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jwinchell's review against another edition
5.0
I love troubled, unreliable narrators who get gut-checked by life and relationships and learn to own their unique identities and honor the difficulties and benefits of navigating various worlds. Margot is insufferable in her flagging efforts to hide and change herself to fit in. If that sounds like a cheesy, overdone trope--trust me, here it absolutely is not. And if it sounds boring to boast that Margot learns to live her life honestly by not hiding flaws & pain and connecting with people wholeheartedly--trust me when I say there's plenty of drama and romance to satisfy most lovers of realistic YA fiction.
booksirl's review against another edition
emotional
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Plot
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? No
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.0
jdemarest's review against another edition
5.0
Lilliam painted such a clear picture of her characters; they are all so distinct and well-formed in my mind, and I think that’s a real strength of this book. I was a little put off by Margot’s character development though. While the pacing was generally spot on in terms of plot points, I felt that all of Margot’s growth happened rapidly and at once toward the end of the book. I think it would have come across as significantly more organic had that development been either spread out a little more, or had the connection between the big event and the character growth been made clearer. (If that makes any sense at all.) I’m all for showing and not telling, but I think I would have liked a slower “show” or a bit more “tell.”
hubbrayyanreads's review against another edition
emotional
hopeful
lighthearted
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
3.0
mellabella's review against another edition
3.0
3.5 stars.
I don't see the comparisons to Pretty In Pink. Margot wasn't from the proverbial "wrong" side of the tracks sewing her own clothes while being bullied. Well, maybe The Bronx (even Riverdale) was the "wrong" side for her new preppy school. But not in general.
I don't want to get too long winded. We were all 15 at some point. Maybe I wasn't likable some of the time. The book starts off with Margot going to the supermarket her dad owns to work over the Summer. She stole his credit card to buy $600 worth of clothes. So she has to work it off. Her older brother Junior also works there. She doesn't want to be there. All the while being judged by most of the employees. Being called her snotty nickname of Princesa. Which, she absolutely acts like.
Mami and Papi definitely coddle Junior. Ignoring all the signs that something serious is going on with him. Margot is struggling to fit in at Somerset (new elite school) and and be someone. She befriends two of the most popular girls (who don't sound so great) at her new school while kind of ostracizing her best friend Elizabeth. She also diminishes herself and her style to be popular.
The one thing that irritated me about the book was Margots inability to speak up or address certain issues directly.
Jasmine (bitchy cashier at the family owned store) calls her mom dumb. Nothing.
Artsy Elizabeth gives her a whole speech about how she has been ignoring and excluding her? Even though she kind of left Margot o fend for herself the first day of school? Nothing.
Junior wilds out? Nothing. But had time to yell at her mom for what she perceived as bad behavior when she did the same thing?
The boy situation. She was attracted to Moises (Cute and socially conscious). Nick from Somerset was just a ticket to popularity.
This was an enjoyable read. I loved that it was set in NYC with a Nuyorican main character. I wish the author touched on colorism just a little more. I also wish we got more at the end. What will happen with her parents? Margot does grow. She sets out to right herself and the wrongs she's done. But an epilogue would have been nice.
I don't see the comparisons to Pretty In Pink. Margot wasn't from the proverbial "wrong" side of the tracks sewing her own clothes while being bullied. Well, maybe The Bronx (even Riverdale) was the "wrong" side for her new preppy school. But not in general.
I don't want to get too long winded. We were all 15 at some point. Maybe I wasn't likable some of the time. The book starts off with Margot going to the supermarket her dad owns to work over the Summer. She stole his credit card to buy $600 worth of clothes. So she has to work it off. Her older brother Junior also works there. She doesn't want to be there. All the while being judged by most of the employees. Being called her snotty nickname of Princesa. Which, she absolutely acts like.
Mami and Papi definitely coddle Junior. Ignoring all the signs that something serious is going on with him. Margot is struggling to fit in at Somerset (new elite school) and and be someone. She befriends two of the most popular girls (who don't sound so great) at her new school while kind of ostracizing her best friend Elizabeth. She also diminishes herself and her style to be popular.
The one thing that irritated me about the book was Margots inability to speak up or address certain issues directly.
Jasmine (bitchy cashier at the family owned store) calls her mom dumb. Nothing.
Artsy Elizabeth gives her a whole speech about how she has been ignoring and excluding her? Even though she kind of left Margot o fend for herself the first day of school? Nothing.
Junior wilds out? Nothing. But had time to yell at her mom for what she perceived as bad behavior when she did the same thing?
The boy situation. She was attracted to Moises (Cute and socially conscious). Nick from Somerset was just a ticket to popularity.
This was an enjoyable read. I loved that it was set in NYC with a Nuyorican main character. I wish the author touched on colorism just a little more. I also wish we got more at the end. What will happen with her parents? Margot does grow. She sets out to right herself and the wrongs she's done. But an epilogue would have been nice.
christajls's review against another edition
4.0
Margot Sanchez is a girl torn between two worlds. The first is her home in the South Bronx where she was raised and where her family owns a pair of grocery stores, Sanchez & Sons. The other is the mostly-white, private school she attends called Somerset. Both worlds come with their own sets of rules and expectations, and Margot does her best to try and navigate between them. Her family wants her to do well, to make the right friends, get grades and eventually land a lucrative career, like a doctor or a lawyer. The so-called “right friends” at school want her to dress an appropriate way, to buy the perfect things, and attend the approved parties. It’s no surprise that Margot eventually stumbles and gets caught charging hundreds of dollars on her father’s credit card without permission. So now, instead of spending her summer in the Hamptons with her Somerset friends, she’s being forced to work in her family store and pay back the money she stole....
Read my full review on Women Write About Comics
Read my full review on Women Write About Comics
brandypainter's review against another edition
4.0
Margot's voice is perfectly teen. She is self-absorbed yet open to learning more about the world around her. She is consumed by petty goals and desires yet has a real desperate need to figure out what she's truly meant to do and live for. She is both shallow and deep. She is incredibly real and the situations she finds herself in are very much typical teen problems. The cover makes this book seem like it might be edgier than it actually is. Margot's family has some serious problems, and part of her journey is learning to navigate those as well as her own social circle's dramas. It all comes together very well. Highly recommended.
sakeriver's review against another edition
I liked this for a lot of reasons—representation, characters that felt familiar—but what I liked the most was how the book made the protagonist ignorant or naive in some ways but also more perceptive than her parents in other ways. It made the dynamics between the characters a lot more complex and authentic, with each character getting their own flaws and strengths, with no one reducible to a simple stereotype.
cojack's review against another edition
4.0
Light but insightful. Social-climbing teen has to reconcile her rich wannabe prep school life with her family and roots in her Puerto Rican Bronx neighborhood.
Read my full review on Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-education-of-margot-sanchez
Read my full review on Common Sense Media:
https://www.commonsensemedia.org/book-reviews/the-education-of-margot-sanchez