My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

3.91 AVERAGE

mjbarn's review

4.0
emotional hopeful inspiring medium-paced

racheldrazzle's review against another edition

4.25
emotional funny hopeful informative reflective sad
This book is such a great insight into immigration and paths to citizenship, of the struggles of families to give their kids better, and the immense pressure on these kids to fit in, succeed, and thrive in these so often stressful situations. This is a must read! 

djunah72's review

4.5
challenging emotional funny hopeful informative inspiring reflective sad medium-paced
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joana3865's review

4.75
emotional medium-paced
 
This is the kind of book I know I’ll carry with me throughout my life — a book I truly connected with, especially as I struggle to find myself in an academic world that my family has never been part of and most likely never will be. 
When the author talked about living in a trailer, I saw so many similarities to my own story. It made me remember and dig up old photos of my 7th birthday, celebrated in a cramped trailer filled with laughter and happiness. And when the author mentioned her parents cleaning the movie theater, it hit home — I don’t even know how or when, but my parents woke my brother and me up at 2 a.m. to clean a restaurant. I’d scrub sinks, take out the trash, then come home around 6 a.m., crash, wake up, and go to school.
 
It’s moments like these that make me admire my parents’ resilience, and I try to tap into that strength whenever imposter syndrome hits — and boy, does it hit hard. I love that even though the author and I have never met and probably never will, our stories share similarities. We’re connected through the resilience of our communities and parents, who hold onto the same dreams and hopes. 

katekatiekait's review

3.5
dark emotional hopeful reflective sad fast-paced
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awbarry763's review

4.0
hopeful inspiring medium-paced

ajeveland14's review

3.75
inspiring reflective medium-paced
I appreciated the author’s perspective, and maybe just missed the conclusion because it hasn’t been written yet. I can’t imagine how hard it could be to make the family decisions throughout this story.

cehcocom's review

4.0
emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense medium-paced
Great story about needing to succeed because you are the one your family is counting on. Hits close to immigrant story of success, but shows more of the struggle one faces to see that success is the only option for you and your family.

vlawsreads's review

4.75
emotional hopeful informative reflective slow-paced
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clarissacardona's review

2.75
emotional informative reflective medium-paced