I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

This book is not what I expected/sought out to read, which is part of the reason why I gave it such a low rating. When I initially read the synopsis for "I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter" on Goodreads, I was under the impression that I was about to read a mystery style book with a hint of Mexican culture embedded throughout the plot. However, this book centered around mental health. Julia is a 16 year old Mexican girl living in Chicago with her family, who is coping with the recent loss of their 22 year old daughter, Olga. While her family is rooted in their Mexican culture, Julia seeks to live an independent life as a writer, uninterested in maintaining the Mexican traditions her family expects her to uphold. Her rocky relationship with her Mom and her difficulties fitting in cause Julia to feel immense unease and heartache. Coupled with depression and anxiety, Julia struggles as a teen growing up in a low income suburb of Chicago. This book takes you on Julia's journey to understanding mental health illnesses, discovering more about her family's sacrifices and culture, and eventually finding happiness and success. As I said before, this is not what I anticipated reading when I first began this novel. However, that being said, I do believe author Erika L. Sanchez depicts the road to understanding and coping with depression and anxiety well, therefore allowing readers to uncover what mental illness might look like in young teens. This is an important topic that our society needs to start feeling more comfortable discussing so that awareness can continue to spread. 

RATING = 3/5