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abroadintime 's review for:
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sánchez
I appreciated this powerfully-written glimpse into the life of a young Latinx American woman's experiences dealing with poverty, familial and cultural pressures, loss of a loved one, and her own unraveling emotions and depression that came about as part of her experiences facing all these things at once. While teenage Julia drove me crazy at times—she was admittedly really disrespectful and rude to almost everyone (while completely changing her tune for the cute boys she encountered)—by the end of the book I had a bit more grace for her as her mental health really began to unravel and we could see that she was kind of just falling apart.
Julia's relationship with her mom was particularly painful to read, as it seemed to be the strongest source of her anguish and self-loathing, highlighting the foundational importance of parents loving and accepting their children for who they are (instead of constantly blaming or shaming them for the pain or worry they're experiencing in their own lives as parents).
The mystery of who Julia's sister really formed an intriguing plot device to drive the story forward, along with the deep need for healing in her relationships with family. While I would probably only recommend this book for high school aged students or older (due to language and sexual content), there are still many powerful lessons to be learned about life, family, and cross-cultural upbringing.
Julia's relationship with her mom was particularly painful to read, as it seemed to be the strongest source of her anguish and self-loathing, highlighting the foundational importance of parents loving and accepting their children for who they are (instead of constantly blaming or shaming them for the pain or worry they're experiencing in their own lives as parents).
The mystery of who Julia's sister really formed an intriguing plot device to drive the story forward, along with the deep need for healing in her relationships with family. While I would probably only recommend this book for high school aged students or older (due to language and sexual content), there are still many powerful lessons to be learned about life, family, and cross-cultural upbringing.