardcover

Author: Gow, Robin

Publisher: Harry N. Abrams

Pub Date: January 27, 2026

Category: Juvenile Fiction / Stories In Verse

ISBN: 9781419777387

Evening House Books

Filters

Middle Readers

Science Comics: Dinosaurs

Saber-Tooth: A Novel in Verse

Teacher of Nomad Land: A World War II Story

Forest of a Thousand Eyes