Reviews tagging 'Self harm'

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

93 reviews

that_person_logan's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad tense

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

4.5

I think this is a wonderful book that should be required reading in high schools across the world.
It’s raw, it’s beautifully written, and above all it is real. Nothing is glossed over and it makes for a very emotional and compelling read. 
Highly Recommend but please do your research on potential content warnings before deciding to read it!!

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Blood, Death, Suicidal thoughts, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Rape, Pregnancy, Gun violence, Homophobia, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual content and Deportation

op3's review against another edition

adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I really tried to love this book. I really did. I found the quality of writing lazy and rushed, the only highlight was the ending which I found to be just ok. So that’s what I’m rating the book as. Just ok.
Often times I take at least an hour or two to pick out books I want to read so I can enjoy what I read. This is one of those books I avoid when I spend that time searching. This is a testimony that I should keep doing that. But the ending was okay. The fluff was ok if you consider there to be any.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide, Sexual violence, Miscarriage, Rape, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Self harm, Pregnancy, Alcohol, Suicide attempt, Sexual assault, Gun violence, Grief, Panic attacks/disorders, Death, and Child death

Moderate: Sexual assault, Self harm, Violence, Toxic relationship, Injury/Injury detail, Gun violence, Gaslighting, Blood, Sexual content, Sexual harassment, Xenophobia, Suicide attempt, Religious bigotry, Outing, Death, Bullying, Sexual violence, Grief, Suicide, Pregnancy, Miscarriage, Homophobia, Sexism, Car accident, Alcohol, Panic attacks/disorders, Suicidal thoughts, Cursing, and Child death

Minor: Violence, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Drug use, Blood, Gore, Drug abuse, Toxic relationship, Death, and Eating disorder

melist6's review

challenging emotional sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicide attempt, Death, and Suicidal thoughts

Moderate: Rape, Self harm, and Mental illness

Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Homophobia, Sexual harassment, and Racism

jkprie001's review against another edition

emotional reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

The book was relatable on the aspect of it having the main character be Mexican American and trying to progress in life. It does have suicide in it so trigger warning for that. But it was a good read. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Sexual assault, Abortion, Self harm, Pregnancy, and Homophobia

ricksilva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative reflective sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Julia struggles with the sudden tragic death of her sister as well as her own depression while feeling trapped in a family that needs her to fill the "perfect daughter" role that her sister had held. And Julia begins to realize that her sister, Olga, had her own set of secrets and might not have ever been what the family believed her to be.

All of this plays out over a tumultuous two years in which Julia grieves while finishing high school, having her first romantic relationship, and trying to find her voice in a place she feels like she never truly fits in.

The pacing was slower than expected at first, and it really took about half of the book before it hooked me. The mystery of what was going on with Olga is not entirely the payoff that it at first seems to set up, but I did appreciate that the plotline was resolved in a way that felt both ambiguous and very real.

The details of setting and culture, both in Chicago and Mexico are excellent, and the characters are multifaceted with most of them showing growth and change as the story moves along. The main character's voice in a nice mix inner-city tough and intellectual, and she is easy to root for even when making some very bad decisions.

I felt like the ending didn't completely resolve all of the character tension, but still managed to leave things off on a good note.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Eating disorder, Self harm, Abortion, Rape, Sexism, and Sexual assault

amanda884's review against another edition

emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes

5.0

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Sexual assault, Suicide attempt, Mental illness, Animal death, Suicide, and Grief

Minor: Abortion, Rape, Homophobia, Self harm, and Pregnancy

whoolie3's review against another edition

challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Pregnancy, Death, Car accident, Stalking, Mental illness, Self harm, Violence, Suicide attempt, Gun violence, and Suicide

Minor: Abortion, Pregnancy, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Rape, Deportation, and Self harm

gem114's review against another edition

hopeful sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

Read this because it was added to my 11th grade curriculum. I was a little surprised by some of the more graphic scenes, but I do think kids will relate to the generational divides whether they come from immigrant families or not and that makes it worth any potential awkwardness in class. Will definitely need to give content warnings, though. 

As an adult reader, I did struggle at times to be sympathetic to Julia. Maybe it’s my age and personal experience talking, but I do think there are some basic responsibilities that teenagers should have regarding chores, communication with parents, etc that she pushed back on more than was reasonable, and I think Olga’s secrets were unnecessarily over the top, but I can see how this will all make it more appealing to young readers. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Self harm, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Rape, Gun violence, Car accident, Grief, and Racism

Minor: Deportation, Sexual assault, Homophobia, Pedophilia, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Pregnancy

demarqk2's review against another edition

emotional hopeful lighthearted reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? No
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Minor: Child abuse, Mental illness, and Self harm

teresarosereads's review against another edition

emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

I feel like this book would be so important for teen readers to pick up and very relatable to so many. The novel covers so many different topics that affect teen lives including mental health, difficult family dynamics, the immigrant experience, having your first kiss and first sexual encounter, teen pregnancy, and more. Having just read the author's memoir before this, I could tell that she put a lot of her own experiences into the novel which was interesting to see. 

The main character could be very judgy and negative at times which I've seen people criticize, but I felt like a lot of her judgment came from the fact that everyone was also judging her life and from her feeling like no one around her sees or understands who she truly is. The more I read the novel the more I felt that I understood her perspective and I really wanted her to find someone who truly understood her. 

What is keeping me from giving this 5 stars is that I almost felt like it was trying to cover too many topics at once. All of the themes it discussed were important, but I felt like some topics weren't as deeply explored as they could have been if the novel only focused on a few specific topics. I wanted more details and exploration from some portions and I sometimes felt like the pacing was a bit choppy. I think the story felt unfocused at times and the more that new topics were introduced the more the story started to feel a bit crowded. I would have preferred if the story focused on a few key themes and explored them deeply instead of trying to cover everything.

That being said, I still think teen readers and even adults would gain something from reading this and it is definitely a book I would want in my future classroom.

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt, Grief, Death, Self harm, and Mental illness

Minor: Rape