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“This is an important book that challenges the idea of American exceptionalism with equal parts passion, fury, intimacy, and ignored history. Arce celebrates the Mexican American immigrant experience in all its vibrancy and nuance while fearlessly naming the pain inflicted by American racism, ethnocentrism, and xenophobia. An essential read to better understand America and its immigrant stories.”

—Kirkus Reviews, Starred Review

“With bold, clear writing, Arce calls for immigrants and communities of color to reject assimilation, turn away from the white gaze and embrace their unique cultures, histories and identities, which deserve celebration. This book is a confident step forward for Arce as a writer and public thinker.”

—BookPage

“Arce unapologetically challenges the age-old notion that America is stronger when it’s newest immigrants relinquish their culture, language and identity by merging to whiteness. This book spares no one and nothing in uncovering the cultural and societal forces that convince many young people longing for acceptance in America that their skin is too dark to be beautiful, their English too accented and their customs too ethnic to be truly American. Ultimately, You Sound Like A White Girl is a powerful call for and celebration of self-acceptance.”

—Joaquin Castro, United States Representative

You Sound Like a White Girl: The Case for Rejecting Assimilation

Written by Julissa Arce
Published by Flatiron Books

“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 of her accent so no one could tell English was her second language that in that moment she felt those words—you sound like a white girl?—were a compliment. As a child, she didn’t yet understand that assimilating to “American” culture really meant imitating “white” America—that sounding like a white girl was a racist idea meant to tame her, change her, and make her small. She ran the race, completing each stage, but never quite fit in, until she stopped running altogether.

In this dual polemic and manifesto, Julissa dives into and tears apart the lie that assimilation leads to belonging. She combs through history and her own story to break down this myth, arguing that assimilation is a moving finish line designed to keep Black and brown Americans and immigrants chasing racist American ideals. She talks about the Lie of Success, the Lie of Legality, the Lie of Whiteness, and the Lie of English—each promising that if you obtain these things, you will reach acceptance and won’t be an outsider anymore. Julissa deftly argues that these demands leave her and those like her in a purgatory—neither able to secure the power and belonging within whiteness nor find it in the community and cultures whiteness demands immigrants and people of color leave behind.

In You Sound Like a White Girl, Julissa offers a bold new promise: Belonging only comes through celebrating yourself, your history, your culture, and everything that makes you uniquely you. Only in turning away from the white gaze can we truly make America beautiful. An America where difference is celebrated, heritage is shared and embraced, and belonging is for everyone. Through unearthing veiled history and reclaiming her own identity, Julissa shows us how to do this.

Primary ISBN: 9781250787019
Publication Date: March 2022
Available As: Hardcover, Paperback, Audiobook, eBook
Nonfiction, Age 18 or older

Community Represented:

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Setting: United States (San Antonio TX)

Character's Place in the Immigration Journey: Immigrant

Book Creator(s) Connection to the Community Represented: Own Voices/Lived Experience

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Engagement Materials:

Reading Group Guide

Source: MacMillan

PEN Out Loud: Julissa Arce & Aida Rodriguez In Conversation – You Sound Like a White Girl Book Launch

Source: Scripps