I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER BY ERIKA L. SANCHEZ

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BOOK NAME:  I AM NOT YOUR PERFECT MEXICAN DAUGHTER

AUTHOR NAME: ERIKA L. SANCHEZ

GENRE:  CONTEMPORARY FICTION

PUBLISHER: ROCK THE BOAT - HARPERCOLLINS INDIA

BOOK BUY LINK: https://www.amazon.in/Not-Your-Perfect-Mexican-Daughter/dp/1524700517/ref=tmm_pap_swatch_0?_encoding=UTF8&qid=&sr=



BOOK COVER IMAGE





BOOK REVIEW

What a stunner of a book! I can't believe I just read the most impressive young adult fiction ever. I wish it were my teen self reading this book while going through the crisis of my teenage years. 


For a brief introduction, this book is about a dysfunctional Mexican family settled in the US. Julia is a first-generation teenager born to undocumented parents who can't make perfectly round tacos like her sister, Olga. Her parents always expected her to be perfect and saintly, just like her sister was. But little did everyone know that Olga was not as flawless as everybody else thought. Things change when Julia finds a scandalous underwear and a hotel room key in her dead sister's room. She decides to uncover her sister's past life to get closer to her but in the process, Julia realises that her parents and her sister did not have an everyday life as she thought. She learns to grow and understand them a little better than before. 


I really do not have words to express how much I loved reading this book. The Mexican household parenting felt very similar to that of Indian households, and I could resonate with Julia throughout. Julia is not perfect; she is sometimes rude, sometimes rebellious, judgemental and stereotypical and oftentimes unbearable. But that's what makes her character arc grow beautifully. 


The way this book speaks about teenage mental health problems, grief, parenting issues, body issues, and insecurities made me root for Julia even though she was unlikable. I wish parents understood that teenagers are either rebellious or tormented because of their unreasonable expectations. I also hope teenagers realise that they don't have to be pristine and that they are not alone. Understanding that their parents could have had a complicated past as well even though it doesn't make an excuse for them to be authoritarian parents, and efforts from both sides can make a difference.


Though some too many Spanish terminologies and conversations made me lose track, I could never come to not like it. I love books that talk about books and writing, and this book mentions way too many of my favourites that I couldn't stop myself from gushing over whenever I came across the mentions. This book is a must-read for everyone; teenagers, adults and parents. One must understand that the book is written from a troubled teenager’s point of view and that it’s definitely going to be unreasonable and detestable at times. Teenagers aren’t perfect but so are the parents. 



MY REVIEW: 5/5

This is a part of Blogchatter’s #TBRchallenge and Blogchatter’s half marathon 2023

#penbooksandscalpel


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