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olivialandryxo 's review for:
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
by Erika L. Sánchez
CW: death, grief, depression, anxiety, suicide ideation, attempted suicide, rape, racism, fatmisia, slut-shaming, ace erasure
I’m not sure how to feel about this book. On one hand, it’s an undoubtedly relevant read — it discusses culture, mental illness, grief, immigration, poverty, and more. But personally, I didn’t really enjoy it.
For the first half of the novel, Julia was obnoxious and confrontational. She was short-tempered and said some truly horrible things. She did have an impressive character arc, though; she learned to be nicer to herself and others, and more confident. While I liked that, I don’t think it fully redeems her earlier behavior.
The other characters were okay, not good or bad. I loved Connor when we first met him, but then I realized he was just a rich white boy and he kind of lost his appeal. I guess that’s a good thing, too, because in the end he doesn’t play as big a role whatsoever.
Julia is a first generation Mexican-American fat girl, her best friend Lorena is black, and their friend Juan is Latinx and gay. I’ll leave it at that, as the only similarity I have is being gay, but I’m a white girl, so it’s not the same.
I found two things that bothered me while reading.
One, there seemed to be a bit of ace erasure. There were two quotes that rubbed me the wrong way: “I know that sex isn’t evil, that it’s a normal part of being a functioning mammal,” (200) and “Sex is a normal part of the human experience,” (236). And then there was this one, which wasn’t bad, just strange to me, “the young therapist with the asexual mom haircut,” (222). What does that even mean??
And two, I wasn’t sure what to make of Lorena’s reaction to Julia’s mental illnesses. When she goes back to school after finishing an outpatient program, Lorena is upset and worried, all “Why didn’t you tell me? How could you do something like that?” (233). Maybe because, whenever she brought it up, you were definitely not supportive? After Julia opens up about how she hates her life, everything hurts, and she’s kind of suicidal, Lorena says, “Jesus, Julia. What the f*ck? How can you say that?” (144) and slaps her on the arm. Direct quote. I can see how hearing your friend say something like that can be alarming, but it’s also a sign that they might need help. Getting angry is not going to help. Lorena seemed to have a change of heart after Julia comes back to school, but the whole situation still bothered me.
(All of this quoting reminds me of writing essays for school, haha.)
I did really like Julia’s time in Mexico with her family. They were supportive and sweet, and I think that was my favorite part of the book, if I’m being honest.
This was definitely a darker story than I expected, and even slightly mysterious. However, despite the issues I had, I think it worked well. I especially liked that the ending was hopeful, and full of possibility. It was kind of open, yet there was still a good resolution, if that makes sense.
I’m not sure how to feel about this book. On one hand, it’s an undoubtedly relevant read — it discusses culture, mental illness, grief, immigration, poverty, and more. But personally, I didn’t really enjoy it.
For the first half of the novel, Julia was obnoxious and confrontational. She was short-tempered and said some truly horrible things. She did have an impressive character arc, though; she learned to be nicer to herself and others, and more confident. While I liked that, I don’t think it fully redeems her earlier behavior.
The other characters were okay, not good or bad. I loved Connor when we first met him, but then I realized he was just a rich white boy and he kind of lost his appeal. I guess that’s a good thing, too, because in the end he doesn’t play as big a role whatsoever.
Julia is a first generation Mexican-American fat girl, her best friend Lorena is black, and their friend Juan is Latinx and gay. I’ll leave it at that, as the only similarity I have is being gay, but I’m a white girl, so it’s not the same.
I found two things that bothered me while reading.
One, there seemed to be a bit of ace erasure. There were two quotes that rubbed me the wrong way: “I know that sex isn’t evil, that it’s a normal part of being a functioning mammal,” (200) and “Sex is a normal part of the human experience,” (236). And then there was this one, which wasn’t bad, just strange to me, “the young therapist with the asexual mom haircut,” (222). What does that even mean??
And two, I wasn’t sure what to make of Lorena’s reaction to Julia’s mental illnesses. When she goes back to school after finishing an outpatient program, Lorena is upset and worried, all “Why didn’t you tell me? How could you do something like that?” (233). Maybe because, whenever she brought it up, you were definitely not supportive? After Julia opens up about how she hates her life, everything hurts, and she’s kind of suicidal, Lorena says, “Jesus, Julia. What the f*ck? How can you say that?” (144) and slaps her on the arm. Direct quote. I can see how hearing your friend say something like that can be alarming, but it’s also a sign that they might need help. Getting angry is not going to help. Lorena seemed to have a change of heart after Julia comes back to school, but the whole situation still bothered me.
(All of this quoting reminds me of writing essays for school, haha.)
I did really like Julia’s time in Mexico with her family. They were supportive and sweet, and I think that was my favorite part of the book, if I’m being honest.
This was definitely a darker story than I expected, and even slightly mysterious. However, despite the issues I had, I think it worked well. I especially liked that the ending was hopeful, and full of possibility. It was kind of open, yet there was still a good resolution, if that makes sense.