Las hijas de Juan: Daughters Betrayed (Latin America Otherwise)

If you were a victim--of rape, incest, neglect, physical abuse, or even mental abuse, this is a must own book. The author does tell a horrific tale, but the point is she chose to survive and in doing so refused to remain a victim. A story for any man or woman who has grown tired of thinking of his or her position in the world as victim. An excellent book for anyone going into social work or teaching. A bildugsroman for the 21st century.

I took a class of Josie's and that class totally changed my way of thinking. It was totally an awesome experience. Las hijas, is like Josie telling you her story as a best friend or comadre in which she truly confides in you. She brings you into her world and shows you the joys the pains and the personal triumphs. I was able to hear her read a couple excerpts from this book in class and at a reading. I took some friends and family, and they were all balling. It really hits home to people who have been abused or know people who have suffered in such ways. It's good to have someone strong enough to speak up for the ones who cannot.

I appreciated the author's courage in telling her story, reliving the horrors of life with an abusive father, and showing women that life can improve & move forward in spite of trauma. I also liked that she included a lot of Spanish phrases (more like whole sentences & dialogues) that add sabor mejicano (Mexican flavor) to the story; reading her description of life in Tabasco was like watching a movie only with smells and tastes, etc. It was beautifully detailed. What irked me from the very beginning, however, was that Mendez-Negrete wrote the book in English but used a Spanish grammar structure throughout. Why? In English, every sentence has a subject; in Spanish, no subject is required. They're different languages w/different grammar. But, she left out the subjects of many of the English sentences in the book. Like these: "Can't remember the color....Don't remember the designs....Still hoped for a miracle" (94-95). Why didn't an editor just go through the book, adding "I" to these sentences (or whatever subject was missing)? Reading these lines all in a row at times sounded like fingernails scraping a chalkboard even though the story she was telling was riveting & original. I wish some friend or publishing professional had suggested using the Spanish grammar only for the parts of the book written in Spanish & sticking to English grammar for the rest. I wonder if it was an attempt at creativity? If so, to ears accustomed to & fond of hearing English & Spanish but not both conflated, it grated on my nerves. Maybe other readers who want English to be more like Spanish will enjoy her writing style.