Actual Rating: 3.5

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rating breakdown
Storytelling: 6
Characterization: 7
Artistry: 6
Lasting impact: 7
Emotional connection: 7

Ultimately, I enjoyed this one. I am usually a fan of diary-style books, but in this case I feel that the story suffered as a result of the form. Julia seems a little too innocent and removed from what happens around her, and I wanted more exploration of the themes of living on the border.

The Everything I Have Lost is a remarkable coming of age story. This was a heartbreaking and heartfelt account told in diary entries. I felt like the themes and plot in this may be too much for some younger readers but it would be a great book and conversation starter to read as parent and child.

I really enjoyed this book as a whole and the message in the end was poignant, moving and tear-jerking but also very inspiring. The audio was fantastic and very easy to listen to and I highly recommend listening to this one. Overall this is one of the most surprising middle grades I have ever read and it was definitely memorable and I can see myself recommending this one to many people and families.

Thanks to Netgalley and OrangeSky Audio for an ALC. All opinions are honest and my own.

Becoming a woman is never easy, but for Julia, there's just so much getting in her way. Her parents are restrictive, her friends unhelpful, even her hometown forces her to stay locked up in her house. It only gets worse when Papa gets a new job and is never home and Mama is always worried about the shootings in downtown Juárez. Julia's diary is her only true friend sometimes, and even that can be torn away.
Now, you might be thinking, Sirah, are you really reviewing another young adult coming of age story? I thought you didn't like those. You'd be right; I typically don't. It's fair to say that I dislike them because they're often so poorly done. The Everything I Have Lost has some grating moments, but unlike many similar books, it uses these to make the story stronger. Julia is rather like many young teenagers and doesn't always know what she wants, but she's not afraid to speak up about what she doesn't want. She doesn't want to be a child. She doesn't want to be abandoned. She doesn't want to be taken advantage of. She doesn't want to be ignorant. Even though Juárez and El Paso are so far from my own daily life and childhood experiences, I can't help but feel a bit of the hate, the longing, the hope, and the satisfaction that Julia feels as her life changes around her. This book rings true in so many ways, and despite the differences between us, I think that Julia and I are not so different.
TW swearing, guns, physical violence
Special thanks to the audiobook narrator, Lori Felipe-Barkin, who did an excellent job reminding me that Spanish accents are a thing of beauty.

12-year-old Julia keeps a diary of her life in Juarez, Mexico. In parts of the book, you can see she is just like every other preteen/teenage girl with their everyday worries, but at other times, you are reminded of just how dangerous Juarez is: it's not safe to play outside; shootings are a common occurrence; cars and people disappear. You can really see Julia grow over the course of the book as she becomes less of a sheltered child and more aware to what is really going on in the world and in her family. Lori Felipe-Barkin did a wonderful job narrating this book. In a classroom discussion, I think this book could be a good starting point for talking about immigration and life on the Mexican-American border, especially in the “murder capital of the world”. My fear is that parents will learn how much cussing is in the book and not let their children read it. I think this book is definitely worth the read, though!

Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.

For a book in journal format, this took me longer to read than I expected. I'm fairly certain the fault is on my end, but I didn't find the characters and plot gelling in the way I prefer. Which may have been the point?

This book is one of the most amazing books I have ever read. It tells the story that I see all around me and gives it shape so that others who don't live on the border can read it and know and feel. Sylvia Aguilar-Zéleny, I thank you.

Thank you to Netgally and the publisher for providing me with audiobook arc in exchange for an honest review. All opinions are my own.
I really enjoyed this audiobook! The book is written in diary entries so it lends itself well to the audiobook format and the narrator did a great job making the english and Spanish flow easily.
This story is really important and does a fantastic job of highlighting the victims of very real world issues that don't get talked about or recognized as much. The author did a really great job of presenting many big problems that many people face in a way that puts often overlooked innocents at the forefront while also keeping the story very real and genuine. By focusing on one girl, the author's message becomes very poignant.
I do struggle a bit with pin pointing what age range this is best suited for. There is some strong language and the book does handle some mature topics however, the entirety of the book is told through the eyes of a 13 year old girl.

The Everything I Have Lost focuses on Julia and her life as she is growing up. She writes about her friends, drama, school and anything else a young girl might write about, but there are also signs of something more going on.

Starting at age 12, this book goes from there until Julia is 15, so there is quite a difference between ages and what is going on which really leaves this novel in a big limbo of not being middle-grade, but not quite being young adult which did pull me out of the book from time to time. I knew that coming in, but I think I’m realizing diary entries may not be something I like.

The diary entries while giving us a deeper look into Julia, but that also means readers are really diving into her mindset. Readers see how naive she is. They see her focus on growing up and the drama with her friends. A lot of it reminded me of The Princess Diaries in the sense of Julia being very focused on herself and so eager to grow up and everything is the end of the world. I get that at this age there are a lot of emotions and no one understands them, just as an older reader it’s frustrating to read.

There were a number of heavier topics that I do feel like are good introductions for younger readers, but at the same time they are glossed over due to the narration of the story.

I was excited to read this book as it was own voices and seemed like it was going to talk about a number of topics that I feel like should be talked about; however, I do feel like this book just missed the mark for me.

I’m hoping that the younger audience this is meant for finds more meaning in it than I did.