I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter: A Time magazine pick for Best YA of All Time
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER - A "stunning" (America Ferrera) YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home.
"Alive and crackling--a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. "--The New York Times
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it's not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister's story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?
"Alive and crackling--a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. "--The New York Times
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga's role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it's not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister's story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?
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Community Reviews
I’ve been wanting to read this for awhile, ever since we added it to our library. I thought it would help me to understand Hispanic culture a bit better, especially daughters of immigrants. While this is just one story, others have told me there are very similar elements of their story in this book.
I used Sánchez’s Lessons on Expulsion poetry collection for my poetry analysis project in my poetry class. This poetry collection came before the novel and served as a template for Julia’s journey. Sánchez is in the process of writing a memoir and I expect it to be very similar to both works.
As for the novel, Julia’s journey to uncover Olga’s secret is nicely paced as she continues to uncover how she fits in to her own family and her world. I swore this novel was set in Houston but it is set outside Chicago where Sánchez grew up. Why is Chicago so violent? I’ve only visited once and I overheard that someone was violently mugged while I was shopping. The violence that surrounded Sánchez appears a bit in the novel but is all over her poetry. While her poetry shocked me, the novel made me want to cry. My only complaint is that it seemed to end abruptly.
Definitely going to read more of her work and I hope there is much, much more.
⭐️⭐️⭐️.75- ‼️Potential spoilers later in the review‼️
I have mixed feelings about this one. I wanted to love this book because of the idea of it. With that being said, I didn’t hate it nor love it. It was definitely a book I don’t regret reading, and overall a good read. At first I thought I was never going to like Julia. Then I had I to remind myself she’s a teenager. Her attitude, comments, and way of looking at life is no different than how I was at that age. Once I looked at her character with that mindset, I could understand her character. Also once I took her mental health into consideration.. it all pieced itself together.
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‼️Spoilers in this section‼️I do feel that this book has different aspects of it that can be relatable for everyone. (Overbearing Hispanic parents, the sibling that can do no wrong, etc)
Aside from that, I think there was just too much going on. From Olga’s death, to the crazy friend that drinks/smokes, the gay friends rough home life, Julia’s mental health, her trip to Mexico, her parents backstory, all the secrets, etc. it just felt like one thing after the next. Don’t get me wrong I love a good drama, but sometimes it’s just too much.
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NOW; all that being said I did really enjoy this book. It was a book I never wanted to put down and found myself laughing along. I really did enjoy it!! I loved the mix of both English and Spanish
I have mixed feelings about this one. I wanted to love this book because of the idea of it. With that being said, I didn’t hate it nor love it. It was definitely a book I don’t regret reading, and overall a good read. At first I thought I was never going to like Julia. Then I had I to remind myself she’s a teenager. Her attitude, comments, and way of looking at life is no different than how I was at that age. Once I looked at her character with that mindset, I could understand her character. Also once I took her mental health into consideration.. it all pieced itself together.
.
.
‼️Spoilers in this section‼️I do feel that this book has different aspects of it that can be relatable for everyone. (Overbearing Hispanic parents, the sibling that can do no wrong, etc)
Aside from that, I think there was just too much going on. From Olga’s death, to the crazy friend that drinks/smokes, the gay friends rough home life, Julia’s mental health, her trip to Mexico, her parents backstory, all the secrets, etc. it just felt like one thing after the next. Don’t get me wrong I love a good drama, but sometimes it’s just too much.
.
.
NOW; all that being said I did really enjoy this book. It was a book I never wanted to put down and found myself laughing along. I really did enjoy it!! I loved the mix of both English and Spanish
I listened to the audiobook version of this, and I wish I would have read it myself. Only because I feel like the narrator created voices that were different than the characters would have sounded in my head. Overall, a great read with many questions left at each chapter - good ones!
I recommend to every young women especially Latina women who were/are raised in the Mexican culture.
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