Sánchez spends a substantial amount of time emphasizing Julia’s struggle to define her view of what it means to be a woman (i.e., “I am not your perfect Mexican daughter”). Her mental health is a large part of the story, but it is not necessarily her defining feature. From a feminist perspective, there is much to like about Julia. She wants nothing more than to leave home for college and become a writer. Sánchez (2017) creates a unique and multidimensional character in Julia. Traditionally, characters with disabilities have been cast as monsters and villains ( Beauchamp, Chung, & Mogilner, 2010) it is disappointing to see Sánchez introduce characters with such negative physical features when it has no additional bearing on the plot. Not only does Sánchez use loaded words to describe her characters, but her physical descriptions are also monstrous. At one point, Sánchez describes the whiteheads on his face splitting and bleeding. Or Josh, with acne so extreme that it “looks as if someone set fire to his face” (2017, p. For example, Luis has a “demented look in his eyes” and “laughs like a maniac” (2017, p. However, Sánchez introduces several additional characters (for a single chapter depicting Julia’s experience in group therapy) and many of these characters are depicted with stereotypical features. Had Julia been the only character living with a mental illness depicted in the book, I would have considered the book fairly free of stereotype. Although some of the actions that lead to this label can be directly traced to Julia’s mood, far more of her family’s frustration comes from Julia’s inability to conform to cultural expectations of womanhood. Julia is consistently labelled by her family, especially her mother, as a troublemaker. People living with a mental illness are often depicted negatively as dangerous, violent, even criminal ( Coverdale et al., 2002 Klin & Lemish, 2008 Wahl, 2003 Wilson et al., 2000).

I am not your perfect mexican daughter