Thank you to Netgalley & St Martin's Press for an Advanced Review Copy of this book.

This is the tragic and heart-wrenching, but inspirational story of Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, the US-born daughter of immigrant parents. It tracks the story of her youth and the immense sacrifices she and her parents made to give her a chance at the American dream.

This memoir was very moving and often had me in tears. It was very well-written. So many feels - the heartbreak of her parents' decision to leave their kids in the US for a better life, the hardships she faced first with her family, then on her own after they left. The highs and the lows of a life lived in extremes. The strength this young girl had, and continues to have.

"Poverty teaches you a resourcefulness you never need to learn if you are nurtured in privilege." Resourceful, indeed. This young girl worked her butt off and forged her own path in the world with a fortitude, determination, and resourcefulness possessed by so few.

Elizabeth should be an inspiration to all of us. This is the type of story that the public needs to hear, that our lawmakers need to hear, that our kids need to hear, to make this country a better place. I will help spread the word and encourage friends and family to read this. Excellent book!

An inspirational memoir about a young Mexican girl who is forced to stay and finish high school alone in AZ because her parents' visas expired and they have to remain in Mexico.
The themes of immigration, education, and poverty, among others, are clearly elucidated in a compelling manner that allows the reader to become immersed in the kind of life experienced by new immigrants to the U.S. It's almost impossible also not to root for the success of the author and her family.

This is the story of Elizabeth. She was born in the U.S. to Mexican parents so she {and her brother} would have U.S. citizenship.The things we all take for granted, a place to live, an education, were a struggle for her. As she entered high school her parents were unable to renew their visas and moved back to Mexico with her brother. Elizabeth chose to stay and pursue her education. She was able to access many helps for underprivileged youth and completed high school as valedictorian. She then moved on to Penn always pushing herself to be the best, even to the exclusion of her health. After graduating she was able to find a job and bring her brother to the States for his education.
Such a relevant book today with so many countries becrying their immigrant crisis. It makes me wonder if we ever will see these immigrants as people who contribute so much to society instead of looking right through them or worse yet claiming them to be the problem. If you read "Educated" you need to read "My Side of the River". I guarantee you won't regret it.

Synopsis (from Netgalley, the provider of the book for me to review.)
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Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez reveals her experience as the U.S.-born daughter of immigrants and what happened when, at fifteen, her parents were forced back to Mexico in this galvanizing yet tender memoir.
Born to Mexican immigrants south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona, Elizabeth had the world at her fingertips as she entered her freshman year of high school as the number one student. But suddenly, Elizabeth's own country took away the most important right of a child a right to have a family.
As her parents’ visas expired, they were forced to return to Mexico, leaving Elizabeth responsible for her younger brother, as well as her education. Determined to break the cycle of being “a statistic,” she knew that even though her parents couldn’t stay, there was no way she could let go of the opportunities the U.S. could provide.
Armed with only her passport and sheer teenage determination, Elizabeth became what her school would eventually describe as an unaccompanied, homeless youth, one of the thousands of underage victims affected by family separation due to broken immigration laws. For fans of Educated by Tara Westover and The Distance Between Us by Reyna Grande, My Side of the River explores separation, generational trauma, and the toll of the American dream. It’s also, at its core, a love story between a brother and a sister who, no matter the cost, is determined to make the pursuit of his own dreams easier than it was for her.

Oh, DOJ, ICE, etc., another reason to hate you: ripping families apart and leaving a 17-year-old girl in charge of a younger brother. But she certainly overcame it - an Ivy League school, three years as a Corporate and Investment Banking Analyst at Wells Fargo and now a speaker whose fees start at $10-20k a night. She also apparently has a TED talk but I don't do podcasts. (Or YouTube or TikTok but I will probably suggest to our outreach and promotional department that they look into it to get the younger readers into this book.)

This girl has guts and grit and her determination to not be a statistic paid off very well. The book was gripping to read and made me so angry at the US government in general: Mayne this is why so many people are crossing into Canada in hopes of staying here vs. the US shipping them back to a country the children don't even remember. (I think of some of the prisoners on "Orange is the New Black" being put on a plane and returned to a place where they were born but don't know a single person .. how are they to survive?? Prostitution?)

Children deserve families and through her talks and speeches, I would not doubt that Miss Camarillo Gutierrez could bring about some real change. This book was utterly gripping, and fascinating and it inspires such anger that I would make it recommended reading in any modern US history or civics class. A book like this could incite real change in the government, but I hate to say that it all depends upon who gets elected in 2024.

HIGHLY recommended, I will suggest it to friends, family, patrons, book clubs and those who are interested in government and social policy that needs to be changed...if I start talking it up now, by the time it comes out, it will be a book with a lot of requests for and reserves on.

It is a short read and a #shortbutsweetreview to accompany it.

This was a thoughtful memoir, written by a woman born in the Arizona to Mexican parents here on temporary visas. The book presents a compelling and heartbreaking story of the hardships she faces when her parents’ visas are not renewed, and then her younger brother returns to Mexico as well. Unbeknownst to her, her parents’ return to Mexico technically makes her an unaccompanied homeless youth, allowing her to qualify for support benefits. Through amazing grit, determination, and hard work, Gutierrez makes it through her high school years, focusing on her academics. Her straight A record gets her to the University of Pennsylvania and the job world.

Throughout this gripping saga, Gutierrez faces standard assumptions about the immigrant experience. This is especially true after the passing of AZ bill 1070 regarding immigrants in the state illegally and their treatment. The way that she raises herself, gets through college, gets a job, and then takes on raising her brother through high school is amazing. Her determination to ensure that her brother’s life is easier than hers is all consuming and a remarkable achievement.