Reviews with content warning for Suicide attempt - Yo no soy tu perfecta hija mexicana

I'm sorry, I'm not trying to be mean, and it seems this book has resonated with folks which is great. But this is one of the worst books I have ever read. Pedestrian writing. Not going into depth in anything. There was one part that felt so abrupt I thought my book was missing pages. No likeable characters. Just a very unpleasant read. The issues and topics it is trying to address have just been done better before. This was awful.

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michi3st's review against another edition

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dark emotional funny hopeful inspiring lighthearted reflective sad fast-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

4.25

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nesdy's review against another edition

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3.5

I liked it because it doesn't shy away from difficult topics, and the characters are nuanced, but I do have a big gripe with it:

The novel seems to sympathize a lot with Julia's mother because of the trauma she's been through. However, that doesn't justify the way she's treated Julia her entire life. She never listens or cares about anything Julia tells her. Julia's never allowed any privacy. Even after the suicide attempt, when the novel is trying to convince us that the mother is trying to be a better mother, she never takes any responsibility for what happened. She even tells Julia she didn't know she wanted to be a writer, even though that's all she talks about, and even though the mother ripped her writing journals because she didn't approve. And then she acts as if she was oblivious to it, as if their lack of a relationship is Julia's fault for not trying enough.

Another thing I hated was that it is very heavily implied that Julia's depression is inherent to her, as if there weren't any other factors, which pissed me off. Of course she's depressed, her own parents don't show her any love and she is trapped in that house. Even after the suicide attempt, when we're supposed to believe her parents are trying, I see the opposite. She gets sent to Mexico. When she shows concern about missing so much class because that will hurt her chances at college, they completely dismiss her and tell her she can always go to community college, something she's said repeatedly she doesn't want to do.

I don't understand why the novel wants me to empathize with these people.

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chlschn's review against another edition

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emotional relaxing 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

3.5

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sksuryadevara's review against another edition

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emotional funny reflective fast-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

5.0

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magnolia_foster's review against another edition

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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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jillaay_h's review against another edition

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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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wanderlust_romance's review against another edition

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challenging emotional reflective sad slow-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes

4.25

This is the sort of young adult that is written in the uniquely teen voice, but tackles a lot of complex issues. It’s the sort of YA that would be helpful for a young reader to discuss and unpack with a trusted adult in their life. The most challenging fiction is the one that turns the mirror on ourselves and highlights all the hidden, uglier parts of our interior and shines a light on it for all to see. The proverbial mirror that challenges readers to reckon with all those things we would much rather ignore.

Julia’s voice is unique. At the start of the book, she is 15. Her sister has just died in a tragic accident and she is alone in her grief, regret, and anger. She was so messy, and I loved that she was allowed to be messy and make mistakes and reexamine what she thought she knew. Julia was written in a way that reminds readers outside the intended YA audience that the inner lives of teens are so much more than meets the eye. It’s so easy to forget what you, as an older reader, were like as a teen (sullen, moody, defiant, reading Camus because I wanted to look smarter than everyone, only listening to indie and new wave…jesus, I was a lot more like Julia than I thought lol). I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was heartbreaking and reassuring and complicated and full of emotion and self discovery.

concepts this book confronts and highlights:

Cultural family expectations for daughters (patriarchy)
Complexities of bilingualism in the US for immigrants and children of immigrants
Death and grief
Mental health support and de-stigmatizing therapy in communities of color
Poverty and food insecurity
Internalized racism and xenophobia

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