Virtual gathering

Join in the Smart Museum of Art’s virtual book club! 

The Smart Reads series continues in September with I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez. We invite you to read along with us and engage in a thought-provoking conversation with host Dorian H. Nash. 

FREE. To help build a community of participants, capacity is limited and advanced registration is required.

ABOUT THE BOOK

I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez

Perfect Mexican daughters do not go away to college. And they do not move out of their parents’ house after high school graduation. Perfect Mexican daughters never abandon their family. But Julia is not your perfect Mexican daughter. That was Olga’s role. Then a tragic accident on the busiest street in Chicago leaves Olga dead and Julia left behind to reassemble the shattered pieces of her family. And no one seems to acknowledge that Julia is broken, too. Instead, her mother seems to channel her grief into pointing out every possible way Julia has failed. But it’s not long before Julia discovers that Olga might not have been as perfect as everyone thought. With the help of her best friend Lorena, and her first love, first everything boyfriend Connor, Julia is determined to find out. Was Olga really what she seemed? Or was there more to her sister’s story? And either way, how can Julia even attempt to live up to a seemingly impossible ideal?

2023 SMART READS SCHEDULE

January 25, 6–7:30 pm
The Theater and its Double by Antonin Artaud

February 22, 6–7:30 pm
Women, Race, and Class by Angela Davis

March 29, 6–7:30 pm
Prisoners of Geography by Tim Marshall

April 26, 6–7:30 pm
Home is Not a Country by Safia Elhillo

May 31, 6–7:30 pm
Minor Feelings by Cathy Park Hong 

June 28, 6–7:30 pm
Giovanni's Room by James Baldwin

July 26, 6–7:30 pm
The Hidden Messages in Water by Masaru Emoto

August 30, 6–7:30 pm
We Do This 'Til We Free Us by Mariame Kaba 

September 27, 6–7:30 pm
I Am Not Your Perfect Mexican Daughter by Erika L. Sánchez 

October 25, 6–7:30 pm
The Metamorphosis by Franz Kafka

November 29, 6–7:30 pm
Braiding Sweetgrass by Robin Wall Kimmerer

December 6, 6–7:30 pm
Year in books recap and reflection