Written by WB Intern Gimena Perez Sánchez’s award-winning novel, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter follows Julia, a Chicago high school student as she navigates trials and tribulations of following her dreams of becoming a writer, alongside the death of her sister, Olga—who might not have been quite as perfect as she seemed. This novel is the
perfect read for Hispanic Heritage Month. “Everything changes, for better or worse, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it’s beautiful, and sometimes it fills us with terror. Sometimes both.” ― Erika L. Sánchez The novel, I’m Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughterby Erika L. Sanchez follows Julia as she tries to navigate life after her
sister, Olga’s, passing. Julia and Olga are two Mexican American sisters who live with their undocumented parents. The book begins with Olga’s funeral after she was run over by a semi. Olga was seen as the “Perfect Mexican Daughter.” She was obedient, she studied at the local community college, worked in an office, and ultimately never left home. Her passing affects Julia’s mother and now without her sister, Julia is the center of her mother’s attention. Julia is the
complete opposite of her sister. She is disobedient, wants to be a writer, and is set on attending a university away from home. She refuses to live a mediocre life like her sister. She has hopes and dreams that her parents believe are unattainable, which causes a lot of tension between Julia and her mother. After the funeral, Julia discovers a few strange things in Olga’s room that makes her question whether her sister truly was the “Perfect Mexican Daughter.” As the story
progresses, Julia begins to discover who her sister truly was. However, the secret about her sister did not naturally progress with Julia’s own life. At times, this big secret seemed like an afterthought for the main character. This often felt strange, because Julia was intent on finding out the secret, but it was set aside for other plots. This left the reader questioning what the plot truly was. The story, however, mostly focuses on Julia. This allows readers to experience first hand
what Julia, a Mexican American teen girl has faced within her culture. We get to see how generational trauma has affected her relationship with her mother. We get to see her make mistakes and learn from them. We also see her face mental health struggles, and ultimately, we see how Olga’s death has affected Julia and her parents. This book gives a very realistic look into the life of a modern Mexican American teenager who is caught between the cultural expectations imposed on her by her family
and herself. This book is a perfect representation of Hispanic culture and issues that affect first-generation Mexican American children who struggle with their identities. It features quinceañeras, delicious food, and a protagonist that struggles with cultural pressure and family. While Julia may be a complex character, at the end the reader cannot help but root for her as she embarks on her journey to college. Know a great book we should review next? Let us know on
social media @TheWritingBarn, or email us at . Gimena Perez is a writer and currently a student at St. Edwards University where she is double majoring in
Writing and Rhetoric with a Creative Writing Concentration & English Literature. She is originally from Espanola, New Mexico. Gimena is working towards becoming certified as a High School English teacher. She loves writing fiction and hopes to eventually become a creative writing professor. Aside from writing, she enjoys reading, watching movies and listening to true crime podcasts. Summary:
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Quotes
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I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Quotes Showing 1-30 of 141
“I don’t know why I’ve always been like this, why the smallest things make me ache inside. There’s a poem I read once, titled “The World Is Too Much with Us,” and I guess that is the best way to describe the feeling—the world is too much with me.”
― Erika L. Sánchez,
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“How do we tie our shoes, brush our hair, drink coffee, wash the dishes, and go to sleep, pretending everything is fine? How do we laugh and feel happiness despite the buried things growing inside? How can we do that day after day?”
― Erika L. Sánchez,
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“It’s easier to be pissed, though. If I stop being angry, I’m afraid I’ll fall apart until I’m just a warm mound of flesh on the floor.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“Happiness is a
dandelion wisp floating through the air that I can’t catch. No matter how hard I try, no matter how fast I run, I just can’t reach it. Even when I think I grasp it, I open my hand and it’s empty.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“Be careful. Please. The border…The fucking border.” I feel a wildness spreading through me.
“It’s nothing but a giant wound, a big gash between the two countries. Why does it have to be like that? I don’t understand. It’s just some random, stupid line. How can anyone tell people where they can and can’t go?”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“I was too excited and threw my book across the room. It was so good
that it made me angry. People would think I’m nuts if I try to explain it to them, so I don’t.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“I don’t understand why everyone just complains about who I am. What am I supposed to do? Say I’m sorry? I’m sorry I can’t be normal? I’m sorry I’m such a bad daughter? I’m sorry I hate the
life that I have to live?”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“In some ways, I think that part of what of what I'm trying to accomplish, whether Amá really understands it or not, is to live for her Apá, and Olga. It's not that I'm living life for them, exactly, but I have so many choices they've never had. And I feel like
I can do so much with what I've been given. What a waste their journey would be if I just settled for a dull mediocre life.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“It’s his dream to live in the U.S., but I almost wish he won’t. Even if he makes it alive, this place is not the promised land for everyone.”
― Erika
L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“As much as I get sick of eating Mexican food every single day of my life, if heaven existed, I know it would smell like fried tortillas.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your
Perfect Mexican Daughter
“There is no heaven. There is only earth, sky, and the transfer of energy. The idea would almost be beautiful if it weren't such a nightmare.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“But how do we live with these secrets locked within us? How do we tie our shoes, brush our hair,
drink coffee, wash the dishes, and go to sleep, pretending everything is fine? How do we laugh and feel happiness despite the buried things growing inside? How can we do that day after day?”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“One of the things I hate most in life is people telling me to calm down, as if I’m some
out-of-control lunatic who isn’t entitled to have feelings.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“If—when—I become rich, I want a library so big that I’ll need a ladder to reach all my books. I want first editions, too. I want ancient tomes that I have to handle with forceps and rubber gloves.”
― Erika L.
Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“sometimes in life you don’t get to do what you want to do. Sometimes you have to deal with what’s given to you, shut up, and keep working. That’s it.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not
Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“I wonder what it’s like to clean houses all day and then come home and keep cleaning. I hate seeing her this way because it makes me feel so guilty—guilty for existing, guilty that she has to work like that for us.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“I’ve read The
Awakening a million times, but I find it comforting. My favorite character is the lady in black who follows Edna and Robert everywhere. I also love the book because I’m so much like Edna—nothing satisfies me, nothing makes me happy. I want too much out of life. I want to take it in my hands and squeeze and twist as much as I can from it. And it’s never enough.”
― Erika L. Sánchez,
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“If there’s any place on earth where people should be allowed to cry as they watch their lives transform before them, it’s the airport. In a way, it’s kind of like purgatory, isn’t it? An in-between place.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not
Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“Everything changes, for better or worse, whether we like it or not. Sometimes it's beautiful, and sometimes it fills us with terror. Sometimes both.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
“In some ways, I think that part of what I’m trying to accomplish—whether Amá really
understands it or not—is to live for her, Apá, and Olga. It’s not that I’m living life for them, exactly, but I have so many choices they’ve never had, and I feel like I can do so much with what I’ve been given. What a waste their journey would be if I just settled for a dull, mediocre life. Maybe one day they’ll realize that.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your
Perfect Mexican Daughter
“But I know I have to go far away. I love my parents, of course, and I feel guilty for wanting to leave them, but living here would be too hard. I need to grow and explore, and they won’t let me. I feel like I’m being kept under a magnifying glass.”
― Erika L. Sánchez, I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
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