Response to "The Education of Margot Sanchez"
What I enjoyed the most while reading The Education of Margot Sanchez is the up-close look it allowed me to have of Mexican culture. Not only are the characters Mexican, but the author herself, Lilliam Rivera, is Mexican also. This made the novel much more authentic. My best friend is Mexican and was raised with Mexican traditions (such as Dia de los Muertos, traditional foods, etc.) and she has even shared some of these with me, but I have always been curious to learn about others' experiences as a Latino(a) in American.
I was able to relate to Margot's difficulty fitting in at Somerset Prep. I spent 9 years (K-8th grade) at a private Christian school where I struggled to make friends. I was considered weird and nerdy and was therefore ostracized. Like Margot, I tried to do what it took to fit in. Although I didn't steal my dad's credit card and buy a new wardrobe with it, I became a cheerleader (which is definitely not consistent with my personality), wore name brand clothing, and even tried changing my personality so that I talked like the popular crowd and changed my likes and dislikes to fit theirs.
Although I don't think I would teach this book in the classroom due to the amount of mature content (i.e. foul language and sexual descriptions), I would recommend it to certain students. I think it is a good read for students who want to read about a main character who is not a white male and students who are searching for their voice since this book is a coming of age novel that chronicles Margot's journey to self-discovery. Another benefit to the novel is that it incorporates the Spanish language beautifully. Not only is this one way for Spanish speakers to identify with the text, but it is a great way for English speakers to be introduced to a foreign language.
I was able to relate to Margot's difficulty fitting in at Somerset Prep. I spent 9 years (K-8th grade) at a private Christian school where I struggled to make friends. I was considered weird and nerdy and was therefore ostracized. Like Margot, I tried to do what it took to fit in. Although I didn't steal my dad's credit card and buy a new wardrobe with it, I became a cheerleader (which is definitely not consistent with my personality), wore name brand clothing, and even tried changing my personality so that I talked like the popular crowd and changed my likes and dislikes to fit theirs.
Although I don't think I would teach this book in the classroom due to the amount of mature content (i.e. foul language and sexual descriptions), I would recommend it to certain students. I think it is a good read for students who want to read about a main character who is not a white male and students who are searching for their voice since this book is a coming of age novel that chronicles Margot's journey to self-discovery. Another benefit to the novel is that it incorporates the Spanish language beautifully. Not only is this one way for Spanish speakers to identify with the text, but it is a great way for English speakers to be introduced to a foreign language.
Comments
Post a Comment