Review by Booklist Review
Rafael Agustin, a writer for Jane the Virgin, did not know his citizenship status until he was in high school. Growing up in Ecuador and coming to the U.S. with his parents as a young child, Agustin was not informed he was undocumented until he was a teenager. This revelation completely disrupted his visions for his future; getting into college, landing a job, even getting a driver's license all depended on U.S. citizenship. Agustin recounts all the barriers he faced as an undocumented immigrant and how his perceptions of those barriers changed as he grew. His story is not one of personal shortcomings and individualistic grit, but rather of systemic failings and community uplift. Illegally Yours is more than a memoir; it is a timely and impactful exploration of immigration and race. Agustin's witty and relatable storytelling would be compelling to a wide audience, especially appealing to readers with an interest in politics, social justice, or the arts.
From Booklist, Copyright (c) American Library Association. Used with permission.
Review by Publisher's Weekly Review
Television writer Agustin makes a splashy debut with this humorous account of coming-of-age, undocumented, in Southern California. Born in Ecuador to two doctors, Agustin arrived in the United States in the late 1980s at age seven, only to be disappointed that the America he'd watched obsessively on TV was nowhere to be found. While his parents struggled to juggle English classes with his father's graveyard shifts as a sleep technician, Agustin writes, "Things seemed to be worse here than they were in Ecuador." Meanwhile, Agustin wrestled with his identity, eventually coming to learn two life-altering things while attending public school: one, that he wasn't white, and two, that he was undocumented--a revelation, he wittily recalls, "that was like an end-of-the-world-comet hitting my frosted-tipped head." As he reckons with being "illegal" (his family came to the U.S. on tourist visas that expired) and traces his path to finding liberation through the world of acting, and, later, TV writing, Agustin offers poignant musings on the difficulties of existing in a country where the notion of race "is mostly understood as a Black and white paradigm." What emerges is an inspiring and often hilarious story that echoes Agustin's mother's refrain: "Dreams should not have borders." Funny as he is, Agustin is a serious talent. (July)
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Review by Library Journal Review
Television writer Agustin's (Jane the Virgin) humorous and heartfelt memoir details his unknowingly undocumented coming of age in Southern California. Narrating his own story, Agustin describes how his parents, both doctors, immigrated to the United States from Ecuador. Despite their promises of better opportunities, Agustin was disappointed with life in the States, as his parents juggled multiple jobs and never had enough money, time, or stability. Although his recollections are often funny, they incline toward the bittersweet. In one such memory, Augustin recounts the highlight of his childhood--trips to AM/PM for 50-cent Sunday hamburgers. His father regretted that he could not afford more, but Agustin warmheartedly insists that they were the best hamburgers of his life. Although Agustin's tone is generally upbeat and optimistic, he occasionally allows his outrage and frustration to show, particularly when describing how painful it was for him to learn of his undocumented status. While he won the election for class president, graduated from UCLA, and achieved success in Hollywood and beyond, he did so against the odds. VERDICT Agustin's engaging narration and remarkable story is not to be missed. Fans of triumphant coming-of-age tales and memoirs will find much to love.--Sarah Hashimoto
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Review by Kirkus Book Review
A TV writer chronicles his youth growing up unknowingly undocumented in the U.S. In an affecting book he admits was "incredibly painful to write," Agustin depicts his early life in the 1980s as the son of a mother and stepfather who were both doctors in economically challenged Ecuador. He grew up obsessed with DC Comics, Disney, the Lone Ranger, and "the Spanish-dubbed version of the 1960s Batman TV show." One day, he found out his aunt had asked the family to relocate to America via the family reunification program. Once ensconced in Southern California, where his classmates "just assumed Ecuador was a state in Mexico," culture shock set in. Agustin and his family believed they would live "our vision of Americana," but that disappointingly entailed his anesthesiologist mother walking miles to a cashier job at Kmart. While the author animates these episodes with robust pride, there is a lingering sense that this is not just a memoir about culture shock. The author eventually realized that his family had overstayed their tourist visas and planned on living in America as undocumented immigrants indefinitely. This oversight prevented his parents from enlisting in the military in an attempt to "rectify the immigration mess they found themselves in," and the family anxiously scrambled to make ends meet and skirt authorities. Agustin's struggles also encompassed aspects of racial identity as he sought to comprehend how being Latino fit into America's rigid "Black and white paradigm." It was only when the author tried to get a driver's license without a Social Security number that his family's status began severely jeopardizing their life in America. Balancing out the tense moments are heavy dollops of humor: recalling his grandmother's use of Saran Wrap as a girdle, his first kiss in middle school, and exploring his love of theater throughout college. The blissful joy of full American citizenship and a successful career form the satisfying coda to this thoughtful, inspiring memoir. An enthusiastic and motivational self-portrait. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.
