Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry

Synopsis:

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.

My Thoughts:

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.