Common Sense Media Review
By Lucinda Dyer
,
based on child development research. How do we rate?
Young immigrant achieves her dreams in inspiring memoir.
Parents Need to Know
Why Age 10+?
Any Positive Content?
Where to Read
Parent and Kid Reviews
What's the Story?
Julissa Arce begins SOMEONE LIKE ME in her hometown of Taxco, Mexico, where she lives with her parents and two older sisters. Her parents work tirelessly to be able to send all three girls to a private school, but this takes them away from home for long stretches of time, and the girls are left behind to be cared for by their grandmother and a nanny. Arce struggles to fit in, never feeling as if she belongs in the world of her wealthy classmates or with neighborhood kids who attend the local school. Always ambitious and looking for ways to improve life for the family, her parents begin spending months away in the United Sates, selling silver jewelry at trade shows. In fifth grade, Arce gets into trouble at school and her parents decide she'll come to the U.S. (on a tourist visa) and live permanently with them. She struggles once again to fit in again as she's teased and sometimes taunted for being Mexican throughout her school years. Then when she's 14, Arce is told that her visa has long expired and she's an "illegal," an undocumented immigrant. As Arcane begins applying to colleges, it looks as if her illegal status will shatter the dreams she has for her future. Despite graduating high school with honors, all her applications are rejected because she can't provide a social security number. Only a recent law allowing undocumented students to attend college in Texas opens a door for her.
Is It Any Good?
Julissa Arce puts a relatable face on America's Dreamers, showing readers that one of them could well be a classmate, a teammate, or even one of their closest friends. Someone Like Me is more than simply an inspiring personal story, it offers valuable lessons for young readers on the importance of hard work, not prejudging someone by where they come from or how well they speak English, and never giving up on your dreams.
Talk to Your Kids About ...
Families can talk about the assumptions people make about author Julissa Arce in Someone Like Me. Do students in your school ever make snap judgements ("He's probably not very smart" or "I'll bet she's a trouble maker") about someone simply because of where they come from or the color of their skin?
Arce's parents teach her important lessons about the value of working really hard and never giving up. What's the most important lesson you've learned from your family?
What do you think should happen to the estimated 2.5 million young undocumented immigrants who, like Arce, were brought to the United States illegally as children? Should they be allowed to stay and become citizens, or should they be deported?
Book Details
- Author :
- Genre : Autobiography
- Topics : Book Characters
- Book type : Non-Fiction
- Publisher : Little, Brown Books for Young Readers
- Publication date : September 18, 2019
- Publisher's recommended age(s) : 10 - 14
- Number of pages : 240
- Available on : Paperback, Nook, Hardback, Apple Books, Kindle
- Last updated : September 29, 2025
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