I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

This is a book I will probably forget, I felt it was really slow paced and touched on a lot of issues. (for warnings uncover spoilers. [ sexual assault, self-harm, and abuse. (There is a gay friend that gets beat at home), If you have tokophabia they mention pregnancy a LOT (hide spoiler)] Although, I thought Julia was a good character and found some more depth and meaning to her, her family, and Mexico. You go through this journey and the mystery of her sister's double life together. I really thought she developed slowly and nicely, fit the pace of the book. I also really enjoyed the culture, and I really feel like I learned a lot.

After reading The Kite Runner, the translations of words and phrases were pretty streamline and I knew what things were when they were talking about them. In this book, (I did audiobook) there was about 1/4 of words and phrases translated, so that would take me out of the story.

If you are looking for a coming of age story, this would probably a good rec. This wasn't for me, I didn't like the pacing and the fact that they brought up pregnancy a ton! It's a very real concern, especially for young teens. Being tokophobic it just kinda reminded me, of how scared I am of that issue being an adult. It was too constant for me.

I had this on an audiobook, which was narrated very well.

~Ashley

This book was very melancholy to read. I had a hard time getting through it because the character whined a lot. It wasn't until the end, when she realized that she had depression that everything finally clicked for me. After that I was able to put the book into a bit more perspective and enjoy the story telling

yeah i've tried to pick up and read this book multiple times this year and struggle getting through a chapter. i usually dont rate books but its extremely unreadable.

Julia thought her sister, Olga, was the perfect Mexican daughter. Olga stayed home after high school with her family, went to community college, went to work as a receptionist, and dated a nice boy.

But now Olga is dead.

And Julia isn't so sure Olga was the perfect Mexican daughter after all...

A beautifully written young adult novel, set in Chicago, one of my favorite cities, and featuring an authentically Hispanic cast of characters.

Jesus. This book was amazing. 5/5 no doubt about it. Julia really depicts what life is & can be as a teenager in the most realistic way possible. I've never felt more connected to a book in my life. Im so glad I finally got the chance to read this incredible book.

*4.5! This book was amazing, like I was freaking attached to the book or something but yeah this one was freaking GOOD!!!

This book was a little difficult to read, because Erika L. Sanchez perfectly captured the near-universal feeling of “I am a teenager, I am unhappy and my parents don't understand me.” Though Julia's reasons and lifestyle may be different from mine, I ached for her, as I remember being unhappy and feeling like nothing was ever going to get better at that age.

My only real complaint about this book was really just based on expectations: I thought I was getting a novel about navigating grief while uncovering a mystery about an idealized dead loved one, which was a part of it, but a good majority of it was more a character study of Julia and her relationships with her family and peers. There is nothing wrong with that at all, I just had to readjust my expectations after I realized the mystery wouldn't be a larger part of the novel. 4/5

I'll admit that I got a bit sucked into the mystery of Olga, but it was so hard to like Julia because she was just a brat. No better word for her. But that's okay because really, aren't most of us at that age? She struggles with how she knows how hard her parents work and how she wants to make things better for them, but also just wants to do her thing. And I know when I was her age I was absolutely that self absorbed. I loved her family in Mexico and for me, that's where the story really started to gain ground. My head is fuzzy, so forgive this all-over-the-place review.

I liked it. There.

This book went places I didn't expect, but I loved. From the blurb, it sounds like it's going to be about Julia investigating/tracking down Olga's secrets, and while that is definitely a part of the story here, it's also so much more than that. It's about family, secrets, coming of age, depression and family trauma, immigration and being a first-generation child, and loving people who you have a hard time connecting with. That's a lot, but it never felt heavy-handed, preachy, or exploitative. Julia is a difficult and sometimes frustrating narrator, but I found myself cheering for her and wanting the best for her. This book goes to some dark places but does so in the service of a compelling and hopeful story, and it's never just bleak for bleakness's sake. Definitely worth your time.

Straight ahead realism, will be highly relatable for teens across gender and ethnic spectrums. All real teen stuff handled and written very well: sex, alcohol/drugs, depression/suicide, parental smothering, dating/friendships

3.5 stars. I found myself wanting to throttle Julia several times during this book, but I thought it came together at the end in a satisfactory way.

I wanted to live this, I really did, but geez, it was painful and in the end just infuriating. No, just no.
I gave it 1 star because I like that it was a diverse book. I could relate to some of the Mexican American culture clashes. But it also felt unreal, fake, and forced. It was just so disappointing.