Book Review of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Credits

Readability Historic period Range

fifteen to 17

Publisher

A Borzoi book published by Alfred A. Knopf, an imprint of Random House Children's Books, a division of Penguin Random Firm LLC

Awards

National Book Award Long List, 2017

Year Published

2017

Book Review

I Am Non Your Perfect Mexican Girl by Erika Fifty. Sánchez has been reviewed past Focus on the Family's marriage and parenting magazine.

Plot Summary

Julia Reyes is a xv-year-old daughter of Mexican immigrants. Her 22-twelvemonth-old sister, Olga, was recently hit by a bus and killed. Julia'due south mother, Amá, is a housecleaner. Her father, Apá, is a worker at a candy mill. They accept e'er been over-protective of her. Amá gives Julia even less freedom now that her sister is gone.

Everyone believed Olga was the perfect daughter, ane who attended church building and customs college classes, had no social life and never shamed the family. Simply when Julia discovers skimpy underwear, a hotel cardinal and love notes in Olga's room, she wonders what secrets her sister was keeping.

Julia is rarely allowed to leave the house later Olga'due south death. When she does, she often parties with her friend, Lorena. While Julia wasn't shut to her sister, she still feels a deep sense of grief and loss. She launches her own covert investigation, trying to determine whether Olga'due south friend Angie or any of her other acquaintances knew anything well-nigh a hush-hush swain or girlfriend.

Julia deals with other life changes during this fourth dimension likewise. Lorena has go all-time friends with a flamboyantly gay beau who calls himself Juanga. They potable, party and do drugs to a level that makes Julia feel uncomfortable. Regretting that she never gave Olga a quinceañera, Amá decides to spend thousands of dollars they don't have to throw 1 for Julia.

Julia is nigh 16 and dreads the whole affair. Julia meets a rich white male child named Connor in a bookstore and, when Julia can go out of the house, they brainstorm spending time together. Julia is anxious to leave Chicago and her parents' apartment when she graduates. She loves writing and reading, and her English teacher helps her apply to colleges.

Julia becomes increasingly depressed and emotional every bit her mother removes even more of her freedoms. She cries ofttimes to Connor on the telephone. Frustrated, he tells her he doesn't know how to help her. She takes Connor'due south comments every bit a proposition that they should break up.

Julia wakes up in the hospital, remembering how she slit her wrists the night before. She is diagnosed with astringent anxiety and depression. In addition to medication, she will attend regular counseling sessions and spend a calendar week in an outpatient group therapy setting.

Once her outpatient handling is complete, her parents transport her to visit relatives in United mexican states. She'due south initially unhappy with the arrangement, merely she soon realizes the modify in environs is proficient for her. Merely before leaving for Mexico, she discovers Olga's cyberspace password and reads messages between Olga and her lover. She learns Olga's boyfriend was a married dr. who kept promising to get out his married woman.

The slower pace of life in Mexico with relatives energizes Julia. She even has a short-term romance with a boy she meets there. Her grandmother shares a dark secret: Amá was raped as she was crossing the boarder from Mexico into the United States. This realization helps Julia develop more sympathy toward her female parent.

When Julia returns to Chicago, she'due south determined to be more understanding of Amá. She reconnects with Connor and tells him where she'due south been and what's happened, a little at a time. She learns Olga was pregnant when she died, and she tracks downwardly the boyfriend. He cries and says he really did love Olga. He and his married woman are now divorced. He gives Olga's ultrasound picture to Julia.

Julia'southward depression improves with counseling and medication. She and Connor spend time together once again. Her human relationship with her parents improves, and she develops a friendship with Juanga. She'south most excited when she gets a full scholarship to a college in New York.

Christian Beliefs

Julia's mother is Cosmic and attends prayer meetings at her church. Julia says Amá thinks anybody is a Satanist. She and her mother frequently argue about faith because Julia feels the Catholic church hates women and wants them to be weak and ignorant.

Julia calls faith in Jesus a sack of crap. She comments on her mother's cheap religious décor. A woman on the street tells Julia that Jesus loves her, but Julia says He doesn't.

She speaks about God to an former homo who helps her because she says information technology'south important to sound religious when talking to old people. Julia says she's trying to be a better girl when she returns from United mexican states so she attends a prayer meeting with Amá.

A woman there prays and says she hopes people volition detect the dearest and understanding they're seeking because God lives in each of them. Julia gets into an argument with a human at the coming together who is concerned near his son'southward homosexuality. Julia is angry because she doesn't understand why the man feels he needs to forgive his son. She angrily tells him Jesus preached we should love anybody.

Other Belief Systems

Lorena'south mom worships various saints, including a skeleton saint named Santa Muerte. She dresses it and leaves sacrificial items for it. Julia's aunt in Mexico does a ritual cleaning on Julia, putting crosses and egg on her body. Julia says after decease there is merely the transfer of free energy and a return to dirt.

Authorisation Roles

Amá has experienced significant pain and loss in her life. She keeps a tight rein on Julia, causing the daughter to feel suffocated. Apá works long hours and has given upward things he loves, such as painting, in order to back up his family unit. Julia's teacher mentors her and helps her with college applications, telling her she'southward ane of the most gifted students he's ever had.

Profanity & Violence

The Lord's name is used in vain often. Words including the f-give-and-take, a–, s—, balls, p—, crap, d–n, b–ch, sucks, h—, whore, screw and douche appear regularly.

Julia talks nearly how her sister's body was not just hit, but smashed, by a semi. The book includes a graphic clarification of Julia's relatives in Mexico slaughtering a grunter.

Sexual Content

Julia mentions her big boobs often and talks about how men stare at them. Lorena says Julia dresses like a homeless lesbian.

1 of Julia'south uncles sometimes sticks his finger in her mouth when no one is looking. He tries information technology when she's 15, and she bites his finger until information technology bleeds. She wonders how another of her uncles has sex with his wife because she'south so fatty. She mentions how she hopes she never has to hear her parents having sex.

Julia gets her first kiss from a friend of Lorena'southward swain. Juanga is shocked to acquire that Julia is a xv-year-former virgin. Julia and Connor buss, and she begins to wonder how she'll know when she'due south set for sex. She asks Lorena for communication. Lorena tells her she needs to shave her p—y before she goes to Connor'south house.

Julia also stops for condoms on the style, just in case he doesn't have them. The book provides some detail about their sexual run across. Julia feels embarrassed subsequently, even though she says she knows sex isn't evil and it is something normal, functioning mammals practice.

Amá catches her with Olga's skimpy underwear and thinks they vest to Julia. Julia's counselor asks if she and her female parent ever talked about sex. Julia replies that her mother's comments indicate sex is the most evil thing unmarried people tin do. The counselor assures Julia that sex is a normal part of the homo experience and that it's unfortunate so many people attach shame to it.

Julia describes her friend Lorena as slutty. Julia chides her for never using a condom. When Lorena misses a period, Julia goes with her to become a pregnancy test at a clinic. Lorena says there is no way she will have a babe, and she will utilize money she'southward taken from her stepfather if she needs an abortion.

Protestors accost the girls. They hold signs and tell the girls they will fire in hell for aborting a child. The girls are excited and relieved when they learn Lorena isn't pregnant. Lorena's stepfather once pushed her against the wall, crammed his tongue in her mouth and rubbed his penis confronting her leg.

Lorena's friend Juanga is a gay teen. Julia feels a sense of relief when she attends a party with Lorena and Juanga. Everyone is either queer or trans-gender, then she doesn't have to bargain with creepy, leering men. Juanga'south father frequently kicks him out of the business firm, and Juanga runs off with various new boyfriends. His dad calls him names, tells him he will burn down in hell and has even tried to perform an exorcism on him. Julia says Juanga is obsessed with all things penile. Julia applauds him for not letting his parents plow him into something he's not.

Julia finds underwear in Olga'southward room that she refers to equally strange looking, like that of a hooker, and that it looks slutty and skanky. As Julia hunts for information nearly her sister, she learns Olga was having an thing with a married homo. She also discovers Olga was pregnant when she died. Julia is given the ultrasound picture and says information technology feels like she'southward property on to a piece of her sister.

Julia learns that a teacher raped 1 of her current teachers when her teacher was 17. She likewise finds out her mother was raped while crossing the border from Mexico into the U.s.. Julia helps her mother clean the house of a man with many statues of men and women in sexual positions.

At a schoolhouse dance, Julia notes that the kids are dancing so shut they are practically dry humping. She says that someone's going to be pregnant past the terminate of the dance. She compares a bald guy at a political party to a scrotum. Kids at the aforementioned party are shamelessly making out, and other kids are recording it on their phones. Julia sees the manner two of her teachers wait at each other and wonders if they're boning.

When Julia is in Mexico, her grandmother tells her two of their cats are gay. Julia's Mexican cousin gossips about a human who began dressing like a woman and became a prostitute. He got AIDS, and the cousin says people believe information technology was his ain fault. Julia says she tries to explain that AIDS isn't just a gay affliction, merely her cousin won't heed.

Discussion Topics

Boosted Comments

Female body: Julia often lies about being on her flow to go out of doing things. She'southward discovered that this is particularly constructive with male teachers because it makes them uncomfortable. Julia recalls her mother throwing her in the scalding hot shower afterward learning Julia hadn't bathed for five days. Amá told her that girls who don't wash their junk get infections. Julia ofttimes mentions her large boobs. She says she doesn't know why her female parent is paranoid virtually leaving her alone in her room, because there's no mode she'd try touching herself with her mother lurking around. She thinks maybe Amá is worried she will orchestrate an orgy or overdose on heroin. When Julia goes to visit Olga'south best friend, Angie, she tin can encounter the daughter's nipples through her robe. Information technology reminds her of a fourth dimension she walked in on the girls and saw Angie touching Olga's breasts.

Booze and drugs: Teens, including Julia, Lorena and Juanga, frequently drink and get drunk and high at parties. Julia notes a pleasant warmth going through her body subsequently having a lot to beverage, and she says she can understand why so many people are alcoholics. Juanga is very drunk after a party, simply Julia gets into the car with him since she has no other manner home. Fifty-fifty Julia feels concerned about the erratic beliefs she sees in Lorena and Juanga after their drinking and drug binges. Julia's dad and uncles always become drunkard when they get together.

Suicide: Julia slits her wrists. She ends up in a hospital and then an outpatient facility with other troubled teens. She is diagnosed with astringent depression and feet and is given medication. She likewise has to attend ongoing counseling. Another boy in her outpatient program as well tried to kill himself by overdosing with some of his mother'southward pills.

Anorexia: One of the girls in Julia's outpatient program is anorexic.

Abuse: A male child in Julia'southward outpatient program was whipped and beaten past his father. His dad fifty-fifty put a gun in his mouth. The boy is at present in treatment for cutting himself.

Ballgame: Julia has no problem with abortion and goes to a clinic with Lorena. At the same time, she notes that her sis's ultrasound shows a "possibility" and she tin can almost experience its heartbeat in her hands. She keeps the ultrasound pic because information technology makes her experience like she still has a function of Olga with her.

Music: Lorena likes to listen to music about Mexican drug traffickers who buy expensive guns and cut off each other'southward heads.

Feminism: The definition of womanhood is oftentimes explored. Julia rebels against her family'southward cultural beliefs regarding what a woman should practice and be. One instance is Amá's insistence that Julia have a quinceañera. Culturally, this means she can at present trip the light fantastic and wear heels and brand-upwards. Julia says if this is what womanhood means, she'southward not certain she wants any part of information technology. Many men in the story ogle or abuse women.

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