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A review by chuskeyreads
Tigers, Not Daughters by Samantha Mabry
4.0
Hauntingly beautiful story about three sisters each struggling with the grief over the death of Ana, their oldest sister, and coming to terms with their identities as individuals and as sisters.
Jessica - the angry one who tries to become Ana to the point that she loses her identity. She also cleans up her father’s drunken messes, takes care of her sisters, and longs to escape.
Iridian - the introspective loner who sees everything but hides from the world. She spends most of her time writing in notebooks and re-reading the same tattered Anne Rice novel.
Rosa - the youngest sister with an affinity for animals. She questions everything and is the strongest (emotionally) of the three. She becomes almost obsessed with finding a hyena that has escaped from the local zoo.
The format is quite different from other multiple viewpoint books I’ve read. The section begins with a title (e.g., “The Night the Torres Sisters Tried to Runaway from Southtown”) narrated in first person from one of the boys across the street at Hector’s house who frequently watch the Torres sisters from their upstairs window. These chapters serve to set up the events of that day.
The remaining chapters in each section are all dated the same, but titled for one of the sisters. These subsequent girls’ chapters are written omnisciently about that same day but from each sister’s perspective.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think the narrator of the boys’ chapters (the ones with the titles) is Peter, as he is the only character of the “we” in those sections who isn’t named. I find it interesting that the only first-hand view of the Torres sisters we get is from a group of teenage boys spying on the girls from across the street. Such a clever trope!
I read the first chapter, put the book aside for two days (distracted by a project), and picked it back up on the third
day consuming the rest of the book within an hour and a half.
I can’t fully explain what it is about the story that sucked me into their world, but I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end. I have to admit that I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. I felt that it ended too abruptly - that there was more to reveal about Ana’s ghost, her unfinished business, and John. What happened to John? I suppose it’s up to the reader to make those inferences.
Jessica - the angry one who tries to become Ana to the point that she loses her identity. She also cleans up her father’s drunken messes, takes care of her sisters, and longs to escape.
Iridian - the introspective loner who sees everything but hides from the world. She spends most of her time writing in notebooks and re-reading the same tattered Anne Rice novel.
Rosa - the youngest sister with an affinity for animals. She questions everything and is the strongest (emotionally) of the three. She becomes almost obsessed with finding a hyena that has escaped from the local zoo.
The format is quite different from other multiple viewpoint books I’ve read. The section begins with a title (e.g., “The Night the Torres Sisters Tried to Runaway from Southtown”) narrated in first person from one of the boys across the street at Hector’s house who frequently watch the Torres sisters from their upstairs window. These chapters serve to set up the events of that day.
The remaining chapters in each section are all dated the same, but titled for one of the sisters. These subsequent girls’ chapters are written omnisciently about that same day but from each sister’s perspective.
I’m not 100% sure, but I think the narrator of the boys’ chapters (the ones with the titles) is Peter, as he is the only character of the “we” in those sections who isn’t named. I find it interesting that the only first-hand view of the Torres sisters we get is from a group of teenage boys spying on the girls from across the street. Such a clever trope!
I read the first chapter, put the book aside for two days (distracted by a project), and picked it back up on the third
day consuming the rest of the book within an hour and a half.
I can’t fully explain what it is about the story that sucked me into their world, but I couldn’t put it down until I reached the end. I have to admit that I wasn’t satisfied with the ending. I felt that it ended too abruptly - that there was more to reveal about Ana’s ghost, her unfinished business, and John. What happened to John? I suppose it’s up to the reader to make those inferences.