A review by simplythegirl
I am not your perfect Mexican daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

emotional mysterious sad tense medium-paced

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

2.75

I really wanted to like this book I'm  first generation Latina so I was hoping to relate to the MC and get lost in the book but it was a huge letdown. The MC seems entitled and whiny. The mystery aspect also seems a little lame I rather it just focus on the family dynamics than focus on the secret life of Olga. I imagine the author is very much in tune to American culture so it makes sense why MC is so focused on making some aspects of  Mexican culture seem annoying or like a burden. It seems like MC and author are pandering to Americanization  being better than embracing a bicultural identity. There are definitely unique strifes to being both American and Latino and those identities mixing have another set of unique struggles but the book reads moreso that being white washed is better than not in America and that feels icky. 

The commentary on how awful the embedded misogyny(machismo) in Latino culture is was great but besides that point MC didn't have a lot of valid complaints in my opinion. The comparisons made between her and Olga seemed kind of weak. I feel like if we had seen Olga alive more it would have felt more impactful but because  we didn't  it just seemed like her mom made comparisons because  the author had nothing else for MC to go through instead of it feeling like mom's actual opinions.