The Torres sisters have been through a lot. Their mother died years ago, and their father, Rafe, is less than a perfect parent. So when the oldest Torres sister, Ana, dies in an accident, their lives divide and implode. Jessica starts dating an abusive jerk. A series of events forces Iridian to be house-bound. Rosa has a supernatural affinity to animals. And Ana has become an angry ghost, forcing the sisters to an inevitable conclusion.

I loved the magical realism in this YA, and the life-affirming message. At times the novel felt like a kaleidoscope of intense images (both beautiful and horrific). It also convinced me that maybe I (with my one brother) didn't really want the sister I've been pining all my life for, after all! Sisterhood is a thorny, love-hurting arena in Tigers, Not Daughters. The sisters are traumatized by Ana's death, and they're even more traumatized by her vengeful ghost. Yikes! I almost wanted to read more happy-go-lucky-sisterhood scenes, although life seemed to give them few of those, once their mother died.

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for an ARC.

The Torres sisters have had a rough year. Their oldest sister, Ana, fell to her death, and the family hasn’t been the same since. Their deadbeat father has been unable to recover, and now, more than ever, they dream of getting away from him. But while Ana may be dead, she’s not exactly gone, and now the sisters have to figure out what is keeping her ghost here, and what exactly she’s trying to tell them.

I got an advanced reading copy of Tigers, Not Daughters in exchange for an honest review.

Tigers, Not Daughters is a young adult novel by Samantha Mabry. It’s a novel that I heard was described as “a Latinx Little Women,” but if you’re actually expecting a Little Women style of book, you will be disappointed. And you know me, you guys. I love anything Little Women related, and when I heard about a Latinx version of it, I knew I had to check it out. But other than having four sisters as the main characters, it’s not very much like Little Women. That did not dim my enjoyment of the book, though!

Instead, we get a story with magical realism and a group of girls who are dealing with the loss of their sister and a difficult home situation. And I’ve recently really gotten into magical realism and seeing more of it in this book made me really happy.

The book is centered on the lives of the three surviving sisters: Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, all of who are completely different from each other but complex in their own ways. Of course they deal with their sister’s death by themselves in whatever ways they can. Jessica throws herself into the relationship with her boyfriend, Iridian into her writing, and Rosa into religion and the animals she loves so much. It was fascinating to see these three characters working through this, and I especially loved the moments when they interacted. The novel is told mainly through their three perspectives, and I understood each of them as individuals, and enjoyed seeing the world through their eyes.

The book occasionally gives another POV, but this one completely separate from the girls. This one is told through the eyes of one of a group of boys who watches the girls, fascinated with their lives. We never learn who it is, but I love the non-specificity of the narrator, and especially how the POV comes off as being the whole group’s. It was cleverly done and well–pulled-off. Plus, it sort of gave the feeling that the whole town was watching these girls, and it worked.

The main subject of the book is the girls and their survival, and their relationships to each other. And that’s where the book comes alive. We get them see each other through the others’ eyes, but what was fascinating is that we also get to see Ana through their eyes. Because Ana is still around! She lingers in their memories, in her influence on them, and in their house. She’s returned to haunt the house, and while you’d imagine that’s the main plot, it’s actually not. It does a lot to propel the story forward, but it’s Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa who continue the story, since the story is their lives. So you’re not going to get a whole fantasy element here, no tons of magic, but so much more about the characters and their personalities.

This was a fascinating novel that made me look at sisterhood and its strength.

Tigers, Not Daughters will be available March 24. You can preorder it from Algonquin Young Readers here.

4.5 stars - This was a book for me. First of all, this was a King Lear retelling (sorta), which is my favourite Shakespeare play and I think it was done really well. It was subtle and I think Mabry did a great job encapsulating the flaws of all the characters. It also has a twist on The Virgin Suicides, which I think did this trope more of a justice. The young boys across the street still idolized the girls, but their problems were not romanticized - forcing the boys to come face to face with their own issues (sometimes at the hands of the girls themselves). I also adored the writing in this - it was so magical, yet filled with grief and the feelings of the young girls bled off of the pages. It was so good, that I could not put the book down because of it; I wanted to be held by the writing. Mabry did a fantastic job creating such realistic characters with realistic feelings, and I sympathized with each of the daughters. I wanted to remain in this story for longer, and this is the one issue I had with the book itself. I feel like the ending was cut too abruptly for the way the story had been going. If it were a bit longer, or had the ending had more of an impact, this would have been a 5 star read from me. I am really impressed.

An unflinching exploration of family and all its trials and triumphs, of grief and anger and all that goes between and most of all of sisterhood.
Beautifully fierce and raw in its emotion, Tiger's Not Daughters is a book every woman should read.

DNF @25% 😬
I’ve decided to dnf this book... I’ve read some of the negative reviews and turns out that they had the similar issues with this book as I did, so I’m pretty sure I wouldn’t have enjoyed the other 3/4 of it either...
One of the issues I had are the many perspectives. I don’t usually mind a few perspectives, but with this book it always took me a little to get used to the perspective and then it switched again to a different character, which was obviously annoying... That’s also one point of why I couldn’t connect with any of the characters.
I couldn’t connect to the writing either.

Overall, this book just wasn’t for me.
(Sidenote: if you are interested in this book, but easily get triggered, check the warnings first!)


[I´ve also posted this review on goodreads, but the link doesnt work.]

There was so much I wanted to like about this book, and ultimately I think it's a good read. It just didn't quite click with me. But there is a lot of excellent still, so here's a list of things I liked and things that didn't quite work for me.

WHAT I LIKED
-The characters! All four sisters felt well-developed and unique. Iphigenia is the sweetest, I think, or at least I could relate to her the best. She likes to read and write and always carries around a book with her. Rosa loves animals and spends most of the book looking for a hyena that's loose in the neighborhood. Jessica is dealing with an abusive boyfriend and a maybe-crush on the one boy who's nice to her.

-The theme of sisters sticking together. They are all there for each other, and it's so sweet and supportive. We need more of this in YA, and I'm completely here for it.

-Ana is such an interesting character. The whole book is kind of ABOUT her, but we don't get to know her very well...which is the point. But I wish it had been explored a bit further!

-The boys next door are such affable dorks. Admittedly, they just go along with bullying, which is completely not cool. But you can tell they're good kids. They just make some big mistakes.

WHAT I DIDN'T LIKE SO MUCH
-This is actually a good part of the book, because the writing is so good it makes me HATE the character John with an ALMIGHTY VENGEANCE. He is such a jerk and I am so annoyed.

-Not much actually happens. It's a quieter book...it's character-driven rather than plot-driven. Which is completely fine! I just expected more to happen because there's a literal ghost, but instead the ghost just kinda hangs around and leaves people alone.

-Because not much happens, I got bored sometimes.

-Jessica frustrated me with how unkind she was to her sisters sometimes.

ALL IN ALL

I liked this book enough that I would check out the other things this author has written. If you like quiet, family-driven, kinda spooky books, you should definitely check this one out.

*I was given an ARC of this book in exchange for an honest review.*

I don’t know if I was influenced by the fact that I read this at the same time that I’m reading Little Women with a book club, but the similarities are crazy! Take the sisterhood created by Alcott and stir in a dash of magical realism and a modern setting, and the result is Tigers, Not Daughters.

At times the plot line was a bit hard to follow because of jumps between the narrator and the sisters and between past and present. Otherwise, I was hooked by the mystery and tragedy and processing of grief.

Wow.....this books was hauntingly beautiful. The Torres's sisters relationship with each other are messy, genuine, beautiful and incredibly human. You can feel their pain and frustration through the pages. Their sorrow at having lost their older sister Ana, who seemed like the one who kept them together, the glue of the family. After her death it's almost like each sister sort of unravels... Jessica wants nothing more than to become Ana. Iridian looses herself within the pages of the books Ana used to read, while Rosa finds herself trying to find that "magic" Ana always said she had. Each individual sister finds the strength to pull through and the strength to be their for each other. They don't need a man to save the day for them...the saved themselves and it's what makes this story so beautiful and touching. Not sure if my review makes a lot of sense but just know that this book will stay with you long after you've read the last page.

Thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for an egalley in exchange for an honest review.

Wisdom and goodness to the vile seem vile.
Filths savor but themselves. What have you done?
Tigers, not daughters, what have you performed?
A father, and a gracious agèd man,
Whose reverence even the head-lugged bear would lick,
Most barbarous, most degenerate, have you madded.
(William Shakespeare, King Lear Act 4 Scene 2)


A book that had a dash of scent that felt reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides with four sisters( Ana, Iridian, Jessica, and Rosa) who intrigue the neighbors that watch the strange ongoing drama at the Torres home. When the eldest sister, Ana is killed after seemingly falling from the bedroom window, her father is lost in his grief and her three living sisters in both grief and rage. The story as a paranormal element as the sisters and some of their neighbors start to believe that Ana Torress is not resting peacefully. We see the story through the eyes of each sister and although there were times that I felt a bit confused at the nonlinear way the story was being told, I was attached to finding out how it was all going to play out.



Goodreads review 06/03/20
Expected publication 24/03/20

this is the kind of story you don't really know how to process because it's so deeply good. you know sometimes with books dealing with hard topics (here death of a sister, physical and emotional abuse from a parent and a partner, living with grief) you feel like you can't read it unless you're in a specific mood. the right mood. but I did not feel like this for Tigers, Not Daughters. for this one, I felt like I needed to keep reading, I needed to read more and more about these three sisters and how much they love and miss their older sister, how they each have a different way to live with their grief. I simply needed to know. and this book delivered everything and more. it was so quiet and yet so brilliant.

TW: Grief, death of a family member and domestic/relationship abuse.

I liked this book. It was a story about grief and a family of sisters that went through it all together after the death of their sister. The Torres' sisters were all different and had their own things going on but they learn that embracing each other and sticking together would be the best way to overcome anything that came their way. The scenes that dealt with the abuse were a bit hard to read for me. I am not a fan of seeing a person going through it but it was such an important part of this story. I enjoyed the magical realism aspect of this as well and really liked the writing style. Overall I recommend this book as long as you are in the right headspace.

I keep thinking of this book as a Latinx version of The Virgin Suicides mixed with a paranormal Little Women, and I think that's pretty much on the nose. There were elements to this I enjoyed: the bonds between sisters, the exploration of a complicated family trying to make it in a complicated world, the stream of magical realism running throughout. But there were also things that didn't jive with me: the moments of creepy teen boy behavior like stalking and staring through bedroom windows (which, again, is very Virgin Suicides) is never really addressed here, which in a book by, about, and for women seemed a bit off; some of Ana's appearances don't really serve to move the story forward; and the jumping narrative viewpoints felt at times to serve up more open endings than answers.

Tigers, Not Daughters is the story of four sisters who feel trapped in their own lives. After the oldest sister falls from her bedroom window and dies, literally mid-escape, if only for a few hours, her three younger sisters are left to pick up the pieces. One turns to the church, one to an abusive boyfriend, and the third retreats into herself and her writing and refuses to leave the house. A year after Ana's death, the three sisters begin to notice strange happenings, and conclude that they are being haunted by their sister.

I am definitely a sucker for stories about sisterhood -- it's something that's so important for me since my own relationship with my sister is so messy and beautiful. Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa may have gone in somewhat different directions with their grieving processes, but it's shiningly clear how much they love each other unconditionally and will always have each other's backs, no matter what. This, I believe is the ultimate triumph of the book.

Magical realism is a genre I really really enjoy, and while this kind of teeters on the edge for me as to whether or not I'd actually call it that, there are so many elements of this book that are everything I love about the genre, regardless of if there's enough magic or not (which is honestly unnecessarily nitpicky, so let's just move on). Mabry's writing has the characteristic simplicity I associate with magical realism, the story follows common themes, the small elements of magic push the characters towards growth. Fans of the genre will not be disappointed.

I will say that my only criticism is the number of POVs. Each of the three sisters has one, and there's also the odd chapter that's told by this unified voice of a group of boys who hang out across the street from the Torres' house. They witness Ana's death, and their outsider's perspective gives the audience access to knowledge that the sisters themselves don't (yet) have. I actually kind of liked this fourth perspective, and honestly, my POV issue is with the sisters.

This is a short book, and I almost wished that I could have spent the entire time in just one or two POVs. I was significantly more invested in Jessica's part of the story than either of her other sisters, and perhaps if the book had been longer, I would have been able to connect more with them, but as it stands, I had trouble feeling equally invested in all four narrators.

All in all, though, I'm a fan of Tigers, Not Daughters. It's a story of growing up and growing together and sisterhood and grief and longing for freedom. If magical realism is something you're a fan of (and you don't mind the odd haunting), then this book is for you.

I think I just read the magical realistic, dark, horrific version of “Little Women”!

Yes, there are four sisters. Let’s meet the creepy, obsessed, isolated, unique Torres sisters one by one. But before that, let’s not forget: one of them is already gone!

Pure hearted, animal lover, wandering around the town in the middle of the night, one of the weirdest sisters Rosa reminded me of little Beth as introverted, couch potato, self-punisher, book-worm and forced writer Iridian carries pieces of Jo and Jessica tries to gather the pieces of estranged family, taking care of her own father and bread winner of the family, working at the drugstore, humming her songs at the storage secretly as she misses to sing in chorus is a character between dependable Meg and flirty Amy.

Three sisters trapped in a house with their neglecting, irresponsible father, living in debts and never keeping his promises. The walls start to close and they’re about to crush them as they suffer from suffocation, claustrophobia. And they are also trapped in the house with their dead sister Ana’s ghost. Isn’t it getting better? Sure it is!

Ana and her sisters try to run away from the Southtown as they spied by the neighborhood boys’ gang who want to help their escape but accidentally become the reason of their caught up. Their father Rafe brings them back but Ana is determined to escape which ends her life by falling down the window.

Three sisters deal with Ana’s death at different ways. Iridian carries Ana’s favorite book in everywhere like her compass and begins writing romance novels to finish what her sister started. Jessica moves to Ana’s room, using her makeup products (she does something a little far in the shower, I’m not gonna tell that but yes, it is really extreme!), then she also starts dating Ana’s scumbag, abusive boyfriend John as if she’s punishing herself. And Rosa thinks their sister’s soul is reincarnated into a wild hyena’s body, is wandering around the houses and create terror around the householders.

This is surprising, extreme, dark, spooky, creepy story with fast pacing, short chapters, keeping your attention alive from the beginning. Ending was good and entertaining even though there are still some plot holes. And in my opinion there are some missing pieces about the back stories of the sisters. We only know how they move on their lives while they’re struggling with their inner demons and tremendous grief. But we don’t know how they were before the tragedy hit their place and tear them apart.

Rosa, Jessica and sweetpie Peter was my favorite characters. I had some hard time to connect with Iridian till the last chapters and learning the reason why she isolated herself from the outer world.
Overall: It was still interesting, unique, moving, haunting, dazzling and promising read. And the cover is fascinating! I’m giving 3.5 stars and rounding them up to 4.

Special thanks to NetGalley and Algonquin Young Readers for sharing this captivating ARC with me in exchange my honest review.

Women need no man to thrive.

Tigers, Not Daughters is a cover request and I have no idea what this book is all about until I started reading this. Modern Little Women plus magical realism and paranormal elements seem to be a strange combination but everything clicked on this Samantha Mabry's upcoming release.

A riveting read that will make you read one more chapter until you realize you're on the last page of the book, Tigers, Not Daughters is a book that discusses the various kind of grief each of us are experiencing when dealing with the loss of someone we love.

The story is based on Torres sisters' (Ana, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa) life after their mother, Rita, passed away giving birth to the youngest of them and living with their grieving father.

Life became worse for them after Ana died one night after falling out of her bedroom window which allow a brand new kind of feeling mixed with year's-old trauma of losing their mother surface. This made their father, Rafe, grieved more and lose his grip on staying alive resorting to sleeping on someone's house and alcohol abuse which left the sisters in disarray and with no one to hold.

All of these worsen when the ghost of Ana starts to visit the Torres house making weird activities such as appearing in the bathroom and writing passages on the wall. The remaining sisters, clueless and lonely, are all left to find the answer on why their late sister come back to their house? Is she forcing them to leave the house? Or does she have unfinished business with them?

The poetry lives in this Samantha Mabry book and it is evident all throughout with the lines and subplots developing the backstories and current lives of the remaining Torres sisters. Each one of them stood out with unique characteristics: Jessica as hardworking and family-oriented, Iridian as creative and passionate, and Rosa as adventurous and brave. This book never fail in delivering the capabilities of women and how the reality should now that women need no men to survive.

I love being surprised with this kind of book and since this is my first March read, I am looking forward to more great reads.

RATING: 4.5stars

This book deals with some heavy subject matter - a family grieving in various ways after the tragic loss of their sister.  

For me, the bonds between the sisters are one of the highlights of the story.  Sure, they have their squabbles, but will also defend each other until the end.  Each has their own distinct personality and way of dealing with grief - some in not the most healthy ways - and I appreciated the different POVs of each sister.

My favorite parts of the story are when Ana's ghost tries to communicate with her sisters - I always love the addition of anything supernatural - and it's the primary reason I requested this book.  Without giving away spoilers, one situation involving Ana left me hanging at the end, and I would have liked to know the outcome.  Some parts, while interesting, felt a little disjointed and didn't really come together for me.

This is a well-written, quick read (I read it on a two hour flight), but a dark, heavy tale of grief and loss with a supernatural twist.  

I received a complimentary copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.  Opinions expressed in this review are completely my own.

Thank you Netgalley and publishers for sending me this arc. I will be reviewing this book.properly in the near future with an honest teview.

The story of three sisters mourning for their late fourth sister pulled at all my heartstrings in the best way!

Trigger warnings: human and animal death, abuse in a romantic relationship.

I feel like the characters in the book were well fleshed out. The story was relatable. The writing was easy read and it was a story that had my emotions everywhere.

5 favorite stars

This was lightning in a bottle, a gunshot in progress. Loved it with my entire soul.

Writing: wrap me in these sentences, I'll sleep in a bed of these words
Characters: ★★★★★
The Vibe: ★★★★★

Tigers, Not Daughters comes out on March 24, 2020!

Tigers, Not Daughters hit me from the side with a punch that I wasn't expecting. Magical realism, grief, ghosts, the unshakable reality of sisters, and use of multiple narrators all collided to bring one unforgettable (and new favorite) read.

The Torres sisters were always a set of four. Ana, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa. Their mother isn't there, and their father shouldn't be there, but life is life and that's how it goes.

Except it's not. Because Ana's dead.

Ana's death cracks the lines of this fragile family into 3 distinct shards. We have Jessica, who misses Ana so much that she consumes her, becomes her, shoving the angry versions of herself under layers of steely indifference. We have Iridian, who feels more comfortable with words than with people, as it's only ever people who hurt her over and over. We have Rosa, whose magical ways of understanding reality leave her with a different lens, but no less pain.

All three sisters have survived the impact of Ana leaving them in waves, but when a ghostly presence interrupts their fragile grief, the storm arrives again.

This was so, so good. I loved it. Mabry's realism was definitely magical, but it was also earthy and gritty in a way that was so exciting to read. These sisters were raw, they were real, and they had all kinds of aspects—the good, the bad, the ugly, and the bizarre in a way that only girls can be. The vibe of sisters was perfect.

I also loved the writing. This is a tale in the telling, and the snapshots of perspectives and the lyricism in the sentences flowed in such a way that this story was all-consuming. You lived the Torres sisters and you were them at the same time. This kind of writing is a gem to read in any situation, and I loved its deft handling of grief, darker themes, and resilience.

Thank you to Algonquin Young Readers for an ARC of this title in exchange for an honest review.

I loved this book. It reminded me of The Virgin Suicides but with out the problem that the sisters in that story are mysterious, idyllic beings. The Torres sisters are real and complex. Their story is moving and compelling.