"Tigers, Not Daughters" by Samantha Mabry

"Who knows how many angry spirits I've been carrying around with me all this time?"

~Ana Torres

The Torres sisters have been each other's rocks throughout life. Ana, the oldest, is the "heartbreaker and heartmender" of the four. She is the protector of her sisters, but she also feels the need to earn her stripes and spread her wings away from the small town.

Jessica, the next-born, suffers from slight jealousy of her older sister. A biter who "prefers to sleep under church pews." She insists on looking perfect and, after the tragedy strikes in the Torres household, she tries to embody Ana as much as she can, even if it means changing who she is.

Iridian, the quiet one of the group, has not been to school since 7th grade. She prefers to be lost in her favorite book, "The Witching Hour" by Anne Rice and her own black-and-white worlds she creates in notebooks Jessica brings home from work. Iridian is the one who sees all the details and immediately knows when Ana has returned.

Rosa, the baby of the pack, is "gifted with a better heart than most." She has the heart and mind to help the suffering of people and animals. But Rose also knows when things can turn ugly and she "isn't afraid to get blood on her hands," even if it means someone else's.

When Ana dies, the sisters, now a trio, are heartbroken. Jessica steps up as the eldest, but tries her best to mold herself into Ana's shoes, despite Iridian's sharpness that no one can fill Anna's shoes, especially her makeup-loving, boyfriend-stealing, shallow shell of a sister. But the main reason Jessica can't fill Ana's shoes?

Ana is back. She makes it known that she is not happy about her sisters' way of living with their single, drunk of a father. She presses her hand against Jessica's shower curtain, she takes Iridian's pen, writing a message along the bottom of her bedroom wall, she makes Rosa believe an escaped hyena from the zoo is Ana's spirit trying to get their attention.

The girls know their sister has returned. The events start turning more sinister as shadows appear on walls, laughter echoes throughout the house, Iridian refuses to be alone and the boys across the street that believe the Torres sisters are miracles on Earth have seen Ana's ghost outside the house, knocking on her father's bedroom window.

But what is Ana trying to tell her sisters? Who is truly responsible for Ana's death? And why is she now, a year later, haunting her sisters? What is she so upset about?

This book was a beautiful read from beginning to end. I fell in love with the story from the first page. My own theories started rising when I started piecing together Ana's last 24 hours, but the shock that comes when Ana receives her last wish is one I never thought I would experience or feel with this type of book.

This is such a beautiful story and, as the one review says, "A magical Little Women for our times." This is going to be a classic one day. The Torres Sisters most certainly are tigers, not daughters.