I'm Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter Padlet by Isabella Ruiz

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-18 18:16:45 UTC

Characters

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Julia- Julia is the protagonist in the novel. She has been compared to her sister her whole life which really took a toll on her mental health. Julia goes on a mission to find the cause of her "perfect" older sister Olga's death.

Olga- Julia's older sister that was killed in a car accident by a drunk driver at the age of 22.

Ama- Mother of Julia and Olga. She works as a housekeeper.

Connor- Julia's friend. He is wealthy and lives in the suburbs. Connor supports Julia no matter what.

Lorena- Julia's childhood best friend. She is very outgoing and confident. she doesn't care what anyone thinks of her and will do anything for Julia.

Junaga- Lorena's friend. Julia dislikes her.

Angie- Olga's best friend. Becomes depressed after Olga's death and becomes unreachable. Helps Julia find information about her sister's death.

Plot

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-20 19:02:13 UTC

A teenage girl Julia investigates the case of her sister's death and as she goes on the adventure she finds out more about who she really is. She has spent her whole life following her parents expectations of her Mexican family.

Setting

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Chicago Illinois

Theme

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Love

Forgiveness

culture

independence

Exposition

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Julia Reyes is a 15 year old teen who was born in a Mexican family. As she attends her sister's funeral she develops the need to find out what really happened to her older sister Olga. Before Olga's death Julia had always been compared to her sister because Olga was "perfect". Julia only wanted to know what happened to cause this incident. Julia finds comfort in sleeping in Olga's bed and once her mom finds out she forbids Julia from stepping in her room at all. One night when Julia sneaks back into her sister's room she finds stuff such as love letters, a hotel key, a laptop, and lingerie that Olga had been hiding. Julia is now determined to find out what Olga was hiding.

Conflict

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-20 19:37:50 UTC

One of the main conflicts in the novel is when Olga passed away Julia's mental health took a turn for the worst. Since Julia was little all she could remember was being compared to Olga. Olga was portrayed as perfect, obedient, devoted to her friends and family, hardworking, and she never did anything wrong. Julia had to hear that her whole life so she considered herself the not perfect Mexican daughter.

Rising Action

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-20 19:38:09 UTC

Julia's best friend Lorena had made a new friend named Juanga and they had spent together hanging out and started to leave Julia out. Lorena and Juanga would do activities that Julia would not want to do. This made Julia feel insecure and not as important as her sister. When she got compared she would be seen as lesser than her sister and overshadowed by her sister's perfection. Once Julia finds all of the items Olga was hiding she goes on a mission to find out what happened to her sister.

Climax

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-20 19:38:21 UTC

As Julia keeps sneaking out more and more her mom becomes suspicious, then decides to take her privileges away more and more. Once Julia tells her new boyfriend Connor everything she is going through, he says he can't handle all of the stress so he breaks up with her. At this point Julia fell into deep depression and attempted suicide by slicing her wrists. When Julia wakes up in the hospital she claims she has no memory of her suicide attempt and has now been diagnosed with extreme anxiety and depression.

Falling Action

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After being diagnosed, Julia attended therapy sessions and counseling with other teens that have the same problem as her. Julia's mother then decides when her treatment is over to take a trip to Mexico to help Julia relive the stress she has been going through. At first Julia didn't want to go but then she saw this trip might just be what she needs. Before they left for Mexico Julia wanted to keep focusing on her sister's case. Once Julia figures out her laptop password she finds some interesting secretive e-mails that were from an older man. She then learns the man was older and had been having an affair with Olga. Julia makes it a priority to find the man after her trip. when Julia is in Mexico she spends quality time with her family and even develops a romantic relationship. When she was spending time with her grandmother she shared a family secret that changes Julia's perspective of her mother. She learns that her mother was raped while crossing the Mexico border. After Julia learns this her relationship with her mother has gained more love and respect than before making her feel closer to her mother.

Resolution

iruiz6_ — 2024-12-20 19:38:46 UTC

When Julia returns to Chicago she decided to reach out to Connor and she tells him everything that happened while she was away and all of the stuff he missed in Chicago. Julia had also developed a better relationship with her mom after finding out what had happened to her and understanding where her hurt and anger comes from. Julia also learns that Olga was pregnant and finds the man from the e-mails which was also the baby's father. The man then cries and confesses that he really loved Olga and he gave Julia an ultrasound picture of the baby. Julia learns to love herself and the people she loves. She finds that she is perfect in her own way and even though Olga had been living a whole other life she learns the truth. Julia had received a full scholarship to a college in New York and is happy and healthy.