First of all, thank you NetGalley and Algonquin Teen for an eARC in exchange for an honest review!

Tigers, Not Daughters follow the Torres sisters. The oldest, Anna, fellow out her window and died. Now, a year later, the family is falling apart. Jessica, the second eldest (now the eldest) has an abusive boyfriend. Never the same after the loss of Anna, the family is grieving, suffering from isolation, and scrutiny. Now a year later, Anna's ghost has returned to hunt the Torres family, knocking window panes.

Tigers, Not Daughters is a charming, sad, and heartwarming story of family and grief. It's was short and quick to get through, and the cover is absolutely beautiful! It wasn't a favorite, but I did enjoy it!

DNF at 40%
I wanted to like this so bad. The cover was so beautiful, but the story, the characters - i didn't like it. How the story was 'cut up' in a way focusing on the characters here and there. But i just could'nt connect or like any of the characters or the story that unfolded in the book.

First there are four Torres sisters. We see the four of them together, sneaking out of an upstairs window hoping to run away to live with an aunt and to escape their hot-tempered, lethargic father. A year later, the Torres sisters are only three—the eldest, Anna, has fallen from that same upstairs window and died. None or the three sisters, nor their father, will ever be the same.

The Torres sisters are surrounded by troubles: isolation, repressed dreams, unkindness from peers, and constant scrutiny from neighbors. And Jessica, now the eldest, has a boyfriend who is becoming abusive.

One year after her death, Anna's ghost returns, setting off a series of unnerving events, knocking on windows, belongings thrown about, even the escape of a hyena from the local zoo.

Tigers, Not Daughters allows us to follow their survival strategies, some well-chosen, others not. One thing is certain: no matter how mad the sisters are with each other, they'll defend one another fiercely in the face of any threat, be it their father, that boyfriend, or even Anna's ghost.

This book is an interesting, quick read. The blend of the ordinary and the paranormal isn't completely successful. Anna's ghost's appearances and actions feel random at times and don't always move the plot forward, even though they're at the center of the book. Read this book if you want to spend some time with an interesting, flawed family attempting to have some control over the world in which they live.

The Torres girls are a mess since their oldest sister Ana died last year. Jessica is angry at the world and in a bad relationship with Ana's controlling ex. Iridian never leaves the house and loses herself in writing. Rosa has turned to religion and believes she can communicate with animals. Their father is mostly drunk and has abdicated responsibility for his daughters.The sisters are shaken when they start to think that Ana's ghost may be lingering.
I loved this book. Mabry is such a distinctive writer, and her prose style works really well in this mostly realistic story that's laced with some magical realism. Her descriptive writing really evokes the setting (a Latinx community in San Antonio) and the sisters, who are all very distinctive characters.

The book is slightly reminiscent of The Virgin Suicides because the story is partly told through the point of view of a group of boys who are mildly obsessed with the sisters. This part of the narration is told in first person, and I liked the switch from the third person narration of the sisters' narratives.

This is a ghost story of sorts, but it's not terribly scary (although there are a few tense moments). It's really more of a family story, about sisters torn apart and finding their way back to each other. I love books about siblings with rough relationships, so this was very much in my wheelhouse. It's a really lovely book.

Trigger warning for an abusive relationship.

I recieved an ARC of this book via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

I initially asked for this book because I had recently seen the Turkish movie Mustang, about five teenage sisters that lived with their controlling father. It quickly became a favorite coming of age story for me, and I have been looking for similar books, movies and tv shows ever since. This book was it, in the same way.

This book is a contemporary, set in a family of four sisters and a widowed dad. He has a lot of rules for the house they live in, and one of them is none of the girls can let any boys in the house, so the older has to sneak out of her room's window to see the various boys (and men) she's dating. One night she ends up dying while she was climbing down the tree outside of her window to go see her boyfriend, and so the plot starts. The little town they live in is almost exclusively latinx, and the story is told through feminist lenses, though it may not seem at first in the beginning because the message it's giving isn't exactly spelled out for the reader to see.

All of the sisters, even the dead one you don't even get to actually see throughout the book, have very distinct personalities and voices. The chapters alternate with their respective PoVs, and eventually one of a group of boys that live opposite them. If the chapters weren't named after the PoV girl, I would've still recognized which one of them it was.
Jessica is the second oldest after Ana, the one who died. So now she has to work to pay for the expenses that their drunk dad can't afford to pay. She's in a really really toxic relationship that I loved-hated reading about. Jessica is such a strong-minded person, but she became submissive when John was around, and some people are starting to notice.
Iridian kept her dead sister's books right after she died, so now her biggest passion is writing paranormal romance, and she does so whenever and wherever she can. She's the shy one, the snarky one, the look-at-me-and-I'll-bite-you one. I really liked her connection with Ana, because it wasn't as direct as the other two girls', but rather through books and stories and thinking what did Ana find in those that Iridian was not finding herself.
And then Rosa is the youngest one. She's like caught in fairyland: speaks to animals, to her sister's ghost, likes to feel for the hidden forces in everyone and everything. She spends the whole book chasing a wild animal that ran away from a zoo, just because she's like that.

What I found most interesting about this book was the everyday life of these three sisters after the death of the oldest one, seeing them cope and finding out through spread-out flashbacks what happened immediately after Ana died one year ago. I liked that we only got like one scene that was set in school, because I really don't think this book would've benefitted from being a high school drama. I think it's not even mentioned if Rosa goes to school or not. We focus on their neighborhood, Jessica's job at a pharmacy, and the church Rosa goes to every week, and that's it.

The paranormal bit was really well done. I loved that it wasn't explained that much, and that the sisters didn't get all detective-like when they found out what was happening. I liked what it meant for the boys that live opposite them, and I FUCKING LOVED John's scene with it near the end. It merged really well with the end of the story, and because it wasn't really flashy it didn't seem out of place.

What I didn't like was the lenght, lol. I would've made it 200 pages longer, so maybe we could've explored the side characters a bit more. Poor Walter didn't deserve to be in only like 10 pages.

I absolutely loved this!! This was such an interesting book with a great premise. My heart was racing and throbbing and I was left breathless. There were some parts that were more shockingly but it just added excitement to the story plus relevant to the plot.

I must admit the writing here was amazing ! I truly didn't see where the book was going until it was over, which is a huge green light for me in a book. Now, here is why I loved it, and why you probably will too !

The biggest selling point of this book is 100% its characters. The sisters are just so real, somewhat relatable, dealing with issues way above them, and their bond is so strong, yet so raw and difficult. The way they deal with Ana's death is realistic, and I love how they come together when strange things begin to happen. Sisters supporting each other is the best.

The message behind all this book, even though pretty guessable, only really hits you at the end of the book, and I felt so emotional when I finished my reading. If I had a paper version, I would definitely have held it to my chest like an idiot.

The magical/paranormal aspect of the book is really not scary, and I thought the descriptions of it and the way it flows with the rest of the story were completely masterful. Samantha Mabry has a way with words that made me swoon in a way not many books can.

If I must find something that disturbed my reading a little, I must mention the fact that the multiple POVs were mostly a good idea, except for the one of the neighbour kids. I have no clue how they are relevant to the whole plot, the whole book. Those kids felt like that extra screw you end up with when you finish building furniture : they're here but they're entirely useless.

I can't recommend you this enough. We have a simple story, with simple people who encounter some perfectly balanced-written magic and strange events. Everything felt so nice and the messages of Tigers, not Daughters are really worth reading.

If you enjoy Gabriel Garcia Marquez or Isabel Allende, and really wish you could find a YA novel written in that style, this is the book for you. The background of magical realism is a fantastic setting for the Torres sisters’ struggle of trying to grow up and exist in a world without their oldest sister, their leader. I have heard Mabry’s name, but have not read her other books. Tigers, Not Daughters made me want to read them. Also, typing the title of this novel just now made me realize how perfect it is for this book!

This was well-written, different, and pretty slow and kinda uneventful. Each character was distinct but I didn't necessarily like them or even feel a particular connection. On the whole, it felt like it was reaching for Anna-Marie McLemore but didn't quite have the prose or the energy.

I did not enjoy this story. This is a character driven story and if you, like me, do not like any of the characters its very hard to enjoy the story. There isn't a character in this book that isn't a horrible person in some way with really problematic behavior brushed off as "oh they're a teen its normal". Typically I give books like this 3 stars but I cant support the message this story gives to teens.

This book is targeted to teens and teens tend to be really impressionable. This book doesn't address how bad all the characters behavior is (other than the dads) and seems to encourage and normalize behavior that should ever be considered appropriate. The "great guy" character in this book shows some serious stalker trends and perversion written off as "hes a normal teenage boy of course hes going to look at naked girls through their windows". Even more worrisome is the character in an abusive relationship, like physically punching abusive, and she keeps going back to him like nothing happened. Yes, this happens in real life all the time but don't normalize it for teen girls!

Three stars

When I started this novel, I kept thinking of _The Virgin Suicides_. The often mysterious relationships between siblings (sisters, in particular), the looming death, and the myth building around them - especially as developed by the neighborhood kids as narrators - really pulled me in to this one at the start, too.

Unfortunately, I had a hard time staying interested after the first few chapters.

For me, this work felt extremely disjointed, and I kept sensing a distance from the characters. I'm not sure if the intention here is to build a structural distance and create a kind of haze in conjunction with the characters' various stages of and experiences with grief, but that's very much what I experienced in reading this work. While I really enjoyed this style, I had a hard time getting or staying invested in what happened to the characters as a result. I would have loved to see more from the perspective of the neighborhood kids looking in on the sisters. The parts of the novel where this happens explicitly really work for me, but where we move away from mythologizing the sisters (again, a la _The Virgin Suicides_), I just started to disconnect.

This is a great concept and a book I think is worth reading, but I did not have the same intensely moving and positive reaction that I've seen many other reviewers express. I loved _All the Wind in the World_ and look forward to reading more works by this author in the future.

Tigers, not daughters is told by different perspectives. It deals with loss, grief, alcohol and physical abuse. When one of the Torres sisters dies the family each try to deal with it in their own way. You have a father who did not only lose his wife in child birth but also lost his oldest daughter. You have Jessica who misses her sister so much that she tries to be like her. You have Iridian who is scared to sleep in her own home. Then you have Ana the youngest who is dealing with her emotions by finding the Hyena that has escaped.

I love the poetic way this book was written. It does have a slight touch of Magic Realism. The way the characters are written you can feel all their pain and emotions. I would recommend this book to all who would love a quick touching read.

I wasn't always sure what was happening in this book but I loved the use of language. The characters always felt real though it toed the line of magical realism. The shifting voices helped create a vivid landscape for the story. I wanted to know more about the father - was he a deadbeat or just grieving?

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

Synopsis: We follow the perspectives of sisters Jessica, Rosa and Iridian as they live life whilst being haunted by their recently deceased sister, Ana. Oh, and we get the perspective from a nosy neighbour and his friends too. As the girls try to decipher why Ana is haunting them they each navigate their own life obstacles and grief in the 9 days that the majority of this story takes place in.

Wow, I started this book last night without knowing quite what I was getting into. After reading the first page, I was irrevocably hooked. Normally I find it hard to sink in to a novel which has multiple perspectives as I find it hard to care that much about certain characters and only love one. However, I loved each perspective in this story equally - from Jessica's tough time with boyfriend John, Iridian and her sense of belonging within a page, Rosa and her sweet yet strong character, and even the boys next door and their well articulated shame at not doing more to help.

I think my favourite part about this book was how real each of the characters felt. They didn't play the hero just because that would have been the easier path to take, instead they acted how any normal person would probably act in that situation. Then, when they tables were turned and a character did act, that also felt real.

I'm lucky enough that I haven't experienced the death of someone close to me, all my close family and friends are still beautifully alive. So I don't feel like I can say that I related to the feelings of grief that the sisters and their dad experience, but I can say that I do believe that people react to grief in different ways and the way that Mabry writes this in her characters is poetic. Coming away from reading about grief written in this way has given me a new perspective on what it would be like to lose someone precious. Oh, and while I mentioned Dad... he is a grief stricken character who comes across as a "baddie" in the girls eyes, however, I think the reader is encouraged to sympathise with him a little bit. Not excuse him and his actions, but to develop our sympathy and make ourselves (the audience) recognise that although we are entitled to our opinions, it doesn't mean that others aren't.

There are other elements in the book that I really enjoyed as well; the general sisterhood feel, hints of romance, the spiritual side of Rosa, the acknowledgement of how guilt can really plague a person, and that someone actually stood up against an asshole character in a way that wasn't all macho.

I hope that this novel gets traction when it is published in March 2020 as I think it could help many people understand more about grief and emotions, as well as just being an all round hooking read. Now excuse me as I go find Mabry's other books!

Tigers, Not Daughters is the story of the Torres sisters, three young women -- Iridian, Jessica, and Rosa -- grieving the loss of their eldest sister, Ana. Ana, however, is not quite gone, and her sisters find themselves and their home haunted by Ana's spirit. As all three girls navigate isolation, an abusive boyfriend, and an escaped hyena, the ghost of their sister lingers and forces them to come to terms with their grief once and for all. Samantha Mabry writes with a unique voice, lyrical prose that flows gently even as it punches the reader in the gut. Each sister is distinctive and their grief is palpable. Mabry demonstrates how the grieving process is for different people, even those who have lost the same loved one. This book is a masterful portrayal of the bonds between sisters, the grief that binds them together, and the pain that ultimately heals them.

This was a really great read. It was about 3 sisters dealing with the loss of the fourth. They each cope in their own ways and each chapter is from a different point of view. Their father is mostly absent with his own grief and each of the girls are basically on their own. It follows them a year after the loss and shows exactly how they've been affected. Each one eventually overcomes and grows stronger. It was a good read for me. I would certainly read more by this author.

Thank you to NetGalley for a copy of this book "Tigers Not Daughters" in exchange for an honest review. I knew nothing about this book before digging into it and once I started I literally could not stop reading. The tone is very different from anything I've read before. The book is about four girls who live with their father, who is a pretty terrible father and person. He tries to hold them close while also just being an irresponsible, selfish jerk. Their mother died when the youngest girl was born. Across the street lives a boy named Hector whose house is a hangout for his three best guy friends. Parts of this book are told from their perspective. Ana is the oldest daughter who just graduated high school. Her sisters are Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa who is around twelve years old and who all have very different personalities and quirks. The girls dream of running away. But one day Ana dies and the girls are left scrambling. Their plan was always led by Ana. A lot of interesting things start happening around a year after Ana's death. Pretty soon it is apparent that Ana is back and trying to send them a message. The girls deal with Ana's spirit differently and they try to unravel the message that she is sending them. Oh this book! It felt so real and the characters felt realistic and vulnerable. It made the 'ghostly' parts of the story more realistic as well. The only thing negative I can say is that boo is written in a way that never quite allows you to get in the character's heads. A good book can make you feel like you are completely immersed in the character. This felt more like watching a tv show. A really good tv show, maybe even your favorite, but still a tv show. But I wouldn't change the tone or writing either because it was so beautifully done. I really enjoyed this book. I love stories where women take their futures by the hand and overcome obstacles. I don't really see the Little Women comparisons though. The only thing I found to be similar was that both books are about four sisters. I highly recommend this one.

"If it weren’t for us, things would’ve turned out differently. If it weren’t for us, Ana wouldn't have died two months later and her sisters wouldn’t have been forced to suffer at the hands of her angry ghost.”

This was a moving story about the power of grief and the strength of sisterhood.

Set in San Antonio "Tigers, Not Daughters"  shows the gritty and raw side of raising daughters in modern times. The Torres sisters live across the street from teenage boy Hector, whose teenage male friends are generally hanging around.  They are being raised by their father, their mother died after the youngest daughter was born. But what happens to the already unpleasant Torres household when the oldest sister dies? What secrets is everyone hiding? 

Thank you to Netgalley and the publisher for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I enjoyed the dysfunctional family aspect and the cast of characters as a whole, but felt a hard time connecting to any character on a more personal level which lowered the overall enjoyment of the book for me. Otherwise, a pretty solid read.

If you like
* dysfunctional families.
* Ghost stories.
* sisterly love.
* mysteries.
Then I think you’re probably going to like this book because it has all of that and more. Personally I enjoyed the writing and the plot of this novel but since I didn’t connect with any of the characters I couldn’t get fully invested in it so it ended up just being an ok read for me. I definitely think others should give it a try if they like any of the things I mentioned though because it really was quite a good book.