"Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. They do not move out of their parents' house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family" (Sánchez, 2020).
I had never read a book that is so closely related to some of my lived experiences. I, too, am a first-generation student, a child of undocumented parents, a daughter who often struggled to have a good relationship with her mother, and I also had a teacher like the one Julia has in the book I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. And although some of this book is fictional it was unsettling and comforting to notice how much I resonated with the story. Like Julia, I became the first in my family to move away from my house after high school graduation. My older sister attended a nearby community college, stayed living at home, and helped my mother with the day to day family needs. So, I was the one with a very distinct path. After reading Sánchez's book, I was reminded of many unspoken feelings, as well as the many educational barriers that followed me.
