Blog Tour Review: These Feathered Flames

Title: These Feathered Flames (These Feathered Flames #1)
Author: Alexandra Overy
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, LGBT
Publisher: Inkyard Press
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 20, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

A queer retelling of “The Firebird,” a Russian folktale

When twin heirs are born in Tourin, their fates are decided at a young age. While Izaveta remained at court to learn the skills she’d need as the future queen, Asya was taken away to train with her aunt, the mysterious Firebird, who ensured magic remained balanced in the realm.

But before Asya’s training is completed, the ancient power blooms inside her, which can mean only one thing: the queen is dead, and a new ruler must be crowned.

As the princesses come to understand everything their roles entail, they’ll discover who they can trust, who they can love—and who killed their mother.

Review:

Twin sisters are destined to become a queen and a Firebird. Once their fates were decided as children, Izaveta stayed with her mother to prepare to be the queen. Her sister Asya traveled with her great-aunt, the current Firebird. The role of the Firebird is to take something from someone who uses magic, to make sure magic remains balanced. This could be the caster’s heart or a limb. When the current queen, and the twins’ mother, dies suddenly when the girls are seventeen, Asya must return to the palace to reunite with her sister. Asya must find the source of the magic at the palace while Izaveta must convince the council that she is ready to be queen.

This story followed dual narratives of Izaveta and Asya. Both of them had fascinating stories. In their own ways, they had to prove that they were old enough and strong enough to fulfill the roles that they were born to do. Since they were teenage girls, they were overlooked and underestimated, but they had to stand up to their enemies.

There were tons of twists in this story. The death of their mother was kind of glossed over at the beginning, and it ended up being part of a twist at the end. Everyone had secrets that led to a fast paced, exciting ending. It ended on a cliffhanger, so I can’t wait to read the next book!

I highly recommend this exciting new fantasy!

Thank you Inkyard Press for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Three Dark Crowns by Kendare Blake

Grace and Fury by Tracy Banghart

About the author:

ALEXANDRA OVERY was born in London, England. Ever since she was little she has loved being able to escape into another world through books. She currently lives in Los Angeles, and is completing her MFA in Screenwriting at UCLA. When she’s not working on a new manuscript or procrastinating on doing homework, she can be found obsessing over Netflix shows, or eating all the ice cream she can.

Have you read These Feathered Flames? What did you think of it?

Review: Riverdale: The Ties That Bind

Title: Riverdale: The Ties That Bind
Author: Micol Ostow, Thomas Pitilli (illustrator)
Genre: Young Adult, Graphic Novel
Publisher: Penguin Publishing Group
Source: Publisher via Edelweiss
Format: Ebook
Release Date: May 4, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Archie’s second original graphic novel features the world of CW’s Riverdale! Four interconnected stories trap each of our main characters in a unique high-stakes conflict over the course of a few pressure-cooker hours!

Jughead’s locked in and left behind with Moose at Stonewall Prep, Veronica is trapped with Cheryl at a nearby suburban shopping mall, Betty and Polly are stalked by a possible madman when a girls’ night goes horribly awry and Archie is held hostage by a ‘long lost relative’ of Fred’s who’s come to town seeking payback of any and every kind.

Will Archie and company even make it to sunrise? If they do, will they ever be the same again?

Review:

Archie, Jughead, Betty, and Veronica all have encounters with a strange cult over the span of a few hours. Jughead and Moose are locked in their school library. Archie and Reggie are trapped in an escape room at school. Betty and her sister are stalked by a madman to an empty motel. Veronica and Cheryl are chased around a closed shopping mall. Each of these separate incidents are all connected to the same cult.

This was a great fast paced graphic novel. It was short, at just over a hundred pages, so I didn’t expect it to have such a detailed story. Each of the four main characters had a complete story told about their night being terrorized. Even though these stories were separate incidents, they were all connected by a group with the same cult tattoos.

The details of this group behind these events weren’t given so I hope there will be a sequel. Each of the incidents were connected, and some of the background of why they were being targeted was given, but I would have loved if there was a clearer solution. I hope there will be another graphic novel that explains this group who targeted Jughead and his friends.

I really enjoyed this graphic novel.

Thank you Penguin for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Day Before by Micol Ostow

A Werewolf in Riverdale by Caleb Roehrig

Have you read Riverdale: The Ties That Bind? What did you think of it?

Review: The Sky Above Us

Title: The Sky Above Us
Author: Natalie Lund
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Philomel
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

From the author of We Speak in Storms comes a twisty, psychological thriller about three friends searching for the truth in the aftermath of a plane crash.

The morning after their senior year beach party, Izzy, Cass, and Janie are woken by a thundering overhead. Then they and their classmates watch in shock as a plane crashes into the water. When the passengers are finally recovered, they are identified as Izzy’s twin brother, Israel, Cass’s ex-boyfriend, Shane, and Janie’s best friend, Nate. But Izzy can feel when her brother is in pain, and she knows he’s not really dead. So she, Cass, and Janie set out to discover what actually happened that day–and why the boys were on the plane.

Told in alternating timelines and points of view, this powerful and captivating novel follows the three boys in the weeks leading up to that fateful flight, and the girls they left behind as they try to piece together the truth about the boys they loved and thought they knew. A spellbinding story about the ripple effects of tragedy, the questions we leave unanswered, and the enduring power of friendship.

Review:

The morning after a beach party, Izzie, Cass, and Janie are woken up by a plane flying overhead. They watch the plane crash into the ocean, and Izzy instantly knows who was on it. The victims are pulled out of the ocean: Izzy’s twin brother Israel, Cass’s ex-boyfriend Shane, and Janie’s secret boyfriend Nate. Each of these girls had a strong connection to the boys. They have no idea what would drive the boys to crash a plane, but they need to find out to get closure. This story is told through alternating timelines, with the boys’ stories before the crash and the girls’ stories after the crash.

This was a devastating story about grief. The girls mourned the loss of the boys in their own ways. The boys also had their own grief that they experienced before the plane crash. Shane had to mourn the loss of his relationship with Cass. Nate mourned the loss of his future soccer career after an injury. Israel experienced his death in a past life every night in a dream. All six of them, and their parents, had different ways of experiencing grief.

One fascinating part of this book was the experience Israel had of remembering his past life. He’d had dreams since he was a child of a man dying in a car crash. He knew that the man was him from a past life. There was a forum he used to speak to other people who also remembered their past lives. I hadn’t thought much about this phenomenon before reading this story, but the circumstances around the man dying, who Israel believed was him in a past life, made Israel’s claim quite convincing.

This was a tragic story that had me hooked from the beginning until the end.

Thank you Penguin Teen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

The Stepping Off Place by Cameron Kelly Rosenblum

All This Time by Mikki Daughtry and Rachael Lippincott

Have you read The Sky Above Us? What did you think of it?

Review: Your Corner Dark

Title: Your Corner Dark
Author: Desmond Hall
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary
Publisher: Atheneum
Source: Publisher
Format: Paperback arc
Release Date: January 19, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

American Street meets Long Way Down in this searing and gritty debut novel that takes an unflinching look at the harsh realities of gang life in Jamaica and how far a teen is willing to go for family.

Things can change in a second:

The second Frankie Green gets that scholarship letter, he has his ticket out of Jamaica.

The second his longtime crush, Leah, asks him on a date, he’s in trouble.

The second his father gets shot, suddenly nothing else matters.

And the second Frankie joins his uncle’s gang in exchange for paying for his father’s medical bills, there’s no going back…or is there?

As Frankie does things he never thought he’d be capable of, he’s forced to confront the truth of the family and future he was born into—and the ones he wants to build for himself. 

Review:

Frankie Green lives with his father in Jamaica. When he gets a scholarship letter from the US, he knows he has his ticket out of Jamaica. To celebrate, Frankie decides to go to a party that is put on by his uncle’s gang. Frankie’s father doesn’t get along with his brother, but he shows up at the party and gets shot. Frankie has to get money quick to save his father from a bad infection, so he joins his uncle’s gang. Frankie’s life takes a sudden turn, changing the future he had planned.

Frankie was an ambitious boy. He had big dreams of studying engineering in the US. He worked so hard all of his life, but one small decision he made derailed all of his plans. This shows that just one moment can change your life, for better or worse.

This story dealt with some serious topics. Frankie had to join a gang in order to get his father medical care. He gave up his dream of becoming an engineer in order to save his father’s life. That’s something I’ve never had to face, and I’m sure many other readers haven’t had to deal with either. It’s so important to read stories like this, with diverse lifestyles, to understand a little of what life could be like in other places in the world.

This was a suspenseful read!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Long Way Down by Jason Reynolds

Clap When You Land by Elizabeth Acevedo

Have you read Your Corner Dark? What did you think of it?

Review: A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1)

Title: A Curse So Dark and Lonely (Cursebreakers #1)
Author: Brigid Kemmerer
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy
Publisher: Bloomsbury YA
Source: Purchased
Format: Paperback
Release Date: January 29, 2019
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Fall in love, break the curse. 

It once seemed so easy to Prince Rhen, the heir to Emberfall. Cursed by a powerful enchantress to repeat the autumn of his eighteenth year over and over, he knew he could be saved if a girl fell for him. But that was before he learned that at the end of each autumn, he would turn into a vicious beast hell-bent on destruction. That was before he destroyed his castle, his family, and every last shred of hope.

Nothing has ever been easy for Harper Lacy. With her father long gone, her mother dying, and her brother barely holding their family together while constantly underestimating her because of her cerebral palsy, she learned to be tough enough to survive. But when she tries to save someone else on the streets of Washington, DC, she’s instead somehow sucked into Rhen’s cursed world.

Break the curse, save the kingdom. 

A prince? A monster? A curse? Harper doesn’t know where she is or what to believe. But as she spends time with Rhen in this enchanted land, she begins to understand what’s at stake. And as Rhen realizes Harper is not just another girl to charm, his hope comes flooding back. But powerful forces are standing against Emberfall . . . and it will take more than a broken curse to save Harper, Rhen, and his people from utter ruin.

In a lush, contemporary fantasy retelling of Beauty and the Beast, Brigid Kemmerer gives readers another compulsively readable romance perfect for fans of Marissa Meyer.

Review:

While waiting for her brother one night in D.C., Harper is whisked away to Emberfell. Prince Rhen is the heir to Emberfell, which has been cursed for years. A monster terrorizes the country and the people haven’t seen the royal family in a long time. Harper is the key to breaking the curse, and she will be Rhen’s last chance because if he doesn’t break the curse that season, he will never have a chance again. Harper and Rhen have to break the curse and protect Emberfell from the forces that want to break it.

This Beauty and the Beast retelling was set in a fantasy world and our real world. Harper was in Washington D.C. when she was taken by Rhen’s guard, Grey, to a Emberfell. She had a cellphone in Emberfell but it didn’t work because they don’t have electricity. I loved that this fantasy story included the real world because it makes it feel like our world is connected to the fantasy land.

Harper has cerebral palsy. This representation of a disability was great because I haven’t seen much representation of different abilities in fantasy novels. This was part of Harper’s personality but not her entire character. I really liked this representation.

I really enjoyed this fantasy! I can’t wait to read the next book in the series.

What to read next:

A Heart So Fierce and Broken by Brigid Kemmerer

The Cruel Prince by Holly Black

Other books in the series:

  • A Heart So Fierce and Broken
  • A Vow So Bold and Deadly

Have you read A Curse So Dark and Lonely? What did you think of it?

Review: Victories Greater Than Death (Unstoppable #1)

Title: Victories Greater Than Death (Unstoppable #1)
Author: Charlie Jane Anders
Genre: Young Adult, Science Fiction, LGBT
Publisher: Tor Teen
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 13, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Outsmart Your Enemies. Outrun the Galaxy.

Tina never worries about being ‘ordinary’—she doesn’t have to, since she’s known practically forever that she’s not just Tina Mains, average teenager and beloved daughter. She’s also the keeper of an interplanetary rescue beacon, and one day soon, it’s going to activate, and then her dreams of saving all the worlds and adventuring among the stars will finally be possible. Tina’s legacy, after all, is intergalactic—she is the hidden clone of a famed alien hero, left on Earth disguised as a human to give the universe another chance to defeat a terrible evil.

But when the beacon activates, it turns out that Tina’s destiny isn’t quite what she expected. Things are far more dangerous than she ever assumed. Luckily, Tina is surrounded by a crew she can trust, and her best friend Rachel, and she is still determined to save all the worlds. But first she’ll have to save herself.

Buckle up your seatbelt for this thrilling sci-fi adventure set against an intergalactic war from international bestselling author Charlie Jane Anders.

Review:

Tina Mains isn’t an ordinary girl. She was raised by her mother on Earth, but she was actually sent to her mother as an alien clone. Tina was given human DNA so she could blend in on Earth. Now, teenage Tina is being called up to space to fulfill her destiny and return to the role as Captain Thaoh, the person she was cloned from. However, the procedure to return Thaoh’s memories to Tina doesn’t go as planned, so she can’t take on the role of captain. She ends up bringing her best friend Rachael up to space with her, where they join the space crew on an adventure to save all the worlds in space.

This was a gender diverse story. Many of the characters in space were from different species, but they all introduced themselves with their name and then their preferred pronouns. I loved seeing this unity between the worlds, where they had the same form of introduction, even though each of the residents of the different worlds had different appearances and languages. I found this introduction funny at times when an enemy would introduce themself. They would take the time to say their name and pronoun before announcing that they were going to attack. This created a delay in the attack, which could have been avoided without introducing themselves, but it shows how important gender diversity is to their world.

This story was also really funny. The beginning seemed like a comedy of errors when everything went wrong. When Tina was supposed to become the captain she was cloned from, the procedure went wrong so she remained the human Tina. This ruined all of their work of making sure Tina was raised to replace Captain Thaoh. This was followed by another funny scene where they tried to recruit intelligent humans to join the crew. The way they found humans that were smart enough to join them was through a puzzle app. However, the humans they found may have been good at a game on their phone, but they weren’t necessarily the smartest people on Earth. These are just a few of the funny parts of this book.

This was a fun science fiction story with a humorous twist. I can’t wait to read the next book!

Thank you Tor Teen for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

All the Birds in the Sky by Charlie Jane Anders

The Infinity Courts by Akemi Dawn Bowman

Have you read Victories Greater Than Death? What did you think of it?

Review: Hazel and Gray (Faraway #2)

Title: Hazel and Gray (Faraway #2)
Author: Nic Stone
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Short Story
Publisher: Amazon Publishing
Source: Purchased
Format: Ebook
Release Date: December 15, 2020
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Two anxious young lovers lost in the woods. A beckoning mansion in a dark clearing. A short modern-day retelling of Hansel and Gretel by the #1 New York Times bestselling author of Dear Martin.

It’s bad enough that Hazel and Gray have defied the demands of Hazel’s foul stepfather. The Monster has forbidden their romance. Now they’ve awakened in the forest, phones dead, hours past curfew. But not far away is a grand estate in the middle of nowhere. The door is open. In this short story about choosing your own path, the fury of the Monster that awaits them back home may be nothing compared to what lies ahead.

Review:

Hazel and Gray are teenage lovers who have been forbidden to be together. They sneak away to a forest to be together, but they end up getting lost. They find a house that’s all lit up, with a stream of people heading inside. Hazel convinces Gray to go inside to find help, but they weren’t expecting the monster within.

This is a dark retelling of Hansel and Gretel. Instead of being brother and sister, they are lovers. This story had dark and mature themes, including drugs and sex trafficking. It’s a young adult short story, but for a more mature young adult audience.

Though this was a short story, it felt complete. It was fast paced, and quite chilling at times. Sometimes, I have questions after reading a short story, but this one answered all of the questions I had. I would love to see a full length novel about these characters or more dark fairytales from Nic Stone!

This is a great short story in the Faraway series!

What to read next:

The Princess Game by Soman Chainani

The Prince and the Troll by Rainbow Rowell

Other books in the series:

  • The Prince and the Troll
  • The Princess Game
  • The Cleaners
  • The Wickeds

Have you read Hazel and Gray? What did you think of it?

Review: The Infinity Courts (The Infinity Courts #1)

Title: The Infinity Courts (The Infinity Courts #1)
Author: Akemi Dawn Bowman
Genre: Young Adult, Fantasy, Science Fiction
Publisher: Simon and Schuster Canada
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto is certain her life is just beginning. She has a great family, just graduated high school, and is on her way to a party where her entire class is waiting for her—including, most importantly, the boy she’s been in love with for years.

The only problem? She’s murdered before she gets there.

When Nami wakes up, she learns she’s in a place called Infinity, where human consciousness goes when physical bodies die. She quickly discovers that Ophelia, a virtual assistant widely used by humans on Earth, has taken over the afterlife and is now posing as a queen, forcing humans into servitude the way she’d been forced to serve in the real world. Even worse, Ophelia is inching closer and closer to accomplishing her grand plans of eradicating human existence once and for all.

As Nami works with a team of rebels to bring down Ophelia and save the humans under her imprisonment, she is forced to reckon with her past, her future, and what it is that truly makes us human.
From award-winning author Akemi Dawn Bowman comes an incisive, action-packed tale that explores big questions about technology, grief, love, and humanity.

Review:

Eighteen-year-old Nami Miyamoto was preparing for her high school graduation when she was suddenly killed. She wakes up in a place called Infinity, where she’s offered a pill to numb the human pain that her consciousness still feels. She’s rescued by a team of rebels who are working against Queen Ophelia. Ophelia was the virtual assistant that everyone used on Earth, but she’s taken over Infinity with plans to erase humans and fill the world with her Residents. Nami is special because though she is human, she can alter her appearance to look like a Resident. Nami has to work with the rebel group to save the humans and defeat Ophelia and her sons.

This was an original story about death. I was enjoying Nami’s story in the first few chapters, where she was living like a normal teenager. Then, she was murdered and sent to Infinity, the afterlife for human consciousness. It was strange to be thrown into this new world that is so different from our world, but it was fast paced and mysterious that I had to keep reading.

This world had complicated relationships between the humans and the Residents. The humans served the Residents, and didn’t have awareness. The pill that they were offered after waking up in Infinity removed any awareness they had, so they could follow orders from the Residents. There were different courts that they could be sent to, including War and Death, which didn’t have positive outcomes for the humans sent there. The rare few who could escape without taking the pill and keep their awareness tried to rebel against the Residents.

The final chapters of this book were really surprising. There was a character who I found suspicious from the beginning. I was right in suspecting there was something wrong with that character but I couldn’t figure out what it was. I hope there will be a sequel because I really want to know what happens next!

Thank you Simon and Schuster Canada for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Shatter Me by Tahereh Mafi

Cinder by Marissa Meyer

Have you read The Infinity Courts? What did you think of it?

Review: Poison Priestess (Lady Slayers #2)

Title: Poison Priestess (Lady Slayers #2)
Author: Lana Popović
Genre: Young Adult, Historical Fiction
Publisher: Amulet Books
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: April 6, 2021
Rating: ★★★★★

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Goodreads Synopsis:

Book 2 in the Lady Slayers series, about French murderess and fortune teller Catherine Monvoisin

In 17th-century Paris, 19-year-old Catherine Monvoisin is a well-heeled jeweler’s wife with a peculiar taste for the arcane. She lives a comfortable life, far removed from a childhood of abject destitution—until her kind spendthrift of a husband lands them both in debt. Hell-bent on avoiding a return to poverty, Catherine must rely on her prophetic visions and the grimoire gifted to her by a talented diviner to reinvent herself as a sorceress. With the help of the grifter Marie Bosse, Catherine divines fortunes in the IIle de la Citee—home to sorcerers and scoundrels.

There she encounters the Marquise de Montespan, a stunning noblewoman. When the Marquise becomes Louis XIV’s royal mistress with Catherine’s help, her ascension catapults Catherine to notoriety. Catherine takes easily to her glittering new life as the Sorceress La Voisin, pitting the depraved noblesse against one other to her advantage. The stakes soar ever higher when her path crosses with that of a young magician. A charged rivalry between sorceress and magician leads to Black Masses, tangled deceptions, and grisly murder—and sets Catherine on a collision course that threatens her own life.

Review:

In the 17th century, Catherine Monvoison is a 19-year-old wife of a jeweler in France. She was an orphan who had an encounter with a witch when she was a girl. She has the witch’s grimoire that she is dedicated to studying. One day, her friend Marie takes her to the dark side of the city where Marie reads palms. Catherine can see the future, so she starts reading for some of Marie’s clients. Catherine slowly builds a reputation as a seer, which leads her to the dangers of the King’s court.

I love stories about dark parts of history. This series is about women who were “lady slayers” throughout history. I hadn’t heard of Catherine Monvoison before, probably because she was a woman in the 17th century, but this was such a fascinating story.

I found this story to be a quick read. Catherine went through many stages of life, going from an orphanage to a middle class home and eventually to the French Court. The dark arts that Catherine practiced were fascinating to read about. Catherine was a seer and also created poisons from her grimoire. These fantastical aspects made this story exciting and fast paced.

This was such a great story!

Thank you Amulet Books for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

Blood Countess by Lana Popović

Kingdom of the Wicked by Kerri Maniscalco

Other books in the series:

Have you read Poison Priestess? What did you think of it?

Blog Tour Review: Tigers, Not Daughters

Title: Tigers, Not Daughters
Author: Samantha Mabry
Genre: Young Adult, Contemporary, Magical Realism
Publisher: Algonquin Young Readers
Source: Publisher via NetGalley
Format: Ebook
Release Date: March 24, 2020
Rating: ★★★★

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Goodreads 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.

Review:

A year ago, Ana Torres fell out of her bedroom window to her death. Her younger three sisters, Jessica, Iridian, and Rosa, are dealing with their grief in different ways. Jessica acts out and has a dangerous relationship with her boyfriend. Iridian finds comfort in books and writing. Rosa tries to help animals. Strange things begin to happen in their house, and the girls decide that it must be Ana’s spirit communicating with them. They have to figure out what Ana is trying to tell them.

This was an intense story. The sisters were grieving for their sister, but their dad had other ways of dealing with the pain. He checked out of their lives, so they had to look after themselves. They had to grow up quickly, but they each had their own ways of coping.

I really liked the magical realism aspects of this story. Ana’s ghost appeared to her sisters and to the neighbors next door. She didn’t always appear as a person, but she would do things around the house to let them know she was there. There were also some storms that happened around her appearances, which added to the spooky atmosphere.

This was such a beautiful story!

Thank you Algonquin Young Readers for providing a copy of this book in exchange for an honest review.

What to read next:

All the Wind in the World by Samantha Mabry

The Marrow Thieves by Cheri Dimaline

Have you read Tigers, Not Daughters? What did you think of it?