Culture 3 Review - I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

 

Bibliographic Information

Sánchez, E. L. 2017. I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER. New York, NY: Knopf Books for Young Readers. ISBN 9781524700485

Plot Summary

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.

 

But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.

 

Then, a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.

 

But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

Critical Analysis

One of my very favorite things about reading books based on other cultures is finding the similarities between their stories and my own. From the very first page of this book, I was hooked. I think everyone can relate to experiences in their life where they felt loss, not good enough, or lonely. Julia is only 15 years old and has dealt with enough awful things for a lifetime. When her sister dies, Julia struggles with feelings of extreme guilt. She is blamed for the death of her sister by her mother, which creates an even deeper ravine between them. 

In this book, Julia deals with the feelings that come with anxiety and depression, and at first, she doesn't know their names or what she is dealing with. She doesn’t know how to express her feelings, and her family doesn’t understand. She is dealing with the sudden death of her sister, and the loss feels impossible and insurmountable. I can relate to Julia in that way. At 15 years old, I was dealing with my mother being diagnosed with breast cancer, and there was a very real chance I could lose her. It was terrifying, and my brain, wired the way it was, was no help. I needed help, but didn’t know how to ask for it. Julia experiences this and eventually gets the help she needs through medication and therapy. I appreciated this creation of normalcy around getting help in this book. Every teenager who might be struggling with mental health can read this book and see themselves and know it is okay to ask for the help they need. 

The only issue I had with this book is that instead of covering one or two “hot button issues” well, it covers a lot of issues a little shallowly. Aside from dealing with grief, loss, death, and the pressure of familial obligations, the novel tries to juggle, to varying degrees and with limited success, all of the following: race/racism, classism, immigration, mexican gang violence, anxiety and depression, suicide, and teen pregnancy among other things. It just felt like too many topics at once, and a lot of the points were not fleshed out enough for me. The book, however, did have excellent cultural details that shaped the characters, themes, and conflicts. For example, Julia's father works long hours at a candy factory while her mother cleans houses. Money is always tight. This mirrors the lived reality of many immigrant families, particularly those from Mexico, where parents sacrifice and work hard in low-paying and labor-intensive jobs to give their children a better future. It highlights the pressure Julia feels, the weight of being her parents’ “hope,” and how hard it is to dream freely when you live with survival-level stress.

Overall, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter was a good read, but the plot felt a little unbalanced. Based on the beginning of the book, I expected this story to focus on Julia and her best friend (and later her boyfriend), uncovering the mysteries surrounding Olga and her death. However, Olga’s plot line becomes seemingly unimportant as the plot focuses on Julia and her personal problems. Olga’s story turns out to be more of a distraction or an afterthought than anything else, which was a shame. I did appreciate the mental health resources included at the end of the book, and thought this was a well-written glimpse into the Hispanic culture, but wish it had centered on one or two plot lines instead of twenty.

Awards Won & Review Excerpt(s)

*Instant New York Times Bestseller

*National Book Award Finalist

“An earnest and heartfelt tale.” —Booklist

 

“A timely and must-have account of survival in a culturally contested world.” —School Libary Journal, starred review

 

“Beautifully written.” - Shelf Awareness, starred review

“Ultimately, it’s Julia herself who’s the key to the novel… She’ll resonate with many readers, and they’ll be glad to see her make it through a tough time.” - The Bulletin, starred review

Connections

*Journal or discuss: “What does it mean to be 'perfect' in your family or culture? Have you ever felt pressure to live up to expectations?” Use Julia’s story as a springboard to explore the tension between personal dreams and cultural/family obligations.

*Julia struggles with anxiety, depression, and grief. Something that many people struggle with in their day-to-day lives. Help normalize the conversation surrounding mental health by researching resources for teens dealing with depression or anxiety. Create awareness posters or infographics with messages like “You’re Not Alone,” including hotline numbers and coping strategies.

*Pair this book with:

Acevedo, E. 2018. THE POET X. ISBN 9780062662804

Watson, R. 2017. PIECING ME TOGETHER. ISBN 9781681191058

Quintero, I. 2014. GABI, A GIRL IN PIECES. ISBN 9781935955955