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misfitangel 's review for:
Margot & Me
by Juno Dawson
A good effort, and very emotional and sentimental in parts, but as a whole I just wasn't feeling this. Don't get me wrong, there were some great moments and qualities in this book, and it was good enough to keep me reading till the end. The relationship between Margot and Fliss Was absolutely beautiful. Their character development was sound too. I'm sure I wouldn't be the only one who couldn't stand Fliss at the beginning of the book. She seemed just the vein, shallow kind of girl that I despise the majority of the time, but as the story moves on, I began to admire her more and more, and ended up adoring the character she had become. The same could be said for Margot really. So in that sense, Dawson was right on target for her character building. I also loved its historical exploration of the treatment of women, and LGBTQ individuals, something I rarely see done well in a young adult novel. However, I found Margot's diary entries pretty cliche. There was some good stuff in there, but I think the issue lies with the way it is written. Maybe this was my own problem, instead of the book's, as when I picked this up, I didn't know it was a YA novel, instead thinking it would be something more literary, with out sounding like a total snob. But I think that was the problem here, as the diary entries were written in mind of teenagers, but I found both the rioting and the events that took place throughout the diary very watered down and sometimes inaccurate for the time it was set in. I mean, you are not telling me that two teens in 1941 seeing two guys making out in a cave wouldn't be a little ruffled, and not just because of the PDA. I mean, I was born in the late 90s so I can't exactly talk from personal experience, but I'm pretty sure there would've been a bigger reaction to seeing something so taboo in their society. And that's what I mean when I say it seems watered down. In my opinion, the best parts were when older Margot related her experiences, as these seemed much more realistic and credible.
Overall, I wouldn't say this is a bad book. It has many good qualities to its name, but I wouldn't go and recommend it to a friend, neither will I probably re-read it in the future. Maybe, if I had read this when I was younger, I would've liked it more.
Overall, I wouldn't say this is a bad book. It has many good qualities to its name, but I wouldn't go and recommend it to a friend, neither will I probably re-read it in the future. Maybe, if I had read this when I was younger, I would've liked it more.