Reviews tagging 'Sexual assault'

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

71 reviews

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

arisol's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

Another example of a book I have wanted to read for a long time and found me in a period of my life that felt particularly relevant. I can comprehend fully why this book was as well-received as it was, seeing how it relates and describes so much of the experience of children of immigrants. 

In the end, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how it comes down on us as mental illness felt heavy to me, but not in a way that was unappreciated. I am grateful for this book and how it puts so much of my own life, pain and joys, into the world.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Homophobia, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Sexual harassment, Sexual assault, Violence, Rape, and Transphobia

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

kcohrs19's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional sad tense

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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Deportation

Moderate: Gun violence, Child death, Death, Grief, Injury/Injury detail, Mental illness, Murder, Sexual assault, Racial slurs, Body shaming, Violence, Drug use, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, Suicide, Drug abuse, Racism, Sexual harassment, and Car accident

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

cartermon4's review against another edition

emotional 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? It's complicated

5.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Gun violence, Grief, Sexual assault, Death, Rape, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Violence, Suicidal thoughts, Eating disorder, Child death, Death of parent, and Pregnancy

Minor: Sexism, Racism, and Murder

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

mtodd13's review against another edition

dark emotional funny inspiring reflective medium-paced

3.75

Didn’t hate it but also didn’t love it 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Car accident, and Sexual assault