![]() ![]() Agent: Michelle Brower, Zachary Shuster Harmsworth Literary. Alive and cracklinga gritty tale wrapped in a page-turner. ![]() ![]() ![]() Julia is a sympathetic character, but Sánchez’s often expository writing keeps her and her struggles at arm’s length. 1 NEW YORK TIMES BESTSELLER A stunning (America Ferrera) YA novel about a teenager coming to terms with losing her sister and finding herself amid the pressures, expectations, and stereotypes of growing up in a Mexican American home. As the book moves along, Julia’s frustration with the many constraints she lives under-poverty, family expectations, and conditioning that she resents but can’t quite ignore-reaches dangerous levels. Sánchez’s debut novel covers a lot of ground, including Julia’s day-to-day activities in Chicago, her college ambitions, her first boyfriend (who is white and comes from a wealthy neighborhood), her difficult relationship with her overprotective parents, and her search for Olga’s secrets. And when she starts to suspect that Olga might not have been so perfect, she follows every clue. When Olga dies suddenly, Julia is left wishing that they had been closer and grieving what she sees as Olga’s wasted life. Julia, by contrast, argues with her mother, talks back at school, and dreams of becoming a famous writer. Why isn’t 15-year-old Julia Reyes a perfect Mexican daughter in her mother’s eyes? Mostly because of her older sister, Olga, who puts family first, listens to her parents, and dresses conservatively. ![]()
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