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binasbookpage 's review for:
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sánchez
I wish I had this book as a teen. It's about a teenaged girl processing the death of her sister and trying to come to terms with the expectations set on her as a result. This book has it all: mental illness, love interests, abuse, Spanish vocab, Joy Division, and Hot Cheetos, to name a few things. Its strength is that its themes are universal. The details in the main character Julia's life and home will be familiar to most Mexican American readers; in fact, this book felt like a love song dedicated to Mexican-Americans and Mexican immigrants at the same time that it dealt with issues like mental illness and sexual abuse that a wider audience could identify with. As a daughter of Mexican immigrants who didn't meet expectations of what a daughter should be, I identified strongly with Julia. But folks of other ethnicities who struggled with mental illness at some point would also identify with her. The refrain of "I am not your perfect daughter" is overdone at times, but you can't help but feel and cheer for Julia as she comes to terms with the changes in her life and simply tries to survive. Again, I wish I had this book as a teen - it would have meant a lot to read about another Mexican-American girl confused about her place at home and in society.