This book made me happy. I felt like I relived part of my teenage years. The time with Primas is undeniably a different and special moment in our lives. You are a young, dreamer, vulnerable chica. You grow up to be the same, but your vulnerabilities change, you over think and sometimes are scared to be judged, especially in a Mexican community/family. "Que diran de mi?" "What will they think?" often resonates to this day in my life. Having someone in the family to understand and know what you are feeling is needed in this life. Big Chicas Don't Cry, is a sliver of every Mexican American woman in this lifetime. We are full of emotions, thoughts and dreams. I think I related to every single prima in this book. Maybe it is time I reconnect with my primas and relive our good times together, also never forget your abuelita or take her for granted.

I absolutely ADORED this book. The irony of it all is that this big chica cried her eyes out while reading this beautiful story!
This is a must read if you want:
Strong female leads
Latinix culture (specifically a Mexican family)
Love including but not limited to
Family Love
Self love
A hint of spice, its a 3 out of 5 on the spice o meter
Big Chicas Don't Cry by Annette Chavez Macias is a 5 star read!
Chavez Macias depicts a cast of independent, strong minded, and loving chicas so smoothly that it is easy to connect with them. Making it a treat to read about their journey as individuals and as a family.
The format of the story is in first person, with alternating perspectives from the four cousins. At first it was a little confusing, but once you understand who everyone is the book becomes a lot of fun and is fast paced.
With each chapter you learn about the four cousins: Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie. We read about their careers, their goals in life, their love interests and spouses. There is plenty of drama and romance, but what ultimately made this book a 5 star read for me was its theme of family.
The theme of family was its strongest point and it felt great to read a romance that featured an office crush, but also focused on self love and repairing relationships. There was a great balance of it all and I think that is what will define this book. Plus, there is so much strength in the variety of characters and experiences told.
Honestly it’s hard to pick just one character to talk about since I found I loved them all. I loved and related to: Selena who wasn’t quite Mexican enough for her family, but in her work life she was the go to for any questions when came to BIPOC. Erica who was out there pursuing her writing career. Mari who feels like she’s suffocating in her relationship that appears to be “perfect”. And then of course Gracie who is shy and feels pressured to be in a relationship by her family. I just found there was SO much of what I had to deal with as a young adult, and as an adult today, in this book that I could just find comfort in reading about their experiences.
I also appreciated the growth of these characters, there isn’t one that is stagnant and it is a timely reflection on women today. Despite what society and family members might want to push onto women, much like the women in this book, they (we) want to find their (our) passions and to be able to thrive on their (our) own.
I saw myself in this beautiful cast. I saw my family in theirs and it made me so happy to read such a story, one that reflects so much Latinix joy. At its core this is a story about women supporting each other. Learning to trust and love again, knowing that family is forever and that they will always have your back.
Thank you to the author for the eARC I am truly honored to have read such a beautiful book!

Honest and relatable, Big Chicas Don’t Cry stole my heart. The women at the center of the story will remind you of spending time with your closest loved ones and best friends in all their messy and sweet glory.

Big Chicas Don’t Cry brings us into the lives of the Garcia cousins - Erica, Selena, Gracie, and Mari. All are very close as children, but their relationships are fragmented as adults. How that happened, and the path back to each other is the journey that Annette Chavez-Macias takes us on.

I am Puerto Rican, and this family is Mexican. Welita (Spanish nickname that means grandmother) is the central character in their lives. However, there is much that reminded me of my own family. Every ethnicity has a version of tamales – right? We made pasteles for the holidays. They are meat-filled deliciousness inside of a masa made of root vegetables, wrapped in a banana leaf, and boiled in salted water. They are a lot of work, so my grandmother would orchestrate each of our jobs into an assembly line. She always smelled like Florida Water and gave the best hugs. Welita smells of Ponds Cold Cream. She dispenses food, opinions and advice liberally and with love.

We get to know each woman individually. Each one has her own story, her own perspective, and as spectators, we live it through their eyes. However, I wonder about the men they choose as their significant other. Mari, her momma’s boy husband Esteban and his over bearing mother, Blanca, for example. The dance as a Latina growing up in America and still maintaining the traditions of our family origins is complex. In my eyes, that also played a part in all their stories. I’ll leave it at that so you, the reader, can experience the rest of their journeys for yourselves.

Blood is Thicker Than Water as the saying goes. In the toughest of times, differences are put aside, and family leans on each other, when we are not strong enough to stand on our own two feet. I saw myself in Big Chicas Don’t Cry, I saw my family and friends here too. I think a lot of readers will. It is a beautifully told story of love, loss, betrayal and the resiliency of women.

Oh my goodness how I adored this story. There was something going on in each of the cousin's lives that I could relate to being a Latina myself. I love books that have a strong focus on family and the grandparents/ great grandparents the younger generations learn from. For fans of such shows/movies like Amazon's With Love, and Tortilla Soup, they will love Big Chicas Don't Cry. This was my first book by Annette and she's become an auto-buy author for me now. I'm looking forward to reading her next book. Many thanks to Netgalley and the publisher for an eARC and to Annette for a physical ARC in exchange for my honest review.

First of all, thank you to @authorannette for granting me the privilege of receiving an ARC of this gorgeous book! 💕

A beautiful story of family, love, loss and forgiveness, all told from the perspective of four cousins that felt like my own.

Selena, Erica, Mari and Gracie were all so different but I saw parts of myself in each one!

Of course, I loved all the Spanish phrases and the values of tradition and family that I also hold near and dear!

If you’re an Amazon Prime member, be sure to get yours as this this months First Reads choice!

This beauty comes out next month! Run to get it!

A beautiful book that made me feel so many deep feelings.
This book was a joy to read, with each alternating chapter being a different POV of the cousins, it gave an in depth look at each of their experience.
I was truly touch at the many messages I can take away from this book. Mostly, that I am my culture as I rise, fall, conquer or miss out on. These little daily intersections of Mexican American culture in the cousins' lives truly touched me, it reminds me of me and my family and my best friends. We mix American culture with our heritage, we try to make our parents proud, but just like the girls are learning, we have to make ourselves proud first.
I cried, laughed, and was fully invested in Big Chicas Don't Cry. It has all the elements that I love in women's fiction. I def recommend this to all.

𝑩𝒊𝒈 𝑪𝒉𝒊𝒄𝒂𝒔 𝑫𝒐𝒏’𝒕 𝑪𝒓𝒚

By Annette Chavez Macias
⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️⭐️

Mexican American Family. Four primas that are as close as can be….until they aren’t.

Beautifully told in 4 POV’s we follow the stories of Mari, Selena, Erica & Gracie.
Mari is married and lives in a huge house. She has everything she could need. Or does she?

Erica just wants to not throttle her boss across the room when he belittles her. She’s a good damn reporter, why can’t he see that?

Gracie is living the dream and teaching at the Catholic school she attended as a kid. Only now she has to work with Tony, the jerk who hurt her.

Selena knows she deserves better at work. She’s tired as being treated as white-ina & having to be the go to for all things Mexican.

Welita is the glue that holds them together. Their great grandmother.

We follow their story during a very trying year. The family dynamics is exactly what I, as a Latina understand. The connections, the lies, the bonds, the anger. All of it. Beautiful story. Thank you @netgalley & @authorannette for a copy of this beautiful story

Loved, loved, loved this book. All of the characters were relatable. I feel like they could be me, my primas (cousins), my family, and/or my friends. The story takes place in one year's time, but I felt like I had known Mari, Erica, Selena, and Gracie for a lot longer. I enjoyed seeing how all the characters transformed and grew in their own way.

I thought the four different characters in this was going to bog down this story that is only 360 some odd pages. But surprisingly it worked out so amazingly well. I think it worked so well since this is all set in one year of their life. Which I loved that it wasn't over the course of multiple years. I can not say much about the aspects of culture since I did not grow up in the Mexican-American heritage. But even though I didn't I could just tell how much the author put into this story. It was so full of love and more. This was a great story for this summer!

Reading Big Chicas Don't Cry is like being enveloped in the warm embrace of family, holidays, fiestas, and love. It is the quintessential Californian novel for a new era, expertly sharing the storylines of four cousins and how their great grandmother's immigrant experience shaped their lives.

Big Chicas Don’t Cry is a life-affirming novel centered on relationships, love, and loss. This heartwarming family drama uses alternating points of view to skillfully reveal nuanced characters, tangible emotions, and the enduring ties of a Mexican American family. I adored every minute I spent with this familia. It was as if Annette Chavez Macias took slivers of the people and experiences I’ve known and delicately etched them onto the page. An enduring family drama with heart, beauty, and vibrant culture.

“Big Chicas Don’t Cry” follows four Mexican-American cousins throughout a one year time period in their lives. They are making strides professionally, learning about love, and the importance of family. This book was a beautiful representation and reminder of what it means to be Mexican-American in all aspects of life. It illustrated the importance of honoring traditions within our culture while also honoring our individual choices and dreams/pursuits. Annette Chavez Macias did a wonderful job incorporating Mexican traditions here and there that added that extra bit of authenticity. As a woman and as a part of the Mexican community, I felt seen, heard, and understood. I greatly enjoyed this story. I enjoyed the four cousins and their individual journeys and saw myself in all of them. This book made me cry, reminisce, reflect, swoon, and root for this family. If you have the opportunity I would recommend picking this book up.