Yearly Archives:: 2017

I received this book for free from Simon & Schuster Books for Young Readers in exchange for an honest review. This does not affect my opinion of the book or the content of my review.

Pretty in Pink comes to the South Bronx in this bold and romantic coming-of-age novel about dysfunctional families, good and bad choices, and finding the courage to question everything you ever thought you wanted—from debut author Lilliam Rivera.

THINGS/PEOPLE MARGOT HATES:

Mami, for destroying my social life
Papi, for allowing Junior to become a Neanderthal
Junior, for becoming a Neanderthal
This supermarket
Everyone else

After “borrowing” her father's credit card to finance a more stylish wardrobe, Margot
Sanchez suddenly finds herself grounded. And by grounded, she means working as an indentured servant in her family’s struggling grocery store to pay off her debts.

With each order of deli meat she slices, Margot can feel her carefully cultivated prep school reputation slipping through her fingers, and she’s willing to do anything to get out of this punishment. Lie, cheat, and maybe even steal…

Margot’s invitation to the ultimate beach party is within reach and she has no intention of letting her family’s drama or Moises—the admittedly good looking but outspoken boy from the neighborhood—keep her from her goal.

2k17, the year where my eyes tear up because of everything. Currently tearing up because I wish I was a teen and I wish I could have had all these wonderful #ownvoices books in my life as a teen. I am not Latinx but goddamnit, it is so so SO good to read so many #ownvoices novels with non-white main characters. It is so good to see a POC main character and its so incredibly good to see a POC character in familiar tropes. Don’t ever let anyone tell you tropes are bad. TROPES ARE AMAZING (if done right) and people who think books need to not be trope-y are just reading books where tropes aren’t done well.

The Education of Margot Sanchez has been described as being ‘Pretty In Pink comes to the South Bronx’ and that seems like an A+ description. It feels like every other teen movie except with an amazing Latinx leading lady who will blow you away.

Did you grow up watching and loving movies like Mean Girls?

Yeah?

Read this fucking book.

A not so rich girl goes to a rich school and does her best to attach herself to semi popular girls to fit in (because otherwise, she would stick out.) She changes who she is to fit in and cuts herself off from real friends as she chases this unreachable dream of fitting in. Over the course of a summer, she is taught a lesson in life and what it really means to be MARGOT SANCHEZ.

But the book does so much more than that, it explores friendships, families and the deep hurt we are capable of causing people without even meaning it. No relationship in our lives will be perfect. We will need to work hard to keep those relationships intact. We cannot just disappear or not communicate and expect everything to be spiffy.

If anyone is curious, yes this book features a cute romance. Margot meets a boy and no he does not awaken her and make her feel like she needs to be a better person. She does that all on her own as she realizes how far she has come from the person she once was.

Margot is an amazing MC okay??? Just take my word for it.

One of my other favorite things about the book is the way Spanish is incorporated into the novel. Something about seeing a language that isn’t English just spread throughout a book makes my heart sing. I don’t even have to speak the language for it to make me happy since I am just glad to know that some teen, who does speak Spanish, will pick up this book and find themselves right at home.

To sum up: The Education of Margot Sanchez is a book filled with familiar tropes, complex relationships, a dash of angst, and a truck load of charm. READ IT. FLAIL WITH ME.

4 Hot Espressos