Tears of a Tiger is a young adult novel written by Sharon Draper. It was first published by Atheneum in 1994, and later on February 1, 1996 by Simon Pulse, and is the first book of the Hazelwood High Trilogy. It depicts the story of a seventeen-year-old African American boy named Andrew "Andy" Jackson, who feels deeply guilty for inadvertently causing his best friend Robert "Rob" Washington's death through drunk driving. The story is told through multiple different formats such as journal entries, first person narratives, and newspaper articles.

Sharon Mills Draper is an American children's writer, professional educator, and the 1997 National Teacher of the Year. She is a five-time winner of the Coretta Scott King Award for books about the young and adolescent African-American experience. She is known for her Hazelwood and Jericho series, Copper Sun, Double Dutch, Out of My Mind and Romiette and Julio.