A review by betweentheshelves
This Is Not a Personal Statement by Tracy Badua

emotional reflective tense 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

I mean it when I say that this book was STRESSFUL. It's part of the point of the book; Perla feels a lot of stress and anxiety throughout the entire book, with her journey being to accept herself and realize that she doesn't need to push herself to 110% all of the time. She doesn't have to break herself in order to please her parents.

There are a lot of teens who will probably relate to the stress placed on Perla from her parents to get into a good school, to pursue a certain career that equals success. I appreciated her journey towards realizing that what her parents wanted wasn't what she wanted; even if the means to getting there wasn't exactly the most ethical.

I don't know that what Perla did in this book would have exactly worked, mainly the finding a place to live on campus thing. That part didn't really jive, and really is what caused the most stress. Going to large lecture halls and not getting caught? Definitely plausible, especially at a large univeristy.

All in all, there are great characters in this, and it's definitely written in a way that teenagers will be able to relate to.

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Content Warnings

Minor: Alcohol