I am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sanchez

 

Sanchez, Erika. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Alfred A. Knopf an imprint from Random House Children's Books, 2017. ISBN 978-1-524700492

Plot: 

Main character Julia (who loves to write and has dreams of being a writer) is 15 years old and her parents are Mexican immigrants. Julia loses her sister to an accident and family dynamics changed due to her death. Julia begins learning more about her sister Olga, who was believed to be the perfect daughter due to her affiliations to the church and was "conservative" in the eyes of her family. As Julia navigates her own grief and newfound freedoms, being her parents are grieving for Olga she grapples with anxiety and depression, once some of those freedoms are taken back and breaks up with her rich boyfriend Connor. She ends up in the hospital after a suicide attempt and is sent to Mexico.  There she learns a little bit about her mother's history, gains more empathy towards her and their relationship improves once she's back in the States. She gets accepted to a school of her choice in NY with a full scholarship. 

Critical Evaluation:

Book is about a teenager struggling with grief, anorexia nervosa, not getting along with her mother and not living up to certain expectations of her. This book does a good job at highlighting these struggles in a raw way, as well as offer a glimpse into Mexican culture with the way the Catholic church is a big deal in many Mexican families, fraught relationships with first generation daughters and the 15ra's. There was a big of Spanish in the book, and at times there seems to be a telling rather than showing. In addition,  there is too much going on, with the sister's side story, her relationship with her mother, her friends and Connor. 

Readers Annotations

Julia is a teenager who is struggling with grief, being a teenager of strict Mexican immigrant parents in Chicago. She deals with anxiety and depression as she navigates this grief, and new relationships with friends who are discovering substances and a boyfriend. 

Information about the author

Erika L. Sánchez is the daughter of Mexican immigrants. A poet, essayist, and fiction writer, she is the author of a young adult novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, a 2017 finalist for the National Book Award for Young People’s Literature, and instant New York Times Bestseller; and the poetry collection, Lessons on Expulsion, a finalist for the PEN America Open Book Award. Her novel has been optioned by Anonymous Content and the play adaptation will premier at Steppenwolf Theatre February 2010. She is a 2019 recipient of a National Endowment for the Arts in Poetry, and was a 2017-2019 Princeton Arts Fellow. She was recently appointed the Son Juana Inés de la Cruz Chair at DePaul University.

Source: https://lattitude.net/bio/erika-sanchez/

Genre:

Contemporary 

Booktalking ideas

1.) Julia's reasoning for attempting suicide

2.) Julia learning about her mom's history when crossing the US Mexico border

Reading level 

Gr. 9+

Challenges Issues and Defense Preparations

There may be a challenge due to its profanity and sexual content (Julia having sex). I will have reviews on hand, such as this one and the Library Bill of Rights handy. I also will have a good set of listening ears and a strong relationship with the leadership of my library and or school admin. 

Why this book

The protagonist deals with issues of anxiety and depression, not meeting parental expectations and her ancestry.  

Author Erika Sanchez Gets Honest About Not Being A Perfect Mexican Daughter