An Indie BESTSELLERMost Anticipated by ELLE. Bustle. Bloomberg. Kirkus. HipLatina. SheReads. BookPage. The Millions. The Mujerista. Ms. Magazine . and more"Unflinching" -Ms. Magazine. "Phenomenal" -BookRiot. "An essential read" -Kirkus, starred review. "Necessary" -Library Journal. "Powerful" -Joaquin Castro. "Illuminating" -Reyna Grande. "A love letter to our people" -Jose Olivarez. "I have been waiting for this book all my life" -Paul OrtizBestselling author Julissa Arce calls for a celebration of our uniqueness, our origins, our heritage, and the beauty of the differences that make us Americans in this powerful polemic against the myth that assimilation leads to happiness and belonging for immigrants. "You sound like a white girl. " These were the words spoken to Julissa by a high school crush as she struggled to find her place in America. As a brown immigrant from Mexico, assimilation had been demanded of her since the moment she set foot in San Antonio, Texas, in 1994. She'd spent so much time getting rid.