The time has come again for National Hispanic Heritage Month: a month dedicated to the works and accomplishments of Latino and Hispanic people. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika Sanchez is considered an honorable book for this time: Written in the perspective of an angsty Mexican teen with anxiety and a dead sister, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a valuable and relatable story. In fact, Edison High now includes this novel to diversify the current syllabus beyond books written by old white men (no offense, Catcher in the Rye!). Our thoughts on this new addition are, however, controversial.
The reader follows high school senior Julia Reyes as she struggles with her relationship with her illegal immigrant parents and grieves over the loss of her sister, Olga. Blamed for her “perfect” sister’s death, Julia also carries the weight of the blame as her parents despise her for being the “bad daughter.”
On one hand, Sanchez writes her story brutally honest. She doesn’t sugarcoat or lie—she accurately describes life from the perspective of a depressed teenager, with Julia’s problems and fears closely mirroring those in real life. In today’s society, many people can relate to this novel, whether they are in the same situation as Julia or not: Any teenager who has experienced loss can empathize with Julia’s grief over her sister, and any teenager who is a mix of two cultures can relate to “not being good enough.”
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter also offers a new perspective of the lives of immigrant families. Sanchez perfectly captures the tension-filled relationship between Julia and her mother. Julia’s mother wishes for her to be a traditional, respectful Mexican daughter, just like her older sister. However, Julia is determined to follow her dreams to a better life. As Julia navigates through cultural expectations, high school, and grief, we relate to her and understand her thought processes.
Furthermore, Sanchez shocks us all with the surprising plot twists she incorporates. The mystery starts when Julia finds out her perfect sister may not have been so perfect after all. As Julia unravels her sister’s scandalous secrets, her own life experiences a series of emotional ups and downs. Sanchez’s descriptions of grief and guilt are in-depth and heart-wrenching.
But despite the book’s plus points, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter has a lot of major flaws. There are so many minor tropes that are suddenly introduced at the most random points in the story that at some point, we stop being surprised by them and instead cringe at the unnecessary and overused plotlines. While plot twists are usually welcome, too many can make the story confusing. In an attempt to make the book captivating, Sanchez haphazardly throws multiple genres into the story. A confusing mix of romance, coming-of-age, self-acceptance, mystery, grief, and more, the main idea of the novel is completely lost.
In addition, it’s hard to sympathize with some characters. Put bluntly, Julia is beyond annoying, and she has so much self-pity that she comes across as bratty and ungrateful. She constantly complains about her horrible life and how she wants to be a writer, but doesn’t acknowledge the struggles of her parents. Julia keeps talking about never getting anything: she doesn’t go to restaurants, she doesn’t live in a fancy house, she doesn’t get to be free. Julia is so self-centered and ignores her parents’ struggles that she doesn’t appreciate the many things she does have. She doesn’t think about how many people don’t even have the privileges she has; all she thinks about is leaving her family to go “follow her dreams.” Julia thinks she is the only miserable person in the world and it is hard not to despise her for it. She is the literal definition of a deadweight–except, not only does she pull the rest of the family down, she complains the whole time she does it.
On top of this, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter contains many delicate themes, like mental health, suicide, sex, drugs, rape and more. A lot of the book is of Julia’s blunt teenage perspectives on these sensitive topics. While it may be important for adolescents to be exposed to these problems, the question remains: Are high school students mature enough to read this book in school?
But ultimately, this YA novel offers a necessary perspective today, and despite the major let-downs, it does pan out to be an enjoyable read. It is important for all people, adult or teenager, to read and understand the struggles of immigrant families and the relatability of the novel helps teenagers feel less alone. Sanchez’s intentions for this novel and her idea for the story are notable, but unfortunately, aspects of her execution took away the focus from the main points. She failed to provide depth in multiple heavy topics and her over-exaggeration of teenage angst is depressing. Readers should look for a more nuanced understanding of second-generation experience and a more realistic depiction of loss in novels and there are tons of books out there that can do this.
Honestly, we’d recommend you find a better read for this year’s National Hispanic Heritage Month.