I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is the debut young-adult novel by author Erika L. Sánchez. Prior to the novel's publication, Sánchez was widely celebrated for her poetry collection, entitled Lessons on Expulsion. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is a gut-wrenching, poetic coming-of-age story set in contemporary Chicago. The novel was published by Knopf Books for Young Readers in 2017. The story explores themes of grief, the first-generation immigrant experience, and intergenerational trauma.
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter follows narrator and protagonist Julia Reyes, a 15-year-old daughter of undocumented Mexican immigrants. Julia's parents work grueling jobs, and...