Sol Garcia Sol Garcia | THE RIDER
When students are assigned a book for class, they often start the book with reluctance and dread. Book lovers arenât always an exception because the stress of grades can dull the pleasure from reading. Thatâs how I felt when I was assigned âI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter,â especially because I havenât felt like reading young adult (YA) books lately.
Luckily for me and my grades, Erika Sanchezâs 2017 book quickly dispelled any negative feelings.
The book focuses on Julia Reyes, and as can be guessed from the title, sheâs not the perfect Mexican daughter. That was her sister, Olga, until she died. Juliaâs parents havenât recovered from their oldest daughterâs death. Her mother wonât come out of the room and when she finally does, she seems to criticize Juliaâs every move. Meanwhile, her father barely speaks to her at all, but thatâs been occurring since before Olgaâs death.
Set in Chicago, Julia has to navigate against negative cultural norms including sexism and shame. She struggles with poverty, the yearning for independence that is met with disappointment and consuming grief. Julia and Olga may not have been the closest when Olga died, but that doesnât lessen the pain from losing a sibling. It doesnât make it any easier when Juliaâs mother constantly compares her to Olga.
As the story progresses, Julia speaks out against these expectations. She is not Olga, who was content with staying home or who never wanted more for herself. At least, thatâs how Olga always seemed âŠ
Julia soon realizes Olga may have not been so perfect herself.
This family-centered story is the best choice to read as Thanksgiving approaches. In one chapter, Julia recounts a Thanksgiving spent with her family when she questioned why the women had to cook all day while the men got the privilege of sitting around. Obviously, our feminist protagonist isnât one for accepting âthatâs the way itâs always been.â
Does that mean Julia is automatically likable? No.
Juliaâs only in her junior year in the beginning of the book; sheâs still young enough to make some mistakes. At times, Julia is quick to pass judgment, even toward her best friend. Of course, itâs only fair to point out that was the way Julia was raised, and spoiler, she seems to overcome those ideals by the end.
After finishing the book in just a few days, I immediately asked, âWhy had I not read this book sooner, and more important, why had I not been exposed to it sooner?â
Throughout my public-school education, my English classesâ curriculum only included a few Mexican American novels, most notably, Sandra Cisnerosâ âThe House on Mango Street.â That doesnât mean I wasnât exposed to good books, but I was rarely exposed to Chicanx books. With such a high Mexican American population, it would be expected that local schools would include more works by Chicanx authors. I wish that this book was one of those.
As great as this book is, though, itâs not for everyone. Sanchez wanted to create a real depiction of a young Chicanaâs experiences. When households and cultures donât encourage speaking about feelings, mental health can decline. Sanchez is authentically honest about this, but it can be triggering for many readers. Depression, anxiety, abuse and sexual assault is portrayed in this story.
Whether itâs for class or pleasure, everyone in the Rio Grande Valley–who can handle such deep topics–should read âI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter.â Even if the experience of a Chicana in Chicago is different from the experience of Chicanx in the Valley, there is still relevancy in each page. There are cultural expectations and outside barriers that we must all strive to not only overcome but abolish.
âI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughterâ (Knopf Books for Young Readers, 2017) receives a sunny rating of: ⌠⌠⌠⌠âŒ.
Reviews are based on five suns.
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