NCW Libraries to Host Author Erika L. Sánchez for Virtual Talk

NCW Library patrons have a chance to interact virtually with Erika L. Sánchez, a forthright and daring - and relatively new - voice in young adult literature.

According to a library press release, Sánchez will be in our midst next Thursday (Oct. 10), discussing her beautifully realized, bestselling novelistic debut. I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter is nearly seven years old, but the book was born anew with the recent announcement of America Ferrera's film adaptation.

The film was greenlit by Netflix, but Orion Pictures - a child company of Amazon MGM Studios - has since taken over development duties. Ferrera is a neophyte director but very accomplished actress; she did possibly her best work in Real Women Have Curves, a 2002 film about coming of age in the Mexican diaspora. Sánchez has characterized the movie as personally impactful.

Get our free mobile app

As for the virtual program, it'll take place on Zoom. Once registered (see below), you will receive a confirmation link via email.

In their infinite generosity, NCW Libraries will have on hand beaucoup copies of I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter. The book will be made available even to non-patrons, or rather, non-cardholders.

The book's protagonist is Julia, a bereaved young woman of Mexican descent. The loss of Julia's elder sister, Olga, in a car wreck is made that much worse by suffocating familial expectations. This is set against a rough-and-tumble backdrop: Chicago. Sánchez herself was raised in Cicero, a working-class inner-ring suburb of Chicago, and matriculated at UIC, a solidly working-class school.

Sanchez' talk is from 6 to 7 p.m. Spanish translation is available. Click here to register.