I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

The people in these books are funny, brave, strong, resilient, clever, and kind: Just like you.

After I finished this book, I immediately wanted to start handing it to people. The writing makes the character's feelings so palpable that it brought tears to my eyes. Deals beautifully with tough issues like immigration, grief, mental health, suicide, and sexual assault. Please pick this one up — it's really so, so good! Recommended By Christine R., Powells.com

The Absolutely True Diary of a Part-Time Indian meets Jane the Virgin in this poignant but often laugh-out-loud funny contemporary YA about losing a sister and finding yourself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican-American home.

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 kiss, 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?

"In the beautifully written I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter, Erika L. Sánchez (Lessons on Expulsion) captures the hearts and trust of teen readers, struggling at the crossroads of familial and personal identities." Shelf Awareness, starred review

"Ultimately, it’s Julia herself who’s the key to the novel…She’ll resonate with many readers, and they’ll be glad to see her make it through a tough time." The Bulletin, starred review

Erika L. Sánchez is a poet, a feminist, and a cheerleader for young women everywhere. She was the sex and love advice columnist for Cosmopolitan for Latinas for three years, and her writing has appeared in the Rolling Stone, Salon, and the Paris Review. Since she was a 12-year-old nerd in giant bifocals and embroidered vests, Erika has dreamed of writing complex, empowering stories about girls of color — what she wanted to read as a young adult. She lives in Chicago, not far from the setting of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. Erika is fluent in Spanish, Spanglish, and cat.