A review by lory_enterenchanted
My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez

challenging dark emotional informative reflective sad medium-paced

3.0

Although I appreciated how much I learned about the plight of Mexican-american immigrants and their families from this book, there was something about it that felt unfinished or not satisfying. The author, driven as she was to succeed and give her loved ones a better life, seemed unable to really reflect on what she was doing to herself and to them. Perhaps it's a privileged stance to say this, but rather than being inspired by or admiring her achievements, I could only feel sad that she ended up struggling in an Ivy League college full of spoiled rich kids, then doing a job she hated, and caring for her brother so he could follow in the same track. I am concerned for her mental health, and there seem to be many issues she has not worked through. I am sorry for how much she, and many others, have to bear, but something seemed missing from this account, some level of insight or maturity.