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

challenging emotional hopeful reflective sad tense medium-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

3.0

I thought this story would be more about Julia learning about her sister and coming to terms with her sister's secrets and her family's expectations. Instead, it's very much the story of a young Mexican girl trying to make her way through high school with parents she can't seem to communicate with, friends with different interests, the typical high school pitfalls, and the struggles of losing her sister on top of it all. Julia is an incredibly complicated character and not always likeable, but there is a lot that's relatable. I think Sanchez's writing is so strong and I loved that she didn't shy away from challenging topics like depression, suicide, undocumented immigration, sexual assault, and sexual discovery. That being said, ultimately I think there's too much happening for the relatively short length of the book and some things could have been dealt with more. I also suspect that I am probably not the target audience for this book, but I still think it was a worthwhile read.
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