Reviews tagging 'Mental illness'

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

102 reviews

verochanterelle's review against another edition

challenging emotional 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

4.0

mexican daughter trauma!!! i felt seen. the author really dove into some important topics. something i wish i read as a teenager but maybe it healed a part of me.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

edebaca's review against another edition

emotional 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

Julia is a high school student struggling to survive the pressure of her parents, especially after the death of her sister. As a first generation college student, Julia is searching for answers on who her sister really was, while also finding herself in the process. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Mental illness, Self harm, Sexual assault, and Suicide

Moderate: Death

bookishevy's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring lighthearted mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

4.75

If you love YA reads, this one is for you. 

To Julia's mother, she is not the perfect Mexican daughter. She doesn't like learning how to cook and has no intentions of having children. The opposite of her older sister Olga, bookish Julia can't wait to leave home for college in NYC and become a writer. 

When Olga dies in a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago, Julia is left to pick up the pieces of her family. Julia's parents don't see that she is also broken. Instead of consoling Julia, her Ama copes with her grief by pointing out all the ways Julia is not like Olga, exacerbating Julia's own grief.

When Julia finds clues that point to Olga leading a double life, she's determined to find out who Olga was texting before the accident.

Sanchez shows the struggle immigrant parents face with instilling their cultural values into their first-generation American children. Olga is the standard that Julia is held up to. Julia is regularly punished for daring to want a life outside their home. Meanwhile, Olga had a secret life that would have scandalized their parents.

Some Goodreads reviewers hate Julia, but I like her. She's a typical angsty teen, but she's also coping with a loss. Yes, she's irritable and combative, but that's how depression manifests in some people. Her sister is dead, Ama is like a warden, she lives in poverty and is surrounded by gang violence. She wants out, and she feels hopeless and alone.

Her parents feel like they're not enough. I agree. Julia's intelligent but judgemental of her parents' culture because they're so conservative. She needs to show them some grace. They're only projecting their anxieties about the world onto her because of what they endured while crossing the border. But they must learn that suffocating Julia is doing more harm than good.

Finding out the truth about Olga's secret life doesn't help Julia relate to her sister any better. Olga was still oppressed and not putting herself first. Julia is determined to get an education and find her own identity. 

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Homophobia, Racism, Sexual assault, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Child abuse and Mental illness

kaylieelise's review against another edition

dark emotional 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

4.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Eating disorder, Gun violence, Mental illness, Physical abuse, Rape, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Abortion, and Suicide attempt

cursiveknight's review against another edition

dark emotional sad slow-paced

• Plot- or character-driven? Character
• Strong character development? Yes
• Loveable characters? No
• Diverse cast of characters? Yes
• Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

3.25

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death and Self harm

Moderate: Mental illness, Rape, Sexual assault, and Sexual harassment

Minor: Abortion and Pregnancy

_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

princessm's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional informative mysterious reflective sad tense medium-paced

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

5.0

This book was not what I thought it was going to be, I was happy with it start to finish. 
Some of the lines in this book were so profound and accurate to the point of personal experience. I was floored by some of the wisdom in this book, it made me feel very seen.
I also love how there's multiple issues being addressed with even side characters, it shows the complexity of each of our lives and how people may think or notice one thing but it's not enough to tip the scale, until it is. True so real life and when it's thru the eyes of a teenager, even more real.
I was nervous there would be some kinda cheesy ending that wraps up everything in a nice bow but it was so much more realistic than that and I have a ton of respect. Happy I waited for the hype to die down, made it now worth it.

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Child death, Death, Eating disorder, Emotional abuse, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Sexual violence, Suicidal thoughts, Suicide, Medical content, Grief, Pregnancy, Abandonment, and Injury/Injury detail

jillaay_h's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional mysterious reflective sad tense fast-paced

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

2.0

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Alcoholism, Animal death, Body shaming, Death, Drug use, Emotional abuse, Gun violence, Mental illness, Panic attacks/disorders, Rape, Self harm, Sexual assault, Blood, Medical content, Grief, Religious bigotry, Car accident, Abortion, Suicide attempt, Pregnancy, and Classism

jellybeanie's review against another edition

challenging emotional hopeful informative inspiring reflective 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

4.75

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Content Warnings

Moderate: Gun violence, Mental illness, and Suicide attempt

Minor: Rape and Sexual assault

cadinth's review against another edition

emotional hopeful inspiring reflective sad medium-paced

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

4.0

I resonated a lot with the cultural aspect of familial ties and relationships and definitely found myself crying. It’s a bittersweet ending with a lot of growth for many if not all of the characters. 

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Content Warnings

Graphic: Death, Mental illness, Sexual content, and Suicide attempt

Moderate: Gun violence

Minor: Rape