Rivera, Lilliam. The Education of Margot Sanchez. Simon and Schuster Children's Publishing Division, 2017. ISBN 9781481472111
Plot
Margot takes her father's credit card for a new wardrobe. She is grounded and must work at her father's grocery store. She attends a prep school where most are from a different economic background, higher income than her family. She does most things accessible to her to not have to work at the store, and she isn't trying to be liked or seemed good in the eyes of her family. She gets invited to a beach party that she ends up going to regardless of the characters in her life encouraging her not to. She's caught between two worlds that of the working class neighborhood her family owns two supermarkets and the prep school she attends. She meets Moises who has a social justice lens about the "revitalization going on in the neighborhood" ultimately she learns to be more comfortable with who she is as she is confronted with some decisions she's made.
Critical Evaluation
Margot Sanchez is a character with many flaws, and is judgmental, status conscious and appears selfish. Her character is believable, strong, in that it resembles the developmental stage of many in her age range. There are mentions of colorism, as she is lighter in skin tone than her mother and her attempt to distance herself from her cultural roots. The phenomena in many children and teens with parents from other areas. Some concepts may be difficult for a younger age range as there are many elements in the story: gentrification being one of them and dealing with machismo. The other characters are rich in the story adding value to it being a page turner.
Reader's Annotation
Puerto Rican young woman from the Bronx dealing with fitting in at her prep school and pushing boundaries to find out more about what she can get away with and ultimately learn about.
Author Info
Lilliam Rivera is an award-winning author of the young adult novels Never Look Back, a Pura Belpré Honor winner, Dealing In Dreams, The Education of Margot Sanchez, as well as the Goldie Vance series for middle grade readers, and the stand-alone middle grade novel Barely Floating. Her forthcoming works include a young adult science fiction novel, We Light Up the Sky, for Bloomsbury (Oct 5, 2021) and a graphic novel for DC Comics, Unearthed: A Jessica Cruz Story (September 14, 2021). Her work has appeared in The Washington Post, the New York Times, and Elle, to name a few. Lilliam lives in Los Angeles.(Lilliam River, nd)
Genre
Romance - Contemporary
Booktalking Ideas
Conversation with father regarding her relationship with Moises, and his comment all she needs to do is open her legs and end up like all the other girls in the neighborhood. Thoughts on pregnancy, shame and familial expectations.
Reading Level/interest
Reading level grades 6- 8 and grade level interest 9 - 12
Challenge Issues
Use of profanity. I will defend it with the Library Bill of Rights and this Collections Policy from the LA County Library.
Why I Chose It
The themes of trying to fit in, the pressure of fashion, and gentrification, and dealing with patriarchy in one's family and community.
Reference:
About (n.d.) Lilliam Rivera Retrived on December 4, 2021 https://www.lilliamrivera.com/about
On Writing Fearlessly: A Pen Ten Interview With Lilliam Rivera
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