My Side of the River is a memoir examining the plight of immigrants and first generation citizens in the United States. The story is urgent and timely and warrants 4*. However, with so many books on the subject to choose from, the writing was not as polished as I would have liked. Overall, I can recommend it but only with 3*.

I received a drc from the publisher via NetGalley.

I grew up fifteen minutes from the Mexican border in a community of mostly immigrants, so I actually have a few friends who have been in similar situations to the one that Camarillo Gutierrez talks about in her story. What I really appreciated in her memoir is her focus on education and overcoming the obstacles to get it and the way this explains the horrific immigration policies that split families. This should be mandatory reading for Americans. Perhaps it would help them cultivate more empathy for the people that come here in search of a better life.

What a great memoir! Not only does Elizabeth discuss her life as the oldest child of immigrants growing up in Arizona, but she also describes the other side of immigration...the human side. Her writing style kept me engrossed in her story and empathetic to the way immigration policies have affected her life. This memoir has a smooth and consistent flow to it that kept me listening. I finished it in one sitting. There is so much to hear and learn in this beautifully heartbreaking and heartwarming piece of literature. Whether you support "the wall" or not, and regardless of your stance on immigration issues, I implore you to read this book!

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez debut memoir is a compelling work of non-fiction that I wished was fiction only because I didn't want her lived experiences to have happened in real life. In the short but powerful piece, Camarillo Gutierrez tells her experience growing up in an immigrant community in Tucson. While the author and her younger brother are American citizens, her childhood is shaped by her parents' Mexican citizenship and questionable status to remain in the U.S. As the memoir progresses, the author is forced to make the choice to continue her American education without the rest of her family or return to Mexico and give up her dreams when her parents are denied re-entry into the U.S. Camarillo Gutierrez, at a young age, becomes a surrogate mom for her younger brother in order to give her brother the best opportunities in U.S.

Much of this memoir happens during Arizona's “Show Your Papers” era and how undocumented immigrants or those who “look” like undocumented folks are judged harshly and repeatedly taken advantage of. The author gives a vibrant description of the harsh realities of life at the border as well as the crushing poverty. She asks the reader to consider how direct and systematic racism prevents individuals from achieving the American Dream.

5 stars! Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the free copy in exchange for an honest review. I will post reviews on post this review on Goodreads, Bookbub, Amazon & Barnes & Noble.

I greatly enjoy reading memoirs, especially those that feature social causes, so I was instantly drawn to this one. Immigration is a large and polarizing issue, so I was excited to read a memoir from someone who is so strongly impacted by US policies.

Ultimately, the memoir provided me with some of the content and perspectives that I was looking for. Gutierrez's experiences were heartbreaking, and they are reflective of so many others who are negatively impacted by policies that are built around bias and stereotypes. Gutierrez is impressive and has overcome so much, which only makes her story and her determination that much more impressive.

I think it's important for more in the general population to have exposure and awareness about the damage that some of these US policies do to individuals and families. I'm glad Gutierrez was able to tell her story and I hope this memoir finds a wide reach.

One thing that was missing for me, and a large part of why I like social cause memoirs, is the call to action and next steps. With a memoir like this, I wanted it more tied in to the overarching issue and drawn back to the movement. This focused more and closed out more with her own personal accolades.

Additionally, one part of this memoir that I did not love was that at times her narrative, especially in college, felt judgmental and superior. Again, there is no doubt that Gutierrez is impressive and has overcome a lot. Due to that, I felt her story could have stood on its own and didn't need some of the chapters that tried to paint her stark difference with her classmates.

Ultimately, this was an engaging and important memoir. I think it brings an important topic to light and will be a good opportunity for many readers to broaden their understanding on immigration policies and the impacts they have. I think the author is incredibly impressive and has a promising future ahead of her, but ultimately I wanted a little bit more from this memoir. Regardless, I would still highly recommend it to others!

I really enjoyed this Memoir about Elizabeth. Learning about her life as an anchor baby. The sacrifices her parents went through to secure a better life for their children. The sacrifices that Elizabeth went through for herself and her brother. Learning more about the systems that fail immigrants who just want a better life. I'm glad there are programs for homeless teens to help them.

It makes me so mad when some people say bad things about immigrants.

Elizabeth is an excellent storyteller and narrator. I really enjoyed listening to this memoir. I find it so hard rating memoirs.

This is the story of the author who grew up in Arizona and attended University of Pennsylvania. Her parents did not have immigration status in the US. They were forced to return to Mexico with Elizabeth’s younger brother when she was 15. Elizabeth, at the top of her class, begged her parents to allow her to remain in Tucson, knowing that education was her only route out of poverty. Living with a family in Tucson, she finished high school and received funding to attend university. After completing her studies, she found a position in NY and was able to bring her brother to NY to live with her and attend school. Elizabeth describes a life of poverty, poor food, stress and depression as she overcomes the challenges of her background. A courageous memoir.

When I think I’m having a tough day, I need only recall the experiences Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez shares in her memoir My Side of the River and my privileged life snaps into perspective.

As a first generation American, her parents instilled a deep value of education as the key to the American dream. While her early childhood living with her parents was hard due to poverty, nothing prepared her for the devastation when they returned to Mexico and were denied reentry into the US.

With a relentless pursuit of education as her north star, Gutierrez endured several difficult living situations so she could graduate high school, earing the top spot in her class. Accepted into several prestigious colleges, she attended University of Pennsylvania, an Ivy League institution, but floundered for a time in the posh, elitist environment. She faced continued racism and prejudice in her early career in the NYC finance industry.

The memoir explores several important topics including generational trauma, failed US immigration policies, and wealth disparity in our country. I’m usually not a fan of memoirs written early in a person’s life, but Gutierrez has plenty of lived experiences worthy of documenting in this way.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for the review copy of this powerful memoir.

I re ally enjoyed Elizabeth's story about life as a child of immigrants. She had a lot of trauma growing up, and yet, she used it to her advantage to make her way through the world. My heart broke for her and her family, separated when she was a teenager. I did like her writing, but I felt like it was more "tell" not "show". That being said, I will look for more from her, and I hope things are looking up for her whole family. It ended kind of abruptly, and I would like to know what happened next for her!

Born in the United States of Mexican parents, young Elizabeth was left alone when her parents returned to Mexico to renew their visas and were denied the renewal. As Elizabeth strives to be a good student and to thrive, she encounters prejudice and poor treatment. I felt the book was a little light on detail and would have been better if perhaps more editing; only my opinion.

This book should be read in schools. Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez bares her soul in “My Side of the River” as she recounts a poignant journey where borders blur, resilience blooms, and the human spirit prevails. I absolutely adored this memoir and think it should be read widely.

Born to Mexican immigrants on the sun-kissed banks of the Rillito River in Arizona, Elizabeth's life takes an unexpected turn when her parents are forced to return to Mexico, leaving her behind. Elizabeth is a U.S.-born daughter of immigrants, and grapples with the weight of generational trauma and the harsh realities of broken immigration laws.

At only fifteen-years-old, she becomes an unaccompanied, homeless youth, forced to navigate a world where family separation is the norm. Her parents' visas expire, and suddenly, she is responsible not only for her own education but her younger brother.

Gutierrez's prose is… just wow. She tells of her experiences detailing resilience, determination, and love. The pursuit of the American dream becomes a treacherous path, yet one where Elizabeth clings to hope with sheer teenage willpower and a passport.

Folks, this book is more than a memoir. It's a testament to the indomitable spirit of those of us who refuse to be mere statistics. As a first-generation Canadian, I love how this book deals with themes of separation, identity, and the relentless pursuit of dreams.

Gutierrez's memoir is a powerful testament to the strength found on the other side of adversity.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for a temporary e-ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First thank you to NetGalley for the DRC in exchange for an honest review.

I'm torn on how to review "My Side of the River". Ultimately I didn't like it. My review leans more to 2.5 stars.

It is hard to judge someone's life, how they choose to portray it. There is no disputing Gutierrez had a challenging childhood/ early adulthood. Her drive to succeed is remarkable. I, too, would be bragging at how far I had come, Gutierrez's retelling felt over the top. The book was mostly her patting herself on her back "look how amazing I am" with little mention of those that helped her along the way. There were several times I laughed out loud at her hubris.

One thing to note- in the DRC, the name of the family she lived with 9th & 10th grade changed from Hernandez to Martinez. Hopefully a good editor caught that.

Thank you NetGalley for the ARC in exchange for my honest review.

I wanted to love this one as it sounded like a truly compelling memoir. However, I found it to be light on what should have been deeply emotional experiences. I can't judge a memoir on the author's experiences, but wanted her to go deeper into her feelings. The writing was great, but it felt like there was a wall up between the author and readers. It lacked the vulnerability that draws me to memoirs.

MY SIDE OF THE RIVER demonstrates the grit, resilience, and heart of the author. She's lived a lot in her relatively young age. That being said, there were times that I felt that the story erred on the side of the superficial. It wasn't bad, per se, just not quite what I was hoping to read. All in all, this was a good book - though by the blurb, I was going into hoping it would have been great.

This memoir is written by a very young person, and that comes across on the page. The stories are superficial. I'm not emotionally engaged. I bought the audiobook thinking it would be better with the author narrating, but she sounds like what she is - a kid telling a sob story that isn't really that sad. Most of the things she complains about are things I experienced growing up in a white collar family in Canada. She doesn't do her parents justice by trying to write about their struggle through her lens. DNF at 37%

Gutierrez is an adept writer, and her prose kept me turning pages quickly and without much concern for the time. That said, a lot of this book felt very surface level, with not much depth. For being such a young age, she's lived a tumultuous life, and this could've been a much more gripping account of what it was like growing up separated from her family, trying to achieve the dream of a top education and reunification with her brother, but instead it felt sanitized and softened. I get wanting to appeal to more readers with a gentle description of her trials, but I believe that a deeper description of the realities of what life is like for immigrants and their families would have served this book better. This country isn't doing well by all of its people, and only by facing that head on do we have any chance of making real change for the better. Overall, an excellent debut worth taking the time to read.

My thanks to St. Martin's Press, the author and Netgalley for the opportunity to read this ARC in exchange for an honest opinion.

4.25⭐️

My Side of the River is a gripping memoir in which the author shares her story of growing up in Arizona as the child of undocumented immigrants. I was moved by this insightful tale and inspired by Elizabeth’s strength and determination even when the odds were stacked against her.

Thank you Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, St. Martin’s Press, and NetGalley for providing this ARC for review consideration. All opinions expressed are my own.

My Side of the River
By Elizabeth Gutierrez


My Side of the River is about Elizabeth Gutierrez an American born daughter of Mexican immigrants. When her parents’ tourist visas expired, they returned to Mexico with the hopes of renewing their visas. But neither good fortune nor the U.S. immigration laws cooperated with the Gutierrez’s plan. A 15 year old Elizabeth and her younger brother Fernando were left stranded in the U.S. without their parents. For a time they lived with a family friend and tried to focus on their studies, but soon enough it became clear that this was not a long term solution and Fer was sent back to be with his parents. Elizabeth, on the other hand, was determined to exercise her right to a good education in the U.S. and remained behind. She relied on the kindness of a former teacher who has offered her a place to stay while she finishes high school. Gutierrez endures and survives many struggles as she pursues her high school diploma, dreams of a college degree and successfully launches a career.


Memoirs are very personal expressions of one’s life, and the author is free to tell their own story however they wish. For that reason I find them difficult to review. In her memoir, Gutierrez painfully chronicles her fight to not be just another statistic like so many of the thousands of U.S.-born children of undocumented parents effected by family separation. I appreciated her frank presentation providing both a mirror reflecting the experience of second-generation Hispanics in the U.S. and a window for those looking to understand. If I have a criticism, it is that a 20 something Gutierrez could have given herself more time, and more life, to reflect back on and share.


Many thanks to the author @LizzieCancu, @StMartinsPress and @NetGalley for the pleasure of reading this eARC in exchange for an honest review.

Calling all Bookclubs this is a book you need to add to your TBR, this story would make a fantastic discussion book!

This coming of age memoir will be sure to capture everyone's heart !

"Camaron que se dueme, se lo lleva la corriente (The shrimp that sleeps is taken by the current.) ~ Mexican Proverb

My Side of the River is a memoir told through the eyes of Elizabeth Gutierrez who is born in America with her parents being Mexican immigrants and she shares her generational trauma journey and her experiences with racisms with such grace .

Elizabeth is faced with many challenges throughout her life and we watch her grow, raising herself and at one point her little brother Fern, because her parents Visa's expired and they had to go back to Mexico and Elizabeth and her brother stayed in America with no parents .

" As I got closer , I wondered if some of the same currents I'd been fighting were simply trying to guide me somewhere closer to where I needed to be - closer to who I really am. Because out of the water , I am an ordinary Brown girl, letting the waves crash over me , just learning how to surf ."

I was enamoured by the main characters determination and self discipline at such a young age and the will to keep pushing through life and many times I just wanted to reach through the pages and lend a hand or tell her how inspiring she is . The fact that some days she didn't know if she would get to eat or barely got any sleep and still managed to maintain a 4.0 GPA is mind blowing and impressive!

I thank the author for opening my eyes growing up as an American being born to Mexican immigrants and determined to not be another statistic to be left homeless without an education.

Such a loveable and tender memoir and I promise you will adore Elizabeth with your whole heart !

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for the ARC of this memoir.

I’m always hesitant to review a memoir since it is someone’s life story, but I do have a lot of thoughts in regard to this. The book started off beautifully, and I loved the first half. Elizabeth’s story was inspiring, tragic, and yet so very brave. The second half, however, is where I began to have issues. The tone of her narration changed to a sense of entitlement and selfishness. I had to take a lot of breaks to get through the last half of this book because Elizabeth was driving me crazy. She said things like “stealing a little back”, “smirking because I knew it would piss them off”, “turn trauma into gold”, and “because I’m just that extra.” I don’t know about you, but none of these phrases sat well with me (and who writes a sentence like, “because I’m just that extra” in a memoir?)

Ultimately, the second half of this book let me down. It left me annoyed with Elizabeth as a person (although I do admire many of the things she did and achieved). Girl needs to go to therapy and learn how to express her feelings — it’s okay that your brother cried saying goodbye to your sick dad, for goodness sake. (She commented that “it’s not a funeral” and judged her brother for crying). Oof. Problematic. I get that she had to push her feelings down for so many years to survive, but at some point I do hope she can heal.

I don’t think I would recommend this book to others, although I truly did enjoy the first 50-60% of it. 3 stars since the first half was really beautiful.

This book published 2/13/24.