Take a photo of a barcode or cover
27 reviews for:
Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream
Julissa Arce
3.94 AVERAGE
27 reviews for:
Someone Like Me: How One Undocumented Girl Fought for Her American Dream
Julissa Arce
3.94 AVERAGE
This is a great informational book on what life is like for undocumented children. It is a quick and easy read.
Intrigued by the title since my fourth grade students read a great deal about the topic of immigration (Discover Kids: Immigration, Voices From the Field, Angel Island and Esperanza Rising), I wanted to know hear a first hand account of a modern day child struggling with planting two feet firmly in two different lands. Someone Like Me doesn’t disappoint in that aspect.
The author gives her reader an unfiltered view of life without legal documentation; the fear of being discovered and sent back to Mexico drives nearly all of her decisions.
An unflinching look at her life first in a small Mexican town and then in the town I know and love (and live), San Antonio, Arce spares no sordid details. We see the backbone of her family, her mother, work tirelessly to ensure that the family continues to move forward despite setback after setback. We see her father’s volatility grow thanks to the flames of an excess of alcohol and the pressures of being, in essence, a single parent for much of the week.
While I believe this is a story our kids need to read, to know, to empathize with, I am torn. Is it a well-written book? No. Simplistic, bordering on pedantic, I found myself often distracted by the writing. Did I turn the pages quickly? Yes. I wanted to know what happened to her at each stage of life, and could swallow whole phrases quickly due to the style of writing.
Did she work hard to earn a spot at UT Austin? Certainly. But I also happen to be well acquainted with the high school from which she graduated, and know all too well how much my own oldest son toiled at a considerably more academically rigorous high school in the same town. He was not admitted.
So I am torn.
This is an important, timely story. It is one that I am deeply vested in as a human, as a mother, as an educator. It is also not strongly written and yanks at my own mama heartstrings at both the justice AND injustice I felt while reading it.
I’m human. And it succeeded in pulling on all of those feelings-much like this complicated topic. This is why we must talk about it often, and in even, quiet, respectful tones.
*Full disclosure: The middle school the author attended is the same school my own husband attended. The public high school she graduated from is the feeder school where I used to teach.
The author gives her reader an unfiltered view of life without legal documentation; the fear of being discovered and sent back to Mexico drives nearly all of her decisions.
An unflinching look at her life first in a small Mexican town and then in the town I know and love (and live), San Antonio, Arce spares no sordid details. We see the backbone of her family, her mother, work tirelessly to ensure that the family continues to move forward despite setback after setback. We see her father’s volatility grow thanks to the flames of an excess of alcohol and the pressures of being, in essence, a single parent for much of the week.
While I believe this is a story our kids need to read, to know, to empathize with, I am torn. Is it a well-written book? No. Simplistic, bordering on pedantic, I found myself often distracted by the writing. Did I turn the pages quickly? Yes. I wanted to know what happened to her at each stage of life, and could swallow whole phrases quickly due to the style of writing.
Did she work hard to earn a spot at UT Austin? Certainly. But I also happen to be well acquainted with the high school from which she graduated, and know all too well how much my own oldest son toiled at a considerably more academically rigorous high school in the same town. He was not admitted.
So I am torn.
This is an important, timely story. It is one that I am deeply vested in as a human, as a mother, as an educator. It is also not strongly written and yanks at my own mama heartstrings at both the justice AND injustice I felt while reading it.
I’m human. And it succeeded in pulling on all of those feelings-much like this complicated topic. This is why we must talk about it often, and in even, quiet, respectful tones.
*Full disclosure: The middle school the author attended is the same school my own husband attended. The public high school she graduated from is the feeder school where I used to teach.
This book was picked as a battle of the books book for 2019-2020 4th-6th graders. It is a memoir of an undocumented child living in Texas. I thought it was really well done and was enjoyable and emotional even for an adult to read!
emotional
inspiring
medium-paced
“You’ve earned this”
Tears streaming down my face throughout the story which felt so familiar to my life. A beautiful look at Julissa’s upbringing, her honesty and strength.
Tears streaming down my face throughout the story which felt so familiar to my life. A beautiful look at Julissa’s upbringing, her honesty and strength.
challenging
dark
emotional
hopeful
informative
sad
fast-paced
hopeful
inspiring
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
informative
inspiring
reflective
sad
tense
medium-paced
emotional
hopeful
inspiring
reflective
sad
fast-paced
So much about this felt like reading my own autobiography.
Much like Julissa, I come from a country that is not seen as desirable enough to warrant free passage into the US through a visa/green card lottery nor chaotic enough to warrant protective status under TPS and the like.
Immigrants like us are more often than not seen as undesirable invaders regardless of the positive effect that we have in our community. It doesn't matter whether we pay taxes, volunteer, or stay out of trouble. They simply just don't want us here.
It was also by sheer luck that I became "legal" as the white men would like to say it, but that only came after years of struggle and humiliation as an undocumented immigrant.
While I would say that this should be read by all, I also acknowledge the fact that not everyone cares. Many don't care how much we had to struggle, or how we had to suppress our own identities in order to "assimilate" into American culture, or how our hearts raced at the mere thought of an authority figure discovering our dirty little secret.
I wish I had read this sooner, as I became familiar with Julissa's story many years ago, but at the end of the day I'm just glad I read this.
Much like Julissa, I come from a country that is not seen as desirable enough to warrant free passage into the US through a visa/green card lottery nor chaotic enough to warrant protective status under TPS and the like.
Immigrants like us are more often than not seen as undesirable invaders regardless of the positive effect that we have in our community. It doesn't matter whether we pay taxes, volunteer, or stay out of trouble. They simply just don't want us here.
It was also by sheer luck that I became "legal" as the white men would like to say it, but that only came after years of struggle and humiliation as an undocumented immigrant.
While I would say that this should be read by all, I also acknowledge the fact that not everyone cares. Many don't care how much we had to struggle, or how we had to suppress our own identities in order to "assimilate" into American culture, or how our hearts raced at the mere thought of an authority figure discovering our dirty little secret.
I wish I had read this sooner, as I became familiar with Julissa's story many years ago, but at the end of the day I'm just glad I read this.
emotional
inspiring
fast-paced