I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter (Unabridged)
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4.4 • 347 Ratings
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- $19.99
Publisher Description
#1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER • A “stunning” (America Ferrera) YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home.
“Alive and crackling—a gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. ”—The New York Times
Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family.
But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role.
Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed.
But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?
Customer Reviews
First book of 2025
So good! Finished in 3 days.
Deep ignorance about Mexican women
As a proud Mexican woman and daughter of a Mexican mother, I felt deeply insulted by the way Mexican women were portrayed in this book. Characterizing Mexican wives as meek and submissive reflects harmful stereotypes and a clear lack of cultural understanding.
Empowering Mexican-American women is important, but empowerment should not come at the expense of misrepresenting or diminishing Mexican women and our culture. Speaking about a culture without nuance or lived experience can perpetuate the very biases we are trying to dismantle.
I did not finish listening because, as a strong and accomplished Mexican woman, I know that strength and cultural pride are not mutually exclusive — they define what it means to be a “perfect Mexican daughter.”
If this perspective is rooted primarily in the Mexican-American experience, perhaps the title should reflect that more accurately. Mexican women are not a monolith, and our identities deserve precision and respect.
A must read
Thank you to the writer for writing this book! This book is one of many stories within our Mexican/ latina culture of girls who can relate to all of this story or parts of this book. Thank you!