Hearth and Pages: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

“I just feel like it’s unfair, that my whole life is unfair, like I was born into the wrong place and family. I never feel like I belong anywhere.”

I received a free digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

Julia Reyes loves to write, and she always dreams of moving out from her parents’ house, go to college and see the world. But that’s not how a ‘Perfect Mexican Daughter’ supposed to be. ‘Perfect Mexican Daughters’ do not go away to college and move out of their parents’ house. They’re never abandon their family, they dedicated their life for their family like Julia’s older sister – Olga. But her sister Olga is dead and Julia’s family has been shattered to pieces. Julia’s mother channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed, and compare her to Olga. No on in her family seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken by this tragedy too. But then Julia found out that Olga hides another life from her family, another personality that she never shows to any of her family member. Julia then determined to find out if there’s more to her sister story while dealing with not being a ‘Perfect Mexican Daughter.’

Where should I start with this book? I'm really glad that I was in a good place when I read this book because this is definitely not a feel-good book. I'm not even a Mexican and yet this book hits so close to home. I found lots of similarity between Julia and my younger self. The struggle that she has with having different mind-set with people around her and how that seems so stuck-up in other people’s eyes is basically what I have to faced when I’m about her age. Even now. Though I do have to admit, Julia can be pretty selfish and judgmental at some points, especially at the beginning. But that was actually a good thing because it allows her character to go through an amazing character development. I really like that, especially because Julia’s character development is unlike any other character developments that I found in other YA books. Her characters matured in a pace that is so fitting that it felt so real.

Like I said before, this book is not a feel-good book. It definitely doesn’t sugar-coat anything and like other contemporary books that I like, the human relations in this book feels so raw and real. All the humane emotions between characters, the struggle to find that midpoint and understanding between two clashing personalities, the bitter-sweet relationship between parents and their children is what makes me love this book.

This is definitely a great book to pick if you’re looking for a diverse book. The Latinx elements in this book is wonderful. That being said, I am not a right person to judge whether or not the depiction of Latinx cultures and customs in this book hit the mark. I would love for you all who read this to also check some Latinx readers’ review and their thoughts on this book, especially Mexican readers. There are a lot of Spanish dialogues in it, and I need to go back and forth between reading this and looking for the translation. Honestly, I love doing that whenever I read books about other cultures. I love to learn things about different cultures and reading fictional books like this one is actually one of my favorite way to gain knowledge. Speaking of diversity, there is also one minor LGBTQIA representation in this book, and though that character’s role might be small, that person is a delightful addition to Julia’s story and character development. The depiction of mental health and illness in this book is done in a good way. Again, Sánchez did not sugar coat it and the characters’ effort to recover and how they handle is a positive thing and I think that is an important depiction.

If you’re looking for a raw and more on the dark side diverse YA book, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter might be one of the best book to pick. Reading Julia’s journey in this book makes me understand why this book has been long-listed for National Book Award for Young People Literature in USA this year. It’s a gripping book filled with diversity, angst, grief and great human relationship depiction. It’s definitely one of my favorite read this year, and I highly recommend this book.