shadowin's review against another edition
3.0
This book would have received a different rating if it weren’t for the ending. There came a point where I was a bit bored while reading; Princesa was a bit childish and her obstacles were a tad middle school for me. The chapter at the beach party, made me think of Princesa to be extremely naive. I debated long and hard on the rating..... this is also the first book that I read and the main character and her family are Puerto Rican. I am Puerto Rican and was excited to relate to a character even more. This story let me down. I felt like the author portrayed this Hispanic family to be such terrible people. It is annoying. I understand it is a stereotype where Hispanics are considered thief’s and/or selfish slick people and this book completely played to that stereotype. The ending caught my attention, which was great, because the beginning was rather dull/silly.
jessicaye's review against another edition
4.0
It was okay but yet kind of a stereotypical story. The plot was good, the writing not so much.
miczekk's review against another edition
4.0
4.5 There are a lot of great topics in this book that would be great for a book club discussion
paulineerika's review
adventurous
mysterious
medium-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? A mix
- Strong character development? It's complicated
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
2.5
This is a perfectly adequate YA novel--and it is very much a YA novel, complete with high school pseudo-drama and character development that flits in and out at the speed of light. (I say this as someone who actually really enjoys a lot of YA novels.) I didn't mind most of it, except there was a lot of it. I think it would have been better if Rivera had maybe cut one or two of them out.
I know Margot is supposed to be a problematic character who learns her lesson and matures as the book goes on, but to be honest, I kinda understood where she was coming from, so she never felt super-problematic to me--just a teenage girl who's trying to fit in with her white classmates at prep school. Did she make mistakes? Absolutely. Were they so horrible? In the greater context (and given some of the other characters' actions), not really. Margot was just supposed to be the bad person all around who eventually grows up and learns the importance of family, values, etc., but again, she just never seemed that bad to me. So the premise ends up falling a little flat for me.
Spoiler
Dad cheating on mom with a 20-year-old subordinate and getting the subordinate pregnant? Brother in rehab with a coke/drug addiction? A half-ass love triangle? MC drunkenly losing her virginity to a guy who actually seems interested in her because she can't stop thinking about someone else? Mean girls who turn out to be not-so-mean after all? Leaving friends behind and then realizing you want your friends back?Spoiler
Maybe the losing the virginity thing, since that seemed totally glossed over and the guy she slept with wasn't even a jerk and was genuinely into her? He just apparently wasn't the real love interest. Seemed really unnecessary.I know Margot is supposed to be a problematic character who learns her lesson and matures as the book goes on, but to be honest, I kinda understood where she was coming from, so she never felt super-problematic to me--just a teenage girl who's trying to fit in with her white classmates at prep school. Did she make mistakes? Absolutely. Were they so horrible? In the greater context (and given some of the other characters' actions), not really.
Spoiler
Also, the book never really dealt with Elizabeth's own missteps.juanitamfm's review against another edition
3.0
This book took me a little longer than I think it should have because I wasn’t as in to it as I was hoping I would be.
The Education of Margot Sanchez caught my eye because the cover is amazing and I’m really trying to diversify my reading more, but I was kinda disappointed. On one hand she makes a lot of mistakes and is concerned about a lot of dumb things like fitting in, popularity, and just teenage issues, which is real...we were all like that at some point.
But the characters needed more development and the fact that every bad thing that could happen to a Latina family, alcoholism, drugs, infidelity, gentrification ALL happened to her family in the span of summer break was just an over reach of things that could’ve maybe been spread out over several books. There were lots of things exposed with no “what’s next” or more information to help move the reader on...oh she just got drunk had sex on the beach and the end...it needed more.
The Education of Margot Sanchez caught my eye because the cover is amazing and I’m really trying to diversify my reading more, but I was kinda disappointed. On one hand she makes a lot of mistakes and is concerned about a lot of dumb things like fitting in, popularity, and just teenage issues, which is real...we were all like that at some point.
But the characters needed more development and the fact that every bad thing that could happen to a Latina family, alcoholism, drugs, infidelity, gentrification ALL happened to her family in the span of summer break was just an over reach of things that could’ve maybe been spread out over several books. There were lots of things exposed with no “what’s next” or more information to help move the reader on...oh she just got drunk had sex on the beach and the end...it needed more.
espiri_reads's review against another edition
3.0
This is more like a 2.5, but I rounded up because the book had potential. Boy, did it have potential. A Puerto Rican teenage girl from the Bronx, who is in trouble for stealing Dad's money to try to fit in with her fancy Prep school friends, starts falling for a boy from the Bronx who is an activist that organizes around anti-gentrification campaigns. That's it though. The analysis and conflict surrounding double consciousness and gentrification doesn't get much deeper than the sentence I just wrote. Sigh. The drama that does happen is predictable. Her humble pie is that her family isn't perfect, but in the most predictable way. It wasn't bad, it was just very superficial. The positives are that although the book uses her double consciousness and the gentrification as back drops, its presence can potentially lead to discussions about both issues with teenage readers.
aprilpoole's review against another edition
challenging
funny
hopeful
lighthearted
fast-paced
- Plot- or character-driven? Character
- Strong character development? Yes
- Loveable characters? It's complicated
- Diverse cast of characters? Yes
- Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes
3.5
chrissireads's review against another edition
4.0
I have heard such good things about this book that I knew I needed to get to it ASAP. I’m really pleased that I found time for it because I thought it was a decent read. Lilliam Rivera is a fantastic writer. I couldn’t believe that it was her debut!
I would describe The Education Of Margot Sanchez as a story about becoming who you really are. Margot is desperate to be liked by the popular gang at her private school. Margot has two sides… her side where she pretends she’s has a wealthier more edgy side to her to her peers at school. Then there’s the side that is family orientated and proud to be different/expressive. The story follows Margot as she grows and develops as a person and works out who she really wants to be.
Margot starts off as such as annoying, insipid character, but she really does grow as a character throughout the book. That’s something I really enjoy. I also really salute to lack of insta-love. Too often a girl falls in love at first sight and it makes my eyes roll. This didn’t happen between Margot and Moises. I also loved how as a reader, we’re left wondering whether they got together or not. I don’t always like ambiguity in a story, but this really worked for me.
I loved that this story had a Latina character. I also appreciated the many issues represented in this story, despite the fact that the story is less than 300 pages. It’s much deeper than you first anticipate. I loved how this story didn’t wrap everything up. Life isn’t wrapped up for anyone and that should also be the case in stories. Much more real!
I would describe The Education Of Margot Sanchez as a story about becoming who you really are. Margot is desperate to be liked by the popular gang at her private school. Margot has two sides… her side where she pretends she’s has a wealthier more edgy side to her to her peers at school. Then there’s the side that is family orientated and proud to be different/expressive. The story follows Margot as she grows and develops as a person and works out who she really wants to be.
Margot starts off as such as annoying, insipid character, but she really does grow as a character throughout the book. That’s something I really enjoy. I also really salute to lack of insta-love. Too often a girl falls in love at first sight and it makes my eyes roll. This didn’t happen between Margot and Moises. I also loved how as a reader, we’re left wondering whether they got together or not. I don’t always like ambiguity in a story, but this really worked for me.
I loved that this story had a Latina character. I also appreciated the many issues represented in this story, despite the fact that the story is less than 300 pages. It’s much deeper than you first anticipate. I loved how this story didn’t wrap everything up. Life isn’t wrapped up for anyone and that should also be the case in stories. Much more real!