The premise of the story was well executed, but could have used a bit more details and depth in certain parts. Overall, it was still a thoughtful and entertaining read. ( )

Margo straddles two worlds, that of the exclusive private school she attends and her family's grocery store in the Bronx. She strives to be accepted by Serena and Camille, to wear the right clothes and attend the most happening parties. But she hides her background from them. Meanwhile back in the Bronx, she has to spend the summer working at the store, punishment for using her father's credit card without permission. There she's known as daddy's girl, Princesa, while the cashieristas are rough-edged, salt of the earth types. When she meets Moises, a clear-eyed neighborhood activist, there's a definite attraction that she tries to deny. But as problems in her family mount, Moises' influence helps Margot figure out what's real. ( )

Margot is her father and mother’s “princesa,” and her Puerto Rican family is all about appearances in their middle-class neighborhood in the Bronx. When Margot steals her father’s credit card to buy clothes that will help her fit in with the kids at her prep school, then, it seems to her entirely unfair that her father sentences her to a summer working in the family supermarket. While there, she meets Moises, a budding community activist, to whom she’s drawn (though she also has her sights set on a boy from school with a house in the Hamptons). When she finds out that her brother is selling and using drugs and that her father is having an affair with one of his cashiers, her summer ends in a series of personal epiphanies that befit these reveals, and Margot has to learn what it means to get real with herself and her situation. This slice-of-life drama holds few surprises in terms of plot or character arc; it’s clear from the beginning that Margot’s desire to fit in at her school through abandoning her former friends and giving up her own style is a dubious project that she will eventually give up, and the clues she misses about her father and brother will not be missed by the reader. As a result, the lessons for Margot are laid out one by one: accept your family and community despite their flaws, and don’t pretend to be something you’re not. On the plus side, there is no phony forgiveness or overly romanticized compensation for the things that go wrong, other than, perhaps, the change in Margot’s character from a constant complainer to a person who grimly accepts and tries to make the best of the inevitable. Give this to readers who like their realism straight-up with a side of message.
- Karen Coates ( )

A little too preachy and very Afterschool Special. ( )

Very well written. I got sucked into the typical life of a 15-year-old who worries about what other people think of her. She tries too hard to fit in at her new experience private school where she got in trouble and is now paying back her Papi. This really shines a light on how stupid teenagers can be. I know I wasn't like these kids but I knew kids like this. Very enjoyable and a fast read. I liked Margot even though she was a selfish person. Well rounded characters. ( )