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

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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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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tangerinecutie's review against another edition

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emotional funny 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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jraley_writes's review against another edition

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sad medium-paced

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

2.75

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themadbloodstone's review against another edition

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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

5.0

My therapist gave me this book to read because I would find it relatable, and I did, as a Hispanic kid who couldn’t be the perfect Puerto Rican their family wanted them to be. I cried towards the end of this book and felt hopeful.
The author wrote Julia and her family so authentically, it felt like I was her and the Reyes family was my family. I can definitely see this being a classic in the future that the next generation will read in schools and find growth and love in.

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op3's review against another edition

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adventurous challenging dark emotional hopeful informative mysterious reflective sad fast-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? No
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? It's complicated

2.5

I really tried to love this book. I really did. I found the quality of writing lazy and rushed, the only highlight was the ending which I found to be just ok. So that’s what I’m rating the book as. Just ok.
Often times I take at least an hour or two to pick out books I want to read so I can enjoy what I read. This is one of those books I avoid when I spend that time searching. This is a testimony that I should keep doing that. But the ending was okay. The fluff was ok if you consider there to be any.

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melist6's review against another edition

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challenging 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

4.5

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arisol's review against another edition

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challenging emotional hopeful reflective 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

4.5

Another example of a book I have wanted to read for a long time and found me in a period of my life that felt particularly relevant. I can comprehend fully why this book was as well-received as it was, seeing how it relates and describes so much of the experience of children of immigrants.

In the end, the weight of intergenerational trauma and how it comes down on us as mental illness felt heavy to me, but not in a way that was unappreciated. I am grateful for this book and how it puts so much of my own life, pain and joys, into the world.

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