Reviews with content warning for Abortion - I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Reviews tagging 'Abortion'

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

44 reviews

ricksilva's review against another edition

challenging dark emotional hopeful informative 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

4.0

Julia struggles with the sudden tragic death of her sister as well as her own depression while feeling trapped in a family that needs her to fill the "perfect daughter" role that her sister had held. And Julia begins to realize that her sister, Olga, had her own set of secrets and might not have ever been what the family believed her to be.

All of this plays out over a tumultuous two years in which Julia grieves while finishing high school, having her first romantic relationship, and trying to find her voice in a place she feels like she never truly fits in.

The pacing was slower than expected at first, and it really took about half of the book before it hooked me. The mystery of what was going on with Olga is not entirely the payoff that it at first seems to set up, but I did appreciate that the plotline was resolved in a way that felt both ambiguous and very real.

The details of setting and culture, both in Chicago and Mexico are excellent, and the characters are multifaceted with most of them showing growth and change as the story moves along. The main character's voice in a nice mix inner-city tough and intellectual, and she is easy to root for even when making some very bad decisions.

I felt like the ending didn't completely resolve all of the character tension, but still managed to leave things off on a good note.

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amanda884's review

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emotional funny hopeful medium-paced

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

5.0

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tracamiller's review against another edition

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emotional hopeful sad medium-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

A story of dichotomies that pulled me in both directions at once, but that thankfully finds a peace in the middle.
Poor, Mexican girl meets upper-class white boy. Older sister who seems “perfect” and quiet and reserved, but whose secrets reveal a girl that was not as she seemed. Younger sister who is loud and imperfect, but whose secrets remain deadly if they aren’t revealed and dealt with.
Parents whose dreams of life in the US lead to heartbreak, and a daughter who needs to return to Mexico to find her own dreams. An older generation that wants their children to have it better, yet doesn’t want them to change. A younger generation that wants change, yet doesn’t want to disappoint their parents.
And no one talks about their feelings or listens until they are forced to! A push and a pull between two countries, two sisters, two generations, and a whole lot of emotions!

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whoolie3's review against another edition

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challenging emotional inspiring reflective sad 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

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gem114's review against another edition

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hopeful sad medium-paced

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

4.0

Read this because it was added to my 11th grade curriculum. I was a little surprised by some of the more graphic scenes, but I do think kids will relate to the generational divides whether they come from immigrant families or not and that makes it worth any potential awkwardness in class. Will definitely need to give content warnings, though.

As an adult reader, I did struggle at times to be sympathetic to Julia. Maybe it’s my age and personal experience talking, but I do think there are some basic responsibilities that teenagers should have regarding chores, communication with parents, etc that she pushed back on more than was reasonable, and I think Olga’s secrets were unnecessarily over the top, but I can see how this will all make it more appealing to young readers.

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