Elizabeth was born of Mexican immigrant parents south of the Rillito River in Tucson, Arizona. Elizabeth was the best freshman student in her school and her future looked bright. But then the visa's of her parents expired, and they had no other choice to return to Mexico. This left Elizabeth and her younger brother alone in the USA, suddenly Elizabeth was the responsible one for her education and raising her brother. But soon her brother also returns to his parents in Mexico and Elizabeth is all alone, and lands homeless on the couch of people who are strangers to her and where she never feels at home where she can feel safe and she become one of the many victims affected by family separation due to broken immigration laws. She has to fight to continue her study and has a grumbling belly many time, but with unbreakable determination, she is accepted into multiple Ivy League colleges and graduates. After college . she lands a job in finance and then her younger brother starts to live with her who she takes care of on her own while working full time until he goes to College. At that point she begins to help her parents financially.

This is a truly moving and beautiful written memoir by a remarkable strong woman. She truly tells openly how life is for undocumented immigrants and the pain of the children of parents who have to move back, and the effects this has on their life and education.Focusing on her mother's advice that she should always be the best student in the classroom, Elizabeth accomplished the near-impossible. I truly enjoyed reading this eye-opening book, I found it truly very moving and interesting to read, and in this current times, I truly recommend reading this book!

I enjoyed this book based on my own experiences being an American citizen child of Mexican immigrants. This is a very sensitive topic especially now and glad that there are books out there that help readers understand what people go through when faced with this type of situation.

Such a heartbreaking yet hopeful story. At this time in the United States reading books such as this should be mandatory. I commend the author on such a great book.

I have been on a nonfiction kick recently and this one stood out for many reasons. I loved the honesty and emotion. I felt like I was in the moment with the author and I felt like the articulation of the circumstances were easy to understand which I appreciated with such a complex issue.

Elizabeth Camarillo Guitierrez’s memoir, “My Side of the River” is a fascinating, heart-breaking, encouraging, beautifully written book. Her story about being a first generation American from an illegal-immigrant set of Mexican parents and having the burdens of the entire family seemingly heaped on her shoulders from a very young age is both unbearably sad and sometimes difficult to know, yet full of her intellect, drive, courage, and tenacity. Despite all of the obstacles that constantly appeared in her way, she overcame all of them to be the best sister and best daughter that anyone ever could be and succeeded in excelling not only in her education, graduating from Penn, an Ivy League school that she was able to attend on a full scholarship, after graduating from her high school as Valedictorian, but also in anything and everything she set out to do. She belonged to and formed clubs during high school that she was interested in, allowing her to travel and have experiences she wouldn’t otherwise have had, like going to Washington, D.C. and attending important, political meetings and having her first public speaking experience, for which she garnered significant praise, and she sought out similar experiences during college, spending time studying abroad in Europe.

Although she had many obstacles along the way, including spending the entirety of her high school years essentially alone and raising herself because her parents weren’t allowed to return to the United States after their initial tourist Visas expired, to debilitating anxiety, depression, and panic attacks, she persevered, not just for herself but also for her family. After her parents weren’t allowed to return to the United States, her much younger brother with whom she was very close was quite literally snatched away from her and taken to live with their parents in Mexico. She vowed to get him back to the United States so that he could have the same opportunities that she had. This was her number one goal throughout her entire high school and college years and the impetus for finding the best paying job possible upon graduation, even if it meant working for a company and in a field for which she had no interest. When her father became ill, she stayed with him in Mexico and paid for and took him to the best possible medical treatment available.

It wasn’t until her little brother graduated from his own college education and her father was well that she finally began living her life for herself. It was a very long time coming!

I was given an advanced reader’s copy of this book, for which I am thankful to all involved. I’m providing my review voluntarily.

In My Side of the River, Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez offers a poignant and accessible memoir that truly resonates with me as a reader. Her writing evolves beautifully throughout the narrative, immersing me in her experiences as she navigates the complexities of growing up as a child of Mexican immigrants. It's a must-read book.

Many thanks to the author, publisher, and NetGalley for sharing this book with me.

An amazing story of immigrants trying to make a life for their family in the U.S. Told by a woman whose parents, being undocumented were sent back to Mexico. Heartwarming, heartbreaking, and a story of many successes and failures. It really was a story that made you think!

A beautiful memoir of Elizabeth growing up as a United States citizen with parents who do not have citizenship. This book is well done, showing the complications of the border, immigration policies, and views on immigrants in general. Her parents truly wanted the best for their children and their version of best put the kids in situations that were hard and uncomfortable, but here Elizabeth is now an author, a university graduate and someone with big potential, because of her parents dreams. It is really amazing what the "American Dream" can offer and I understand why so many people around the world want to be here.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin's Press for the gifted e-copy of this book.

What a timely story to read on the cusp of (another) Trump administration focused on deporting immigrants who have come to America hoping for a better life. While I'm hesitant for people in their 20's to write a memoir (because just how much life has someone lived to be able to write a book about it), Elizabeth's story of her upbringing as the oldest child of two (undocumented) Mexican immigrants was so insightful to read. I cannot imagine what she went through as a 15-year old trying to survive on her own in the US because her parents visas to come back to the US were denied. Being separated from her parents and younger brother and having to couch surf with people who were basically strangers, all so that she could stay in America for her education and then hopefully one day be able to help provide for family.

Her story of her life post-Penn graduation seems a little elitist at times. But I'm happy for her and that she was able to use her money working on Wall Street to help her family. I just really imagined her going into a different sector to be more about helping humankind (like her starting a club in high school to help the planet). Being in the banking industry just feels very much like being "a cog in the big machine."

Thank you to Netgalley and the publishing company for this Digital Advanced Readers Copy! I thoroughly enjoyed it!

In this memoir, the author shares her story of growing up as a first-generation citizen of the United States born to immigrant parents. Overwhelmingly, it is a story of struggle, but also a story of courage, love, and determination. Camarillo Gutierrez was an excellent student who worked her way to an Ivy League education, despite numerous setbacks, including her family's return to Mexico without her. Despite all the hardships, she finds her path to success.

I enjoyed the book. I have three bi-ethnic Mexican American daughters, themselves first generation US citizens on their father's side, so I really enjoy reading the stories of Hispanic women. The story was good. However, I felt that the writing began to lack depth as the book continued, which bothered me only because it was already made clear that the author has the talent to write well. I felt that it lost some of its emotional pull as the story continued, which should not have been the case because the events she described were quite emotional. A good first try, for sure.

Thanks to Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez, St. Martin's Press and Netgalley for this ARC in return for my honest review.

Such a strong voice for a memoir. I appreciated the authors insights about gender and immigration and family issues. I learned a lot, which I appreciate with memoirs.

I was immediately pulled in by the title and the cover, but the author's voice and story are what impressed me the most.

Gutierrez's perspective was unique while encompassing the general treatment of immigrants coming to the United States. While so many barriers arose in her life as a young woman alone, she was not without her drive to achieve an education and secure a future for herself and her family.

Having read several memoirs over the past few years, I always come way learning something new, and this story is no different. I highly recommend this story to people who enjoy memoirs and who are interested in looking through the lens of a young woman with a compelling story.

Thank you to the publisher via NetGalley for the opportunity to respond to this book with my honest opinions.

My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez. Pub Date: February 13, 2024. Rating: 3 stars. I always struggle to rate memoirs because it is someone's personal story and this memoir in particular is an impactful one. Elizabeth is the daughter of Mexican immigrants who are in the United States on visas. She highlights the struggles of working as an immigrant and the racial disparities that come with this population. At 15, she becomes in charge of raising her sibling due to her parents's visas expired. I can appreciate the complexity and emotion surrounding this person's story, but I felt it lacked depth into the struggles of immigration and what it truly means to be an immigrant in this country. I think if the author would have waited until she was a little bit older she may have been able to give more reflective perspectives of her journey and experience. Thanks to #netgalley and #stmartinspress for this e-arc in exchange for my honest review.

3.5 stars, rounded up to reward an amazing story of courage, drive, perseverance.....undertaken by a young woman (a young girl when she began the story!) The author is a 1st gen American who navigated high school & college (& all that goes along with that.....meal plans, health insurance, financial issues) on her own...as her parents were in Mexico. It's truly such an impressive account of her educational path, of the choices & goals she continued to hold to & achieve, sacrifices she made & resources she used to help her. It's a real good read.
I received a digital ARC from publisher St. Martin's Press via NetGalley for review purposes. This is my own fair/honest review.

I wasn’t able to get to this one before the publish date. However now that I have read it I am giving it 4 stars.

I admire the resilience and determination Elizabeth had to write her story. It was poignant and really telling about what life was like for her. I loved the way it was written and hope we get more books from her!

I love reading the memoirs of immigrants. While our circumstances are different there are always things I can relate to, especially with the memoirs of immigrants that came to the US as young kids. Overall, it was well written, but I felt like the author skipped out on the nitty gritty and just wrote the book as a broad look of her experience, only hitting the highlights/successes so she could get a book out. There wasn’t a lot of personal details, thoughts, etc, which are the things that I look for and make me enjoy a memoir. She says so herself in the book, she was going to turn her trauma into gold and financially benefit from her story. Which…girl, get it, but give us something to connect with you.

Thank you to NetGalley and St. Martin’s Press for a copy of this eARC in exchange for my honest review.

I was initially intrigued by this because of the subject matter and I love hearing people tell their own stories. Unfortunately, I just feel this was a bit too early in her life? I didn't realize until about 20% in but the author is still very young. I have also been in a bit of a non fiction slump and struggled to come back to this. I do not want to rate this poorly as I did DNF it, I may come back to it later.

I enjoyed My Side of the River by Elizabeth Camarillo Gutierrez in both print and on audio.

Elizabeth is the U.S. born daughter of Mexican immigrants and her story highlights the challenges she and her family faced. As she reaches high school Elizabeth’s parents were no longer permitted to live in the U.S. and she found herself alone to pursue her education.

I always appreciate the perspective and first hand experience of people impacted by the broken systems of immigration in the U.S. Elizabeth’s story was similar in ways to Diane Guerrero’s and I found Elizabeth’s writing to be stronger.

Many of her experiences are so recent that I wonder if she could have approached telling her story with a bit more depth and emotion if she gave it more time. At the end of the book she mentions turning her trauma to gold and I wondered if that was the purpose of this story.

Ultimately I think her voice and story are important and interesting. Thank you for the early copy.