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leafblade's review against another edition
2.0
I don't know if it was the Spanish translation's fault but this was way too much overdramatic
saritaroth's review against another edition
3.0
The story centers around the trials and tribulations of Margot Sanchez, a girl who is being forced to work all summer at her parents' supermarket to pay back a debt that she incurred by stealing her father's credit card. You find out that she stole the credit card so that she could improve her wardrobe in order to fit in with the cool crowd at her new fancy school, Somerset. Later, she finds out that her father and brother are not whom she thought that they were, and a wave of betrayal washes over her. She must find the strength to forgive her family and take the blame for her own misguided actions.
I wanted to like this book more than I did; I thought that it was just okay. The book was well-written, but I couldn't seem to get past the protagonist and my dislike, bordering on hatred, for her. I kept hoping that she would realize the sheer size of her mistakes, but instead she just kept making more. She stole beer from her family's supermarket and ended up getting a beloved employee fired for it. Granted, her brother was partly to blame as well, since he was stealing money from the supermarket in order to open a bar, and the same employee got blamed for that as well. That, however, does not minimize the fact that her mistakes just kept building.
Based on the title, I figured that at some point Margot would learn something, but I don't feel that she really did. At one point, pretty far into the book, she says, "I could tell Papi I was the one who stole the beers and that Oscar is completely innocent. But I don’t say a word. I’m too much of a coward. This mask I wear that conceals my true self, I will keep it on forever at the cost of Oscar, Moises, and everyone." Then later, when wrestling with the fact that she was losing one of her best friends due to the monumental mistakes that she was making, she says, "I can’t believe Elizabeth’s turning my drama around to attack me. It’s true that I haven’t been around but it’s not my fault." Does that sound like she is taking responsibility for her actions? I don't think so. In the end, she does make a list of all the people that she's wronged and goes around trying to make amends, but by this point, I was thinking, Is it too little too late?
I wanted to like this book more than I did; I thought that it was just okay. The book was well-written, but I couldn't seem to get past the protagonist and my dislike, bordering on hatred, for her. I kept hoping that she would realize the sheer size of her mistakes, but instead she just kept making more. She stole beer from her family's supermarket and ended up getting a beloved employee fired for it. Granted, her brother was partly to blame as well, since he was stealing money from the supermarket in order to open a bar, and the same employee got blamed for that as well. That, however, does not minimize the fact that her mistakes just kept building.
Based on the title, I figured that at some point Margot would learn something, but I don't feel that she really did. At one point, pretty far into the book, she says, "I could tell Papi I was the one who stole the beers and that Oscar is completely innocent. But I don’t say a word. I’m too much of a coward. This mask I wear that conceals my true self, I will keep it on forever at the cost of Oscar, Moises, and everyone." Then later, when wrestling with the fact that she was losing one of her best friends due to the monumental mistakes that she was making, she says, "I can’t believe Elizabeth’s turning my drama around to attack me. It’s true that I haven’t been around but it’s not my fault." Does that sound like she is taking responsibility for her actions? I don't think so. In the end, she does make a list of all the people that she's wronged and goes around trying to make amends, but by this point, I was thinking, Is it too little too late?
marieintheraw's review against another edition
4.0
I've never seen Pretty in Pink, which this has been compared to, but I did really enjoy this book. Sometimes you just are in the mood for a coming-of-age story.
sharperthoughts's review against another edition
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.75
njreadsandwrites's review against another edition
4.0
It took me a few times to read this book. 3 to be exact. Over the past year, YA has become a hit or miss for me. Eventually, I was emerged in the life of the Sanchez family, and I must say that it was okay. A normal YA semi-hard hitting contemporary with a lot of questionable decisions.
It explored the pressures of being in a place you don’t belong. I liked the realistic and flawed characters. Shedding light on the pretending and facades of perfection in society and how people who are less than, judge the rich as being out of touch with reality , as if they cannot remember anything other than their wealth.
Moises was definitely my favorite character. Despite his judgments, he stayed true to himself at all times, without having to switch roles around anyone. Also, he rides for his community and is not afraid to do what has to be done at any given moment.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I enjoyed Jasmine’s character. She highlights what happens when a young girl has been dreams, and is continually being taken advantage of. From the industry to others who convinces broken girls they love them, for everything other than love. I wish more was written about that, but it was just a side plot that wasn’t fully developed.
The book started at an overly slow pace, and then moved quickly through the important scenes of the plot. i hated Margot and her entire family because they were so blind and ignorant to everything around them trying to keep their own secrets and perfect images. It was so bad that she went out a find a friend just like them, Camille, and her pretentious and controlling nature.
Lastly, the last page pissed me off deeply. I don’t have words to describe how I felt about the ending of the book, and if I wasn’t so invested, I would give this book 2.5.
Would you finish a book if the plot was lacking, yet you were invested in the characters? Drop your answers or a pink heart in the comments below, or on any of my social medias.
Love, peace, and dope reading!
-NJ
It explored the pressures of being in a place you don’t belong. I liked the realistic and flawed characters. Shedding light on the pretending and facades of perfection in society and how people who are less than, judge the rich as being out of touch with reality , as if they cannot remember anything other than their wealth.
Moises was definitely my favorite character. Despite his judgments, he stayed true to himself at all times, without having to switch roles around anyone. Also, he rides for his community and is not afraid to do what has to be done at any given moment.
This may be an unpopular opinion, but I enjoyed Jasmine’s character. She highlights what happens when a young girl has been dreams, and is continually being taken advantage of. From the industry to others who convinces broken girls they love them, for everything other than love. I wish more was written about that, but it was just a side plot that wasn’t fully developed.
The book started at an overly slow pace, and then moved quickly through the important scenes of the plot. i hated Margot and her entire family because they were so blind and ignorant to everything around them trying to keep their own secrets and perfect images. It was so bad that she went out a find a friend just like them, Camille, and her pretentious and controlling nature.
Lastly, the last page pissed me off deeply. I don’t have words to describe how I felt about the ending of the book, and if I wasn’t so invested, I would give this book 2.5.
Would you finish a book if the plot was lacking, yet you were invested in the characters? Drop your answers or a pink heart in the comments below, or on any of my social medias.
Love, peace, and dope reading!
-NJ
nicolemhewitt's review against another edition
5.0
This review and many more can be found on my blog: Feed Your Fiction Addiction
Margot has remade herself so that she can fit in at her boarding school. She feels like she has to follow the lead of the popular (and rich) girls, and that has led her to make some incredibly poor decisions. When she steals her father’s credit card and charges $600 worth of clothes to it, she’s forced to spend the summer working at her father’s store to pay him back. While she’s there, her two worlds collide and she can’t seem to get them to mesh. She falls for a boy named Moises—a community activist who’s trying to prevent families from getting kicked out of their building, but she struggles with admitting her feelings for a boy who she knows her friends at school wouldn’t approve of. She feels disconnected from her best friend who has moved on without her (just as Margot has moved on), and her family and the family business both seem to be floundering—and she finds out that her family is actually falling apart in more ways than she ever imagined.
This book centers on identity. How Margot struggles to be the girl everyone else expects her to be. Her friends at school, her parents, her old neighborhood friends, the boy she wants to impress, the boy she’s slowly falling for: She can’t seem to live up to any of their expectations, and she can’t find herself in all the mess. While I wasn’t a fan of many of Margot’s decisions, I felt for her in her struggle to bring both sides of her life together and find the real Margot—and be true to her.
While I don’t think that the messages in this book are earth-shattering, Margot’s unique perspective gives food for thought and introduces us to a few heavier topics (sex, drug use, etc) without making the book feel like “heavy” book. I didn’t always love Margot, but I felt like she grew by the end of the book, and I learned from her. I give this one 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
Margot has remade herself so that she can fit in at her boarding school. She feels like she has to follow the lead of the popular (and rich) girls, and that has led her to make some incredibly poor decisions. When she steals her father’s credit card and charges $600 worth of clothes to it, she’s forced to spend the summer working at her father’s store to pay him back. While she’s there, her two worlds collide and she can’t seem to get them to mesh. She falls for a boy named Moises—a community activist who’s trying to prevent families from getting kicked out of their building, but she struggles with admitting her feelings for a boy who she knows her friends at school wouldn’t approve of. She feels disconnected from her best friend who has moved on without her (just as Margot has moved on), and her family and the family business both seem to be floundering—and she finds out that her family is actually falling apart in more ways than she ever imagined.
This book centers on identity. How Margot struggles to be the girl everyone else expects her to be. Her friends at school, her parents, her old neighborhood friends, the boy she wants to impress, the boy she’s slowly falling for: She can’t seem to live up to any of their expectations, and she can’t find herself in all the mess. While I wasn’t a fan of many of Margot’s decisions, I felt for her in her struggle to bring both sides of her life together and find the real Margot—and be true to her.
While I don’t think that the messages in this book are earth-shattering, Margot’s unique perspective gives food for thought and introduces us to a few heavier topics (sex, drug use, etc) without making the book feel like “heavy” book. I didn’t always love Margot, but I felt like she grew by the end of the book, and I learned from her. I give this one 3.5/5 stars.
***Disclosure: I received this book from the publisher in exchange for an honest review. No other compensation was given and all opinions are my own.***
sparklethenpop's review against another edition
4.0
I wasn't sure about this book at first but she nails the teenage voice.
lisathepoetlibrarian's review against another edition
5.0
Smart, surprising, a refreshing addition to the coming of age story in American literature.