- Hardcover: 288 pages
- Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers (March 24, 2020)
- Language: English
The Torres sisters dream of escape. Escape from their needy and despotic widowed father, and from their San Antonio neighborhood, full of old San Antonio families and all the traditions and expectations that go along with them. In the summer after her senior year of high school, Ana, the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. A year later, her three younger sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are still consumed by grief and haunted by their sister’s memory. Their dream of leaving Southtown now seems out of reach. But then strange things start happening around the house: mysterious laughter, mysterious shadows, mysterious writing on the walls. The sisters begin to wonder if Ana really is haunting them, trying to send them a message—and what exactly she’s trying to say.
In a stunning follow-up to her National Book Award–longlisted novel All the Wind in the World, Samantha Mabry weaves an aching, magical novel that is one part family drama, one part ghost story, and one part love story.
“Tigers, Not Daughters is a phrase from Shakespeare’s King Lear,” says Mabry, author of three young adult novels now, and a community college writing
and Latino literature teacher in Dallas. “In the play, it’s used as an insult, hurled by Albany at Lear’s selfish and disobedient daughters. When I recently heard that phrase spit out with such venom during a production, it struck me—how could I write a story
in which this wasn’t an insult, but, in a way, praise? I’ve always been of the mind that some parents frankly deserve to be disobeyed, and I’m sure many young people would agree. And I’ve always been interested in tinkering with various sources of inspiration,
such as stories that explore Latinx identity and the various forms of assimilation. I’ve very loosely based the dynamic of the Torres sisters on my mother’s often complicated relationship with her sisters, and on their experience of being a mostly English-speaking
Mexican-American family with roots near the US-Mexico border.”
Part family drama, part ghost story, and part love story, TIGERS, NOT DAUGHTERS is a stunning follow-up to All the Wind
in the World, firmly establishing Mabry as a novelist not-to-be-missed,
Advance Praise for Tigers, Not Daughters
“A ghostly tale of revenge and the strength of the sisterly bond… The author adeptly portrays the claustrophobia of living in a small
town and being under the watch of an overbearing patriarchal figure—in fact, the male gaze is the true enemy in this novel, and it’s only when the young women join forces that they’re able to break free of its oppressive ties. Mabry’s (All the Wind in the
World, 2017, etc.) third novel has echoes of The Virgin Suicides. The protagonists are Latinx. The evocative language and deft characterization will haunt—and empower—readers.”
—Kirkus Reviews (Starred Review)
“Little Women meets The Virgin Suicides with a magical realist twist in this evocative and lovely novel… Similar to the
March sisters, the Bennets in Pride and Prejudice, and the three sisters in King Lear... Mabry’s lyrical style weaves themes of sisterhood, death, and romance along with Shakespearean inspiration and paranormal elements to create something magical. VERDICT
This novel is sure to appeal to fans of Mabry’s other works, and could serve as an introduction to magical realism for those unfamiliar with the genre. An engaging, heartfelt exploration of the multifaceted inner lives of teen girls and sisterhood.”
—School Library Journal (Starred Review)
“Mabry speaks gracefully to the transformative power of grief and the often messy (even violent) road to letting go.”
—Publishers Weekly (Starred Review)
“Move over, Louisa May Alcott! Samantha Mabry has written her very own magical Little Women for our times. This is no family of
tamed girls but a clan of fierce and fighting young women who will draw readers into their spell. A celebration of the bonds of sisterhood and of the ways we heal by reaching beyond our losses, our brokenness and fears to the love that holds and heals.”
–Julia Alvarez, author of How the García Girls Lost Their Accents
“A moody and unflinching examination of the gritty, tender and impossible parts of people that make them unforgettably whole. You don’t
read Samantha Mabry’s books so much as experience them. Ferocious and gorgeously crafted. I loved it.”
–Courtney Summers, New York Times bestselling author of Sadie
THOUGHTS/REVIEW:
Samantha Mabry has quickly become one of my favorite authors as I loved this haunting atmospheric tale about sisterly love, and their struggles to protect each other as they discover themselves, that is weaved into this paranormal magical story.
The Torres sisters Ana, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa try to escape unsuccessfully from their miserable life in San Antonio, and from their despotic father. One evening, Ana the oldest sister, falls to her death from her bedroom window. The year following Ana’s death, we see how the sisters mourn her death - each with their own way of handling the loss. All the while, mysterious ghostly and haunting events begin to consume their lives.
Mabry wrote in vivid and poetic prose, giving these sisters their own voice through their unique personalities. The characterization was well thought out and their stories so captivating.
The writing was gracefully executed through this dark and messy turbulence in the lives of these sisters after a violent death. I was so drawn to this distinctive style of writing by Mabry and read this book slowly not wanting it to end.
AUTHOR SPOTLIGHT:
She spends as much time as possible in the west Texas desert.
A FIERCE AND SUBTLE POISON (Algonquin Young Readers, spring 2016) is her first novel.
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