Although I love Alvarez's novels, I found her book of essays to be a little meh. In fact, I stopped just before the halfway point. It might be zines' fault. I've read a lot of similar themed essays (about feeling half in one world and half in another, due to immigrant status, mixed race identity or the loss of one's native language) in dozens (hundreds?) of zines.
Alvarez, a talented and accomplished author's writing comes across in these essays as unpolished, maybe like journal entries or even blog posts like this one, that weren't sweated over. When I read the same sort of thing in a zine, the delicate construction of the object conveys a vulnerability and innocence that a bestselling author can't compete with in a book from a behemoth publisher.
Some zines I recommend about immigrant experiences:
Baa, I'm a Sheep #s 3 and 4 by Shari Wang.
Chica Loca #s 1, 3 and 5 and I Live Like a Rug by Lala
Godzilla Says Hi by Jenny Xie
Photo Booth Toolbox by Alex Leo Zulkarnain