#tigersnotdaughters

Welcome to Book-Keeping and my stop on the Algonquin Young Readers blog tour for Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry, which releases TODAY! I am so excited to tell you all about this book and share my review with you. Let’s get started!

About the Book

title: Tigers, Not Daughters author: Samantha Mabry publisher: Algonquin Young Readers release date: 24 March 2020

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.

Add to Goodreads: Tigers, Not Daughters Purchase the Book: Order from Samantha’s local indie bookstore, Interabang Books in Dallas, TX, and she will sign it and personalize it for you if you wish! (See her Instagram post) Other Purchasing Links: Amazon | B&N | Books-a-Million | Bookshop | Indiebound | Kobo

Early Praise for Tigers, Not Daughters

“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

“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)

“Borrowing elements of magical realism and Latinx folklore, this is a story that is often uncomfortable; in its quest to explore grief, family, and the traumas inflicted by each, it lays its characters utterly and unforgettably bare.”

–Booklist (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)

“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. 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)

“This is a quietly searing tale of sisterly love and family secrets, of a grief so big it swallows its mourners up, blotting out the future and distorting the past…Mabry’s prose continues to be elegantly simple and profoundly evocative…an appealingly unsettling infusion of ambiguous faith and unexplained miracles.”

–Bulletin of the Center for Children’s Books (Starred Review)

About the Author

Samantha Mabry credits her tendency toward magical thinking to her Grandmother Garcia, who would wash money in the kitchen sink to rinse off any bad spirits. She teaches writing and Latino literature at a community college in Dallas, where she lives with her husband, a historian, and a cat named Mouse. She is the author of A Fierce and Subtle Poison and All the Wind in the World.

Connect with Samantha: Website | Goodreads | Twitter | Instagram

Check out more at my Instagram feed!

My 5-Star Review

I was thrilled to be offered the chance to take part in this blog tour with Algonquin Young Readers, and I’m so glad I jumped on board, because I love Tigers, Not Daughters! This book is loosely based on King Lear, which has always been my favorite of Shakespeare’s plays. (It’s been years and years since I’ve read it, though, so don’t feel like you have to know anything about it before reading this book.) Ms. Mabry says this of the title and how she got the idea for this book:

“Tigers, Not Daughters is a phrase from Shakespeare’s King Lear. 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.”

I was immediately on board with the idea that being a “tiger” didn’t have to be an insult; instead, it could be a strength. Why shouldn’t young women be allowed to show their claws? Especially when their father is an often-drunk despot who keeps them tethered to him by playing on their sense of responsibility to him, even as he shows no responsibility toward them. 

What I love so much about this book, as slim as it is, is that we get to see such growth in each of the three Torres sisters, as they gradually make their way to becoming those tigers of the title. Each starts with their own particular weakness, whether it be Jessica’s boyfriend, John; Iridian’s fear of leaving her house and exposing any part of herself to others; or Rosa’s gentle, quiet, and kind nature that has people thinking of her as only ever gentle, quiet, and kind. Throw in some magical realism and a visit from the ghost of their dead sister one year after her accident (falling to her death from her bedroom window while trying to escape) and you have an incredible story. By the end, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa have all figured out how to grow and show their claws, each in their own way conquering their weaknesses and fears. My favorite quote from the book is from Jessica and sums up that growth (seriously, if I were not months away from turning 45 I would have this tattooed somewhere I could see it every day): 

“An angry girl is allowed to be angry.” (p. 220 of ARC)

I wrote down a series of words immediately upon finishing the book that pretty well sum up my thoughts: lyrical, fierce, gorgeous, feminist, sublime. I hope these adjectives will convince you to pick up this beautiful story of sisterhood and of owning one’s inner tiger. Be fierce, be strong, be angry--let the Torres sisters be an inspiration to you.

Rating: 5 stars!

**Disclosure: I received an ARC of this book from the publisher for purposes of this blog tour. This review is voluntary on my part and reflects my honest rating and review of the book.