83 pages • 2 hours read
Erika L. SanchezI Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter
Fiction | Novel | YA | Published in 2017A modern alternative to SparkNotes and CliffsNotes, SuperSummary offers high-quality Study Guides with detailed chapter summaries and analysis of major themes, characters, and more. For select classroom titles, we also provide Teaching Guides with discussion and quiz questions to prompt student engagement.
Chapters 27-29Chapter Summaries & Analyses
Chapter 27 Summary
Julia struggles with keeping Olga and Amá’s secrets to herself, describing them “like strangling vines” (314). One morning, Julia nervously asks Apa why he quit drawing, and he explains that “[...] sometimes in life you don’t get to do what you want to do. Sometimes you have to deal with what’s given to you, shut up, and keep working” (315).
Julia enjoys her sessions with Dr. Cooke, especially because she does not feel ashamed when she shares information with her. She tells Dr. Cooke that Amá is trying harder to be supportive of her, but still fears Julia leaving for college. Dr. Cooke suggests that one day Julia might find it pertinent to talk to Amá about her trauma at the border and about Olga’s secrets as a way for both to heal.
Julia receives several rejection letters from colleges, so Lorena and Juanga take her to the zoo to cheer her up. The next day, she receives acceptance letters from NYU and DePaul University with full scholarships. Her parents tell her they are happy for her, but Julia can tell they are heartbroken.
Julia becomes restless towards the end of the school year, eager to get to college. During a date with Connor to a street festival, Julia becomes sad, knowing their time together is limited. He reassures her that they have the rest of the summer together, and he will visit her in New York City. When Connor tells Julia she is beautiful, Julia is “startled to realize that [she believes] him” (324).
Chapter 28 Summary
Summer break has passed, and Julia’s mental health has improved. She thinks this is in part to her medication and the coping techniques Dr. Cooke has taught her to use when feeling anxious. During their last session, Dr. Cooke reassures Julia that she will succeed in college, which Julia believes.
One night, Amá tries to talk to Julia about having sex, warning her to be distrustful of boys in college. Julia knows this is coming from a place of care and concern, but still feels uncomfortable. To change the subject, Julia asks Amá jokingly to teach her how to make tortillas, which makes Amá laugh.
Chapter 29 Summary
Lorena enrolls in nursing school and is planning to move in with Juanga once they save some money. At Julia’s house, Julia tells Lorena she loves her and reassures her that they will stay in touch once Julia is at college.
Julia has a flashback to the night she tried to commit suicide. She was listening to a Mexican song about life changing, and Apa tried to get into her room when he sensed that something was wrong. She had barricaded her door and could not get up to let him in, but she realized “[she] had never loved him like [she] did at that moment” (337).
At the airport, Julia doubts if leaving her parents is the right choice. Julia and Amá cry together, and before Julia leaves them, she hands Apa the drawing he made of Amá. She asks him to continue drawing and to draw a picture of her, to which he silently agrees.
Flying over Manhattan, Julia thinks about borders, which reminds her of Esteban. She reflects on America being a place where immigrants aspire to get to but knows that it “is not the promised land for everyone” (338).
She worries about her mental stability and still feels guilty about carrying her family’s secrets. She realizes that she has no other choice but to “keep going,” and that she must “live for [Amá], Apa, and Olga” (338), given all the opportunities she has that they didn’t have. Before she lands, she looks at Olga’s ultrasound, reflecting on all that she has learned about her sister and herself over the past two years.
Chapters 27-29 Analysis
When Julia confronts Apa about his neglected dreams as an artist, his reminder that sometimes harsh realities are just too much of a hindrance highlights the key difference between their lives. Not everyone is free to pursue their passions, which explains why Julia’s parents have such a difficult time supporting her desire to be a writer—they know firsthand that artistic dreams do not guarantee money for rent or food. This interaction underscores the extent to which Apa has sacrificed his dreams to give Julia even the slightest chance at pursuing her own.
Dr. Cooke suggests that discussing Amá’s trauma with her might alleviate some of the strain of their relationship, giving an opportunity for Julia to show she understands Amá on a deeper level. Still worried it will do more harm than good, especially because their relationship is still so fragile. She does not make a concrete decision one way or the other, letting their relationship unfold as it will and trusting in her ability to do what feels right in the right moment.
Julia’s acceptance to NYU provides her with the next step she needs to achieve her dream life and represents a significant feat in breaking the cycle of her family’s poverty. Going away to college is completely unprecedented in her immediate family, and even though Amá and Apa wish she were staying closer, they have come to realize just how important this is for Julia and are able to express how proud they are of her.
During her last session with Dr. Cooke, Julia reads her a poem she wrote. It describes the speaker, Julia, opening a vault full of symbolic and meaningful objects, which she digs through to uncover the truth about herself. Through writing, Julia can express the lessons she has learned about secrets, truth, and acceptance.
Julia has been ready to leave Chicago for so long, but she still must admit leaving behind certain parts of her life will be difficult. For the first time, she doubts if leaving her parents is the “good” or right choice, showing just how much she really does care about her family. When Apa agrees to return to his art and draw Julia someday, even though he remains unemotive, Julia now knows how much of an act of love this is.
The novel ends just as the new and exciting chapter of Julia’s life begins, and she admits that, to some degree, she does fear this unknown, even though she is finally getting what she has always wanted. She has worked on herself and healed enough, though, that she feels prepared to tackle her future one day at a time, even if she does not know what lies ahead. As she flies over Manhattan, watching the city of her dreams below her, she reflects on all that she has learned in the last two years: what started as a quest to reveal (and almost vilify) her perfect sister became a truth-seeking journey of her entire family, including herself. For so long she resented the poverty, secrets, and cultural identity that ruled her life in all the wrong ways, but she has left home with a much deeper and nuanced understanding of how they make her complicated family what it is. Though her path to this place of understanding was arduous and often bleak, she has come out of this process of discovery with greater empathy and love for her parents and herself.
