What an exceptional portrayal of Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez’s life. She was a child born in Arizona while her parents lived in America with tourist visas from when she was age 4 until 15. During that time, Elizabeth gave a look into her life and the struggles her family faced in not being able to legally work in this county. Her voice seemed very honest and raw in the telling of her remarkable life. At the age of 15, her parents left her and her younger brother with family in America while they went back to renew their visas in Mexico. They expected this to be just a few short weeks. However, the visa application was denied, and Elizabeth was determined to continue on her American education as the top student in her grade. She faced many challenges. The parts of her life she shared were very eye opening and actually left me wanting the book to be even longer with more details. While her memoir is quick and easy to read, it has left an impression on me.

Thank you to St. Martin’s Press, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, and NetGalley for allowing me to read an advanced reader’s copy in exchange for an honest review.

Special thanks to St. Martin’s Press and NetGalley for an advanced copy to read and review. This book is expected to publish on February 13, 2024.

Elizabeth Camarilla Guiterrez was born here in the United States making her an American citizen. When her parents get deported back to Mexico, she chooses to remain here in order to finish high school and college in order to change her life and her family's. Elizabeth's fastidious nature and drive help her succeed in ways only a few have seen. All of these advantages still have her wondering, "what is the 'American Dream?'"

I am so thankful for the time and energy Elizabeth Camarilla Guiterrez took to share her story. While I knew of immigrants who had been separated from their families (either by choice or force), this book put a face and name to that story. Elizabeth’s story is one of dreams and success (as she now works on the trade floor after getting an Ivy League education), but it came at great cost and sacrifice to her and her family. I think there are still some things she’s processing through, which makes sense as she endured a host of obstacles.

I’d recommend this book for those who enjoyed the themes in the book Educated by Tara Westover.

CW: alcohol abuse, domestic abuse, family separation, homelessness

Special note: I do not rate memoirs for content as I believe each person's story is valuable. This star rating reflects what I thought of the writing and how engaging it was as I read.

This book has been splashed onto all of the 2024 lists of books to watch for, so I was so excited to get a copy. I was also excited to read an own voices account of a woman growing up and separated from her parents by US immigration policy. This is a story that needs to be told, and Carmarillo Gutierrez has the story that most would want to read. She has overcome a lot, and has a drive to succeed that few people can match. It was her drive that kept her number one in her class with all of the extracurriculars while her parents were unable to reenter the US. It was her drive that got her in and through Penn. It was her drive that landed her on NPR as a college student and on the TED stage less than 2 years out of college. For all of these reasons and for the plight of her family and her strength we need to hear her story, and it is clear that this story is in her words, there is obviously no ghost writer involved.

As a memoir, beyond the story of this remarkable young woman, this falls flat. Camarillo Gutierrez comments repeatedly about how she is viewed as the daughter of immigrants (she also refers to herself as an immigrant, she is a US citizen but has lived in both Mexico and the US) and that she worries that are successes are used as a model to justify the treatment of other immigrants that don’t reach the same levels of success. Which I appreciate as a sentiment, but this is a memoir that glorifies the success (through a very WASP lens) and the extreme sacrifices that she and her family had to make for her success. This is giving political memoir just before a candidate announces… which could be a good thing.

My worry is that this will be used by those in power not as a love letter to immigrants, but instead as an excuse against individuals who are not exceptional. Not everyone can or will be exceptional, and that does not justify dehumanization for those that are closer to average.

I’m glad that a book like this is getting hyped. However, I would hope that books like Undocumented Americans would also get love from and eyes on the page.

Last note, this was an uncorrected copy, so I know that the finished product paying customers will read will be more polished, but this edition was pretty rough even when compared to other ARCs. I hope that a good and thoughtful editor has been working with the author to produce the best writing possible for the end product.

This memoir appealed to me because I was also raised in an immigrant household and although our circumstances were different, I thought that the author's experience might resonate with me. As always, it's hard to critique a memoir and evaluate how someone has described their own life, so I'll just say that it simply didn't work for me. Although Camarillo Gutierrez's writing is good enough, I wish there was more detail given -- she skates over her entire life and doesn't spend much time really engaging with the topic of undocumented immigration on a grander scale or even the finer details of how it affected her family's everyday life. I would have preferred this to the timeline of her life based on the big events, but that's just me. Her tone and some of her sentiments also rubbed me the wrong way at times. At the end of the book, she talks about turning her trauma into "gold" and packaging her experience to her benefit in the context of applying to schools and jobs, but that strikes me as the driver behind this book as well and overall, it missed the mark for me.

Also, the ARC was filled with typos and errors -- even the family's name inexplicably switches halfway through.

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez has written a memoir that is both heartbreaking and triumphant. She has shared an intimate look at the family relationships and the inept public policies that influenced and shaped her life. I greatly appreciated the insight she shares about the struggles of immigrants and their children. This would be an excellent book club read providing plenty of opportunity for discussion. Thank you #NetGalley #McMillan #ElizabethCamarilloGutierrez

Highly readable, well-written memoir about a Mexican-American’s immigration experience here. It is a powerful and immersive book that truly takes the reader with the writer as she acclimated to her new life.

This is the real life experience of what it's like to be the child born in America to undocumented immigrants. It is thoroughly engrossing. It shines a light on how difficult it is for undocumented families. Her determination and motivation is inspiring. I highly recommend this book, especially for people looking to learn more about the immigrant experience.

Fantastic memoir of a woman’s childhood and young adulthood as a first generation American of Mexican descent. She discusses her experiences in a compelling, accessible way that is completely unputdownable. Highly recommend, 5⭐️

This is a great memoir! I've added it to my list of 2024 favorites and recommend everyone to read. My Side of the River is a story of an American born child to Mexican immigrants. It highlights the struggles her and her family encountered and what she had to overcome just to have a chance at life in the US. It is both inspiring and educational as well as eye opening. I live in Phoenix and I'm probably surrounded by similar situations without even knowing the depth of it. It's heartbreaking the amount of families that are separated due to current immigration laws. Not only does this address the importance of the need for change in immigration laws, but it's also a love story between a brother and sister. Elizabeth does everything in her power to provide a better and easier life to her brother. The love she has for her brother is unmatched. The book is well organized and very well written. It captured my attention the entire time and the way the stories were told was entertaining. I highly recommend you pick this one up!

Thanks to Netgalley and St. Martin's Press for a digital ARC in exchange for my honest review.

Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for a copy to review. My Side of the River follows Elizabeth (and her family) as she navigates two worlds-being an American and being the child of immigrants. She writes in detail of the pressure she feels to be the best while feeling outside pressure that she isn't and never will be. Following her from a young age until young adulthood we see her struggle to become her own person without losing touch with where she comes from.

I enjoyed this quite a bit, my only issue with the last couple of chapters not as in depth as the rest of the book.

This was beautiful and thought provoking. I found this very relatable. The writing was perfect. I will absolutely recommend this book.

Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez writes a heart-wrenching, beautiful, and ultimately hopeful memoir about her experiences as a Mexican American whose parents are deported. She is young but wise, and her writing is thoughtful and insightful. The writing is engaging and I was transported to a new world from the first pages. Ms. Gutierrez has a fresh voice and is a welcome addition to the genre.

Of course, I knew about the issues surrounding deportation, but reading the story from the perspective of the child left behind opened my eyes to the injustices that many immigrants face. I cheered and cried and celebrated and agonized along with the writer. I look forward to reading her next publication.

My thanks to NetGalley for an Advanced Readers Copy of this book. All opinions are my own and not biased in any way.

When Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez was just a freshman in high school, her parents’ visitor visas were not renewed and they were forced to leave her in Arizona while they returned to Mexico. Elizabeth slept on the couch of a teacher while she managed to graduate valedictorian and gain acceptance to the University of Pennsylvania. This is an eye-opening memoir about the experience of a first generation American and the pressure to succeed while carrying along the rest of the family. This is well written and an important addition to memoirs about the American experience. I received a digital copy of this book from the publisher through NetGalley.

Elizabeth Camfarillo Gutierrez memoir "My Side of the River" is a poignant and compelling story that sheds light on the challenges faced by the U.S.-born children of Mexican immigrants. Her experiences of family fighting, parental separations, and being shuffled from couch to couch during hight school all began when her parents' visas were expired and forced them to return to Mexico. Having always been told "you have to be the best" since she was in Kindergarten, Elizabeth worked hard to excel in school so that she could one day get a great job and provide for her family. She also was responsible for raising her brother once she graduated college a responsibility she was not sure she would be able to handle.

I loved hearing her story and imaging how hard it must have been for her parents to let her go alone to pursue their families dream.

Thank you to Net Galley and St. Martin;s Press for the ARC

"Poverty teaches you a resourcefulness you never need to learn if you are nurtured in privilege."

Reviewing a memoir is a tricky pickle. How do you judge someone's life? I personally thought Elizabeth did a beautiful job sharing her story.

She writes with an easy flow. Speaking of not only knowing her place in the world, but in situations such as party culture.

Though I liked this well enough, something about it kept it from being rated a bit higher.

3.5

Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for this early read of My Side of the River.
I could not put this book down and finished it in 24 hours! This memoir was such an intriguing telling of the America/Mexican border and the stark differences of what it means to belong to each side.
I loved this story, and the hope and promise of Elizabeth and the life she made for herself.
A favorite haunting passage: Maybe I need to play the game
by their rules, I thought, the same
rules that tore my family apart-
in an attempt to put us back
together. Maybe a hostage must
befriend her captor in order to
ever taste freedom.

I'm thankful for the chance I had to read this.

Another great memoir. I just love reading these types of stories. I don't think I will ever get tired of submerging myself in other people's life stories, especially those of immigrants, trying to make a better life here in the USA.

I will always be grateful to those authors who share their stories. With each one, I always learn something and I always feel like there should be more and more. I am an immigrant in this country as well. Granted, my story is much different from the ones on the pages of these books but in a way that makes me appreciate living in this country, which I called my second home more.

Elizabeth's story is one of resilience, of being brave, and wanting not only the best for her but for her parents and her brother. Despite all the difficulties, she aspired to do more, to be better, and to in some way give back some of what she received, just for being able to live in this country. I can't only imagine what was for her to be without her parents, especially in the hardest moments.

Thank you St.Martin's Press and Netgalley for the free advanced copy, in exchange for an honest review.

“My Side of the River” is a compelling coming-of-age memoir highlighting the challenges and triumphs of being a US born daughter to Mexican immigrants. Camarillo Gutierrez recounts the challenges she and her family endured in the face of racism, poverty, and anti-immigration law that ended with her pursuing her education in the United States while her family was forced to return (and stay) in Mexico. In her pursuit of “the American dream” the author’s personal experiences are a testament to her resilience, authenticity and family loyalty in spite of the broken immigration policies in place. Thank you NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for sending this ARC for review consideration. All opinions are my own.

My Side of the River was a beautiful and powerful memoir! As someone who struggled to leave home to go away to college, I can’t even imagine being apart from my family at such a young age. After her immigrant parents were forced to return to Mexico, Elizabeth had to care for herself in a way that no child should just to get an education. I truly wish that more people would read stories like this to understand the very real and devastating consequences of US immigration policies. Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for early access to this book!

I was given an advance copy of this book by the publisher In Exchange for an honest review. I found the book very relevant and thought provoking; an important read, definitely recommend.