Review: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

Title: I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter 

Author: Erika L. Sánchez

Genre: Contemporary, Fiction, Mexican-American

Number of pages: 344

Time it took me to read:  7 Days

Synopsis: 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?

Novel Review:

Okay, I have to start out with a confession. When I started this read, the first few chapters seemed to go on forever and I put the book down several times, thus the reason it took me an entire week to get through (very unusual for me). It wasn’t that the first part was bad writing, boring or anything like that. It was just too slow for me. I really thought this was going to be added to my DNF list. I am so GLAD I stuck with it.

This read pulled at so many of my emotions. First, I laughed my butt off. Julia is one witty and funny character. I listen to the audio and every time my twelve-year-old daughter was in the room she laughed right along with me. I cried at the sad parts and while there weren’t that many my tears flooded when they did appear. And I felt Julia’s frustration with her life and the circumstances she had to go through.

Looking back, I don’t think the book was slow. I think I had just come off this high from reading two books from the same series. I had devoured those books in two days, well over 1,000 pages. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is not that kind of book. It is one of those books that you need to grab a good cup of coffee, a warm blanket and sit by the window with and savor each and every page.

This is a book that reaches down into your soul and demands your attention. There are so many lessons to learn from this read, from how mental illness affects everyone differently, how the intersections of cultures affect individuals, and even how people mourn differently.

I highly recommend it to English teachers everywhere, to parents, children, and the rest of the world. I cannot say enough good things about this book.

My rating:

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Review: Defy the Worlds

Title: Defy the Worlds

Author: Claudia Gray

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, War

Number of pages: 469

Time it took me to read:  2 Days

Book Trailer by Orena Floyd

Synopsis: An outcast from her home — Shunned after a trip through the galaxy with Abel, the most advanced cybernetic man ever created, Noemi Vidal dreams of traveling through the stars one more time. And when a deadly plague arrives on Genesis, Noemi gets her chance. As the only soldier to have ever left the planet, it will be up to her to save its people…if only she wasn’t flying straight into a trap.

A fugitive from his fate — On the run to avoid his depraved creator’s clutches, Abel believes he’s said good-bye to Noemi for the last time. After all, the entire universe stands between them…or so he thinks. When word reaches him of Noemi’s capture by the very person he’s trying to escape, Abel knows he must go to her, no matter the cost.

But capturing Noemi was only part of Burton Mansfield’s master plan. In a race against time, Abel and Noemi will come together once more to discover a secret that could save the known worlds, or destroy them all.

In this thrilling and romantic sequel to Defy the Stars, bestselling author Claudia Gray asks us all to consider where–and with whom–we truly belong.

Novel Review:

Have you ever read a series where as soon as you finished the first book you dove right into the second book and then suddenly find that you read both in less than two days? You know the kind of series that has you dead to the world, hiding in your closet so no one could disturb this perfect reading trace you are in? Well, this is how my day went for book one and two in this series. You may not believe me because the reviews are weeks apart and I had some hang-ups about the first book, but it is so true!

Defy the Worlds was much more than I was expecting. Noemi has grown so much by the end of the book that I am completely in love with her as a character. And that ending! Why does Gray have to play with my heart like that? This book has definitely added so much to the series so far and Claudia Gray knows how to take her readers on one hell of a journey.

I am so excited for the next book in this series and can’t wait to five into it… well after it’s written that is. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good multi-world story or just a well rounded Sci-Fi read.

My rating:

Find out more about the book and Claudia Gray here

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Review: Defy the Stars

Title: Defy the Stars

Author: Claudia Gray

Genre: YA, Historical Fiction, War

Number of pages: 503

Time it took me to read:  2 Days

Book Trailer by Orena Floyd

Synopsis: She’s a soldier – Noemi Vidal is willing to risk anything to protect her planet, Genesis, including her own life. To their enemies on Earth, she’s a rebel.

He’s a machine – Abandoned in space for years, utterly alone, Abel’s advanced programming has begun to evolve. He wants only to protect his creator, and to be free. To the people of Genesis, he’s an abomination.

Noemi and Abel are enemies in an interstellar war, forced by chance to work together as they embark on a daring journey through the stars. Their efforts would end the fighting for good, but they’re not without sacrifice. The stakes are even higher than either of them first realized, and the more time they spend together, the more they’re forced to question everything they’d been taught was true.

Novel Review:

While browsing through my local library’s stacks I came across Defy the Stars, which I have read before, and Defy the Worlds. Even after reading the synopsis of Defy the Stars I couldn’t remember the plot, which says little about the book because I have a terrible memory.  So picking up both books I decided to revisit the universe of Gray’s Constellation Series.

Gray’s writing is so captivating that it felt like I was reuniting with old friends (once I remembered them) as I began that first chapter. When first reading this novel I was a little taken aback by the dialogue of Able but it quickly becomes apparent that we are meant to feel this way because he is a machine. Reading on it was interesting to see how the reader becomes attached to Abel and begins rooting for him.

Noemi and I have a love-hate relationship at this point in the book. In the beginning, she seems to have a spilt personality. On one hand, she is this ready soldier that is ready to sacrifice herself for her planet and on the other hand she has this woe is me complex. Yes, she does deserve to be pitied. I mean she lost her both her parents and sibling when she was young and grows up with not so loving adopted parents but still. She still tends to be whiny but in her own head. It is definitely interesting to see how she develops as a character.

Now to the story itself. Gray took me on such a fun ride across this universe she has created with a thrilling cast of characters both human and machine. When a story jumps from planet to planet it can sometimes be hard to capture the essence of each planet without bogging down the story or creating a massive book. This was not the case with Ms. Gray’s writing. The pace was constant throughout the book and one of the main reasons why I finished this read in a little under two days. Each planet had its own unique challenge and kept the reader on the edge of their seat and needed to read on to see what happens next.

Overall, the first book in the Constellation Series was a fun read. I highly recommend it to anyone who loves a good multi-world story or just a well rounded Sci-Fi read.

My rating:

Find out more about the book and Claudia Gray here

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