Reviews tagging 'Infidelity'

Yo no soy tu perfecta hija mexicana by Erika L. Sánchez

13 reviews

_ren's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? A mix
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Body shaming, Death, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Misogyny, Panic attacks/disorders, Self harm, Sexism, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Gaslighting, and Classism

Moderate: Cursing, Fatphobia, Infidelity, Racism, Violence, Medical content, Pregnancy, and Injury/Injury detail

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual content, Blood, Vomit, Religious bigotry, Abortion, and Sexual harassment

magnolia_foster's review against another edition

dark emotional hopeful reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Adult/minor relationship, Cursing, Death, Infidelity, Panic attacks/disorders, Racism, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Violence, Xenophobia, Car accident, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Outing

I cried because I related so hard to this book I am also not your prefect Mexican daughter

bookishmillennial's review against another edition

dark emotional funny hopeful mysterious reflective sad tense slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

disclaimer: I don’t really give starred reviews. I hope my reviews provide enough information to let you know if a book is for you or not. Find me here: https://linktr.ee/bookishmillennial

I really appreciated 15/16-year-old Julia Reyes's messy personal development in this young adult coming-of-age story. Julia tells this story in first-person, past-tense POV, and this is a character-driven, slow-paced story that explores identity, grief, authenticity, and what it means to live. I am not Mexican, but I do share the identity of being a first-generation child of immigrants, and in that particular light, I deeply related to Julia's journey, especially the generational differences that threatened to dismantle any relationship she had with her mom or dad.

The story takes place in Chicago, IL after Julia's older sister Olga dies in a tragic car accident as she was crossing the street and distracted by her cell phone. Julia always felt she lived in Olga's shadow, as Olga was *the* "perfect Mexican daughter," and in the wake of her death, that shadow only grows. Her distinctions from Olga are under even more scrutiny, and it is a devastatingly heavy burden to bear. Julia was never the obedient daughter, she hated learning how to cook with her mom, and she constantly challenged her parents' authority. Her mom consistently calls Julia "ungrateful" and uses guilt as a way to shame Julia for not making her parents happy. It is painful to read, as it felt very familiar; the constant exhaustion of knowing that nothing you do will ever be enough to pay back your parents who overcame unimaginable trauma to come here feels insurmountable at times.

However, I admired Julia for speaking up and being so incredibly bold and glib. I recognize many people have called her "unlikeable" but I found Julia to be so authentic when I look back on my own teenage experience, pushing and pulling between being a first-generation kid who wanted to do well by their parents, but also wanted to be trusted and have a "normal" American teenage life. To talk back to my parents meant even more autonomy being taken away. That was something I rarely did as a teenager, because I was so scared of consequences. For Julia? Consequences be damned! Is she a bit flippant and ignorant sometimes? Absolutely. She made offensive comments like "hookers" and "gangbangers," but I also think that's representative of a young, angry, frustrated kid. Her phone would be taken away and she couldn't go to the library, and yes, she put up a stink, but she constantly advocated for herself, and I think she more confidently found her voice in therapy too.   

There is a subplot of romance between Julia and Connor, which was illuminating for Julia, since she is mostly "inexperienced" as the story begins. I appreciated the argument that Julia got into with her friend about Julia being "uptight" and acting like she was too good for anything. We look for "yes men" and people who will become an echo chamber as friends, especially when we're young as we are rediscovering who we are. However, her friend didn't let Julia walk all over her or proclaim to walk through life as the only "right way". I don't know if that makes sense but this one interaction really spoke to me, and there are so many moments like this throughout the novel which force Julia to confront who she is, who she wants to be, and what that means regarding how she spends her free time, her relationship with her family, college, and writing as an occupation. 

The final reveal of the secret life Olga was leading was sad but also satisfying for me to read, because it only affirmed to Julia that Julia would never live up to the "perfect Mexican daughter" ideal, because even her seemingly perfect sister wasn't. Some of it was an act, and she had to hide parts of herself in order to protect optics and make her parents proud. I appreciated this because it brought Olga down to earth, rather than being this unattainable ideal as Julia always thought she was.

This was a powerful narrative about Julia discovering not only herself, but the ways in which the world around her operates, and I highly recommend it to anyone. 

content warnings are listed below! 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Cursing, Death, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Self harm, Sexism, Toxic relationship, Xenophobia, Car accident, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Infidelity, Sexual content, Toxic relationship, and Pregnancy

enlamont's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Cursing, Drug use, Homophobia, Religious bigotry, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Eating disorder, Gun violence, and Infidelity

squatruhh's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring sad tense medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

Oh my lantix heart! 😭😭🥰 I absolutely adored this book. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Addiction, Alcoholism, Bullying, Child abuse, Child death, Cursing, Death, Drug abuse, Eating disorder, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Pedophilia, Physical abuse, Racism, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Violence, Blood, Grief, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Murder, Pregnancy, Sexual harassment, and Deportation

rbudd24's review against another edition

emotional funny sad medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism

Moderate: Body shaming, Death, Drug abuse, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, Abortion, Pregnancy, Alcohol, and Deportation

annamorgan27's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Animal death, Death, Gun violence, Mental illness, Blood, and Grief

Moderate: Child death, Death, Drug use, Homophobia, Infidelity, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual content, Sexual violence, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Alcohol, and Deportation

faythd's review against another edition

mysterious reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.5

I listened to the audiobook edition which had great narration. Julia felt relatable to me as it brought back memories of being a teenager with the angsty feeling of being misunderstood, of figuring out the world, of learning to see the world through the eyes of adults. I thought the writing was beautiful, not overly descriptive but descriptive enough to place you in Julia's shoes. I also appreciate that this is a story about relationships with family, friends, and new romantic possibilities. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Suicide attempt

Minor: Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Abortion, and Pregnancy

cheye13's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? It's complicated
• Diverse cast of characters? It's complicated
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Suicidal thoughts, Grief, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Infidelity, Rape, Sexual content, Pregnancy, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Adult/minor relationship, Child abuse, Eating disorder, Homophobia, Pedophilia, and Alcohol

greatexpectations77's review against another edition

challenging dark informative reflective medium-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? Yes
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.5

This book hits very hard, and it feels very familiar for those of us who were born extremely sensitive and very emotional (and everyone feels like they need to remind us about it all the damn time). I felt a closeness to Julia, and I look forward to reading more from Ms. Sanchez.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, and Grief

Moderate: Child abuse, Domestic abuse, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Fatphobia, Gun violence, Homophobia, Infidelity, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Blood, Religious bigotry, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Alcohol