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3.94 AVERAGE
3.94 AVERAGE
Chicago--Julia's older sister is killed by a truck, but leaves behind a cache of mysterious stuff in her closet. While Julia tries to figure out the clues, she deals with her own grief, overprotective parents, friendships, and a boyfriend from the rich suburbs. Attempts suicide, then parents send her to Mexico to spend time with her family...she finds out about her parents' story in crossing the border (mother raped...sister was conceived in the rape, father had given up talents in art). When she returns, she is refreshed, and learns that her sister had an affair with an older married man and was pregnant at the time of her death.
I handed it to my son to read after state testing at school. He loved it, and when I finished we had a discussion about depression and suicide and about how our brains worked in the dark moments.
Enjoyed this book. 3.5-4 stars.
Reminded me of mom:
“If you’re going to do something, you have to do it right, or you shouldn’t do it all,” Amá said.
Loved the evocative prose like this… this is such a visceral and real thing!
“He calls me almost every night, and we talk until my ear gets hot.”
Reminded me of mom:
“If you’re going to do something, you have to do it right, or you shouldn’t do it all,” Amá said.
Loved the evocative prose like this… this is such a visceral and real thing!
“He calls me almost every night, and we talk until my ear gets hot.”
medium-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Character
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
No
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
I really struggled with liking the main character in that one. To the point where I had to ask myself if that book wasnt written by a man.
It got better in the end because the f-ed personnality she had suddenly disappears throughout the book.
But it lost a lot of points in the first half for me.
It got better in the end because the f-ed personnality she had suddenly disappears throughout the book.
But it lost a lot of points in the first half for me.
challenging
dark
hopeful
slow-paced
Plot or Character Driven:
Plot
Strong character development:
Complicated
Loveable characters:
Complicated
Diverse cast of characters:
Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus:
Yes
challenging
emotional
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
Check the CW/TW before reading this one.
This book was recommended to me by one of my Mexican high school students as she saw herself in it so much and knowing her story I can see why.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and hearing directly from the main character, it really felt like I was in her head while listening. The book deals with so many challenging themes, most prominently grief. On top of it she is experiencing mental health issues, the challenges of being the child of two immigrant parents, and all that is being a teenage girl. Though the focus is on the main character's life, you do get a subplot of mystery that is actually resolved by the end.
This book was recommended to me by one of my Mexican high school students as she saw herself in it so much and knowing her story I can see why.
I really enjoyed this audiobook and hearing directly from the main character, it really felt like I was in her head while listening. The book deals with so many challenging themes, most prominently grief. On top of it she is experiencing mental health issues, the challenges of being the child of two immigrant parents, and all that is being a teenage girl. Though the focus is on the main character's life, you do get a subplot of mystery that is actually resolved by the end.
Content Warnings
Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Self harm, Suicidal thoughts, Violence
Minor: Rape, Sexual violence, Pregnancy, Deportation
Straight ahead realism, will be highly relatable for teens across gender and ethnic spectrums. All real teen stuff handled and written very well: sex, alcohol/drugs, depression/suicide, parental smothering, dating/friendships
This is a great YA or adult title reflecting the experiences of a first-generation teenager living in Chicago with her hard-working undocumented parents. Julia is a strong, but troubled teenager. She feels restricted by her family and fears that she will be unable to fulfill her dreams of becoming a writer, going to college, and establishing her independence. Well-written, this book sparked much discussion within our book club. This book was a National Book Award finalist and very timely. AND my friend, Maribel Castro, wrote the reader's guide for the paperback edition. Yeah, Maribel. Well done! I hope this book finds a dedicated group of readers. It should be in every high school.
Synopsis
First generation Mexican-American teenager Julia (not Jewel-ia) needs to get out of her parents’ house where the combined weight of her parents’ expectations and the perfection of her older sister is slowly crushing her to death in her roach-infested apartment. Until Julia’s sister dies and Julia begins to discover things about her sister that she just can’t let go. The deeper she digs, the harder life gets, the more Julia spirals until it seems there’s no way out. Was her sister’s death her fault? Can Julia ever feel free?
Hot-button Themes
Through Julia’s story, Sanchez is able to introduce scenarios that get at why many immigrants risk everything to leave their homes to come to the US, the dangers inherent in trusting coyotes to lead you across the border, the pressures many immigrant families place on their children, the extreme poverty many immigrants live in (particularly those without status who are then more vulnerable to exploitation), and the stigma of mental illness—both generally and within specific communities. Sanchez handles each of these with aplomb and gentleness, particularly the last.
Why Not a Full Review?
I’ve mentioned a few times that certain books—again, THUG—aren’t written for me. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them but that at the end of the day I’m not the audience the reader had in mind when she wrote a book. I can learn from these books but I’ll never be able to fully identify with the main characters. I still chose to review books like THUG in hopes that my blog might lead someone to pick them up who wouldn’t have previously, while acknowledging that my review would not be able to do full justice to the lived experience of those who look like and live like the characters. There are things I will never truly understand, as a woman with all of the privileges except the gender one.
My inability to fully review a book like this was never more true than with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. The book has short conversations and ideas expressed in Spanish that went almost entirely over my head. There were also some significant cultural themes that I knew enough to recognize there was something happening that I didn’t fully understand. My reading of this book was likely only the top of the iceberg.
Representation Matters
With that said, I believe down to my bones that representation matters. That we need books like I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Dear Martin, THUG, and American Street—books that are written by people of color about people of color and the unique struggles they continue to face in this country. Everyone deserves to see themselves in the pages of a book and there are not enough opportunities for non-white teenagers to see themselves in books of this caliber. For white audiences, these characters embody the grey of the black-and-white news stories on “illegal immigrants”* and yet another African American slain by cops for chewing his gum the wrong way in the “wrong” neighborhood (re: the nice one). I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter should be read by first generation Latinx teenagers who can’t remember the last time they saw someone who looked and talked like them in a book. It should also be read by the white woman who doesn’t have close friends without status, because even she should have exposure to these themes.
Notes
Published: October 17, 2017 by Knopf (@aaknopf / @knopfteen)
Author: Erika L. Sanchez (@erikalsanchez)
Date read: December 6, 2017
*Do not get me started on how it is impossible for a human being to be illegal.
If you enjoyed this review, more bookish thoughts can be found at http://lisaanreads.com
First generation Mexican-American teenager Julia (not Jewel-ia) needs to get out of her parents’ house where the combined weight of her parents’ expectations and the perfection of her older sister is slowly crushing her to death in her roach-infested apartment. Until Julia’s sister dies and Julia begins to discover things about her sister that she just can’t let go. The deeper she digs, the harder life gets, the more Julia spirals until it seems there’s no way out. Was her sister’s death her fault? Can Julia ever feel free?
Hot-button Themes
Through Julia’s story, Sanchez is able to introduce scenarios that get at why many immigrants risk everything to leave their homes to come to the US, the dangers inherent in trusting coyotes to lead you across the border, the pressures many immigrant families place on their children, the extreme poverty many immigrants live in (particularly those without status who are then more vulnerable to exploitation), and the stigma of mental illness—both generally and within specific communities. Sanchez handles each of these with aplomb and gentleness, particularly the last.
Why Not a Full Review?
I’ve mentioned a few times that certain books—again, THUG—aren’t written for me. That doesn’t mean I can’t enjoy them but that at the end of the day I’m not the audience the reader had in mind when she wrote a book. I can learn from these books but I’ll never be able to fully identify with the main characters. I still chose to review books like THUG in hopes that my blog might lead someone to pick them up who wouldn’t have previously, while acknowledging that my review would not be able to do full justice to the lived experience of those who look like and live like the characters. There are things I will never truly understand, as a woman with all of the privileges except the gender one.
My inability to fully review a book like this was never more true than with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. The book has short conversations and ideas expressed in Spanish that went almost entirely over my head. There were also some significant cultural themes that I knew enough to recognize there was something happening that I didn’t fully understand. My reading of this book was likely only the top of the iceberg.
Representation Matters
With that said, I believe down to my bones that representation matters. That we need books like I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Dear Martin, THUG, and American Street—books that are written by people of color about people of color and the unique struggles they continue to face in this country. Everyone deserves to see themselves in the pages of a book and there are not enough opportunities for non-white teenagers to see themselves in books of this caliber. For white audiences, these characters embody the grey of the black-and-white news stories on “illegal immigrants”* and yet another African American slain by cops for chewing his gum the wrong way in the “wrong” neighborhood (re: the nice one). I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter should be read by first generation Latinx teenagers who can’t remember the last time they saw someone who looked and talked like them in a book. It should also be read by the white woman who doesn’t have close friends without status, because even she should have exposure to these themes.
Notes
Published: October 17, 2017 by Knopf (@aaknopf / @knopfteen)
Author: Erika L. Sanchez (@erikalsanchez)
Date read: December 6, 2017
*Do not get me started on how it is impossible for a human being to be illegal.
If you enjoyed this review, more bookish thoughts can be found at http://lisaanreads.com
Julia Reyes is an unhappy teenager living with unhappy parents. Her older sister was killed by a bus. Her mother thinks Julia is overweight, and her boyfriend doesn't know she's poor. It's hard not to sympathize with Julia, living in a grieving household, but she's so pathetically self-centered. She's an unsympathetic character with virtually no redeeming qualities - even those the author intends to cause sympathy fall flat. I cannot recommend this book for teenagers.