I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez
My rating: 4 of 5 stars

I love when a book gives voice to a part of society that we don't often hear from. "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" is exactly that in young adult form- Julia is the child of Mexican immigrants and faces so many of the situations we've read about in recent years including citizenship, poverty, culture clashes, etc. Throw in that her sister has recently died (not a spoiler - it's on the book cover) and an unhealthy amount of teenage angst, and you have the makings of a powerful story and a killer feminist voice.

The drawbacks of this title are unnecessary rough language and the aforementioned teenage angst gets to be a bit repetitive. Otherwise, I was impressed by Sanchez's ability to create layered characters. I really liked the scenes when Julia visited her parents' hometown in Mexico. Definitely worth a read if you liked The Hate U Give or worth with teenagers who might appreciate this title.

Happy reading and happy imperfect living--

(Book 36 - 2019)