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

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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