Regardless of your political opinion, AOC is a force to be reckoned with and I enjoyed this insight into the beginnings of her political career.

This was a great look into AOC's early political start. The biography was a bit more about AOC before politics, and how her passion for social equality kind of placed her on her political path, rather than that she persued it herself. I didn't know she was a biology major at college, or that her brother nominated her as a potential political candidate.

The later essays, articles, and interviews were enlightening and pointed looks at specific events or political policies, and her relationships - mostly political but at least one personal. I liked these as they added depth to her story as they were more about how she reacted to events rather than just about her personality. They put her political vision into focus, and I came away impressed by her values and long term goals.

I really enjoyed this, and would recommend to anyone interested in learning about AOC.

This biography was very comprehensive and well-written. AOC is a fascinating figure in US politics. She's very accessible via social media, so reading this helped to give more perspective into her life and political philosophy.

This is a brilliant profile done on about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, whom I thought I knew a lot about and definitely heard of.
Starting with her early life and family, her Boston University days and interning in Senator Ted Kennedy’s office, How she actually ended up running for congress, campaigning for it and actually wining. Her strong voice, activism and influence all carefully curated and presented.

I enjoyed this biography of AOC. I have recently been following her and, while I don't always agree with or understand her policies I do appreciate that she always has others' best interest at heart. This book reinforces that.

I received an advance copy. All thoughts are my own.

Prior to reading this book, I knew very little about AOC. I knew she was a young & energetic NY congresswoman who pulled off a major feat in 2018. I knew she defeated a 10-term incumbent in her primary & went on to win the seat that November. I knew since graduating from college, she spent time working as a bartender in the Bronx. Since she landed in Congress, I admit I had moments of frustration with her. What I didn't know about this young, smart & very energetic woman was there was so much more to her. To say I'm now an AOC fan as a result of peeking in a little more into her life after reading this book is an understatement. Because of reading this book, my respect for AOC has grown tremendously. Her passion for her job in government is colored by her life experiences. While I don't always agree with her & her methods, I now understand more about her.

Love her or hate her, AOC represents the future of government in this country & I look forward to this future!!

Thank you NetGalley for the opportunity to read this book in exchange for an honest review.

AOC's life is a true success story and this book put in the work in showing her life from the early years finding her voice to the drastically bold move of running for office. This is a book that should probably be in more schools to provide a look at younger/more generational relevant politicians for students than trying to force history of politicians who feel removed from them. The author did a superb job telling the story and sharing quotes/other perspectives about her life in and out of politics.

I received an ARC of this book from NetGalley in exchange for an honest review.

This was a well written look at AOC's life and rise to fame. Although I don't agree with all of her politics, I can appreciate her determination and compassion for people.

Thank you to NetGalley for the ARC of this book.

Good writing but I don’t think this was for me. Not necessarily my genre of choice.

Take Up Space was such a good read, the story of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is one that inspires if you are a supporter of her politically and as written by The Editors of New York Magazine will have the opposite effect if you loathe her. If you can put aside whatever your political beliefs are this is a greatly written book about someone who is changing the course of what politics tends to look at, and that is powerful.
I have seen and heard a lot of the speeches and documentaries made that were discussed in Take Up Space, and I was teary-eyed again because Ocasio-Cortez is really about it! Yes, she may make mistakes but so do other politicians who have been in politics for longer than she has and no one is using a magnifying glass to pick them apart, they are still in office. I hope that with "Take Up Space" everyone could see the human in Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, you don't have to agree with her but respect is deserved, and she has earned it.

I think this is a biography that can capture the attention of those not usually into this type of literature. It has an unusual format as different essays and such are interwoven together. I liked the insight that was given about AOC but don't think serious followers of hers will learn a lot of new things. Even still I think this is a good biography to pick up about a woman who beat all the odds when running for office.


Thank you to NetGalley and the publisher for providing this book in exchange for an honest review.

I really admire AOC and finding out more about her was really interesting, this biography is really well written and easy to read. It is funny and engaging but also very through. It goes into her upbringing, her family, schooling, achievements and her political career.

I thought this was outstanding. I really thought the unusual format of the book worked in its favor and kept things interesting.

I am a big fan of AOC, and I enjoyed learning more about her.

The first half of the book was more straightforward and concise. Plus, it painted a picture of AOC grew up in a working-class family and started as a bartender with family responsibilities and debts she had to pay off. Unlike other politicians, she didn't attend a prestigious university like Yale, Columbia, and Harvard like Obama and her predecessors. However, she did attend Boston University, which is still a well-known research university. I also appreciated learning that she was an introvert and that after a long day, she would much rather either play League of Legends or watch RuPaul's Drag Queen Race. AOC is savy with social media, and used it to her advantage when helping out with political campaigns and running for Congress with the help of the Justice Democrats.

The second half was a bit lackluster and didn't hold my attention though I still learned a lot about her "leftist socialist-leaning" politics. Thinking about it, she and Bernie would be considered liberal or left-leaning in Western European countries since they support universal healthcare and left-leaning policies that Americans would freak out over.

Take Up Space by the Editors of New York Magazine is a woven together biography of Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. I am a former constituent of AOC and also a big supporter. I will say that if you have followed her career or read about her then there isn't a lot of new information about AOC. We learn about her childhood in the Bronx, her families big move to Westchester and then her college life. I loved learning about her college career and also her race against Joe Crowley. It is accurately depicted. I think you can get an incredible insight to her connections and attitudes to help others and expose injustice. What was new to me was learning many of her philosophies, like her mantra over her first glass of water during the day. I'm also very glad The Editors did not shy away from brining the racism and misogyny she has had to face throughout her life.

I highly recommend this biography for all American history buffs, fans of AOC and for those looking into how they can get involved in changing the world for the positive.

Thank you to #netgalley for the ARC. All opinions are my own.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

I thought I knew a lot about Congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez before reading, but I found that I learned so much more by reading this unique and well researched book. The book tells the story of Congresswoman Ocasio-Cortez to this day, starting with her early life with her family, then it continues to her days at Boston University and interning in Senator Ted Kennedy’s office, the author then report on her run for Congress and finally they goes in depth on major storylines involving Ocasio-Cortez during her time in Congress so far. I enjoyed this book and was impressed how the author weaved all their different writing styles and pieces of work together in one book to tell one story.

Take Up Space is the gloriously realized and wonderful biased biography of based political and cultural icon Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez. The essays presented here take us through her childhood and early education, her BU years, her stunning run for office and eventual establishment in Congress. As anyone who's ever watched even a second of media coverage on AOC should know, she's what the MSM terms a "polarizing" figure, which in plain terms simply means she has strong beliefs and isn't afraid to use her considerable voice and social media presence to stand behind them. The editors of New York Magazine know exactly the crowd they're writing for here and while the (deserved) admiration and mythologizing is clear in the narrative, it's also peppered with refreshingly humanizing details and moments to remind us of the real person behind the biting Twitter quips and Zuckerberg-eviscerating questioning.

Take Up Space certainly isn't going to win over any regular Fox News viewers, but as someone who's favorite subreddit clocks in as r/murderedbyAOC, I'm all here for it baby,

**I was given a copy of this book by the publisher via NetGalley in exchange for an honest review. My thanks to Avid Reader Press and Netgalley**

Take Up Space: the Unprecedented AOC by the Editors of New York Magazine

A big thank you to @avidreaderpress for the opportunity to read this eARC. Publication date is February 22 for this book and is available now for preorder.

Although Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez’s political career and life has been relatively short, she has made an irrevocably large impact on the current political landscape. From ushering constituents behind the curtain and being unapologetically honest to being ruthless and persistent in the pursuit of her goals and what is right, AOC is the definition of unprecedented. This biography begins in AOC’s formative years in school through the present, exploring what inspired her career moves and what makes her tick.

This biography was incredibly comprehensive and well-written. I found it very easy to follow and the story very inspiring.

What I Liked:
• The storytelling aspect in this book is outstanding. This read like a friend of AOC’s sat down for coffee with me and told me about her life in different phases. Biographies written in this format are my favorite to read.
• The organization flowed really well. The breakdown of phases of her life kept this structured and made reading easy to follow.
• The fire that this brought to my heart was great. I have been captivated by AOC’s story since she was elected but sadly never took the time to really dive in and learn about her background. The story is so inspiring.

What I Thought Needed Improvement:
• The scrolling functionality was a little bit persnickety. You swiped up for page turning rather than tapping on the right hand side and I found myself accidentally changing pages when I was not ready.
• Formatting of the blank pages in between chapters. It created dead space and was a little bit awkward.
• The ratio/aspect of the photographs showed up a little odd. Maybe reducing them down would be ideal.

The Editors of New York Magazine, Take Up Space The Unprecedented AOC,
Avid Reader Press, Avid Reader Press / Simon & Schuster 2022.

Thank you NetGalley for providing me with this uncorrected proof for review.

Take Up Space is a tremendous read.

Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez is an engaging political figure who has managed to find her way through the criticism that anyone with such star qualities usually faces, some mistakes and poor decision-making, the need to develop passionate beliefs into workable policy initiatives and engaging with the various political initiatives and their supporters (sometimes with star quality of their own) that make up the Democratic Party. For anyone dealing with progressive politics and concerned with how to make them work for a largely moderate oriented constituency and with those who recommend them, this book is a valuable tool towards understanding how to achieve what seems insurmountable.

The honesty in acknowledging that moderates, progressives and ‘star’ individuals working together works only sometimes and is not particularly easy for many of the people involved, is part of the appeal of this book. Although it is not couched as a debate between the ‘progressives’ and ‘moderates’ in the Democratic Party, people who are not committed to seeing Ocasio-Cortez and her aspirations as always right (or always wrong), can find material for thought here. There will always be conflict between different groups within a party, and the Democratic Party is certainly not immune. However, Take Up Space provides hope for those who want to make working together to win government and achieve policy aims – some very progressive, others perhaps a little less so – a success. Learning what can be achieved is a hard task, but so is learning to seek as much as possible. There will probably always be conflict around someone such as Ocasio-Cortez. This book promotes understanding of both her and the party she wants to be an essential part of and contributor to, without losing the essential nature of their aspirations.

There are two parts: Part One concentrates on Ocasio-Cortez and her background, her winning the primary against a seemingly daunting Democratic figure, her gaining her seat in Congress and what she does in this capacity. Part Two is a welcome contribution to dealing with some of the detail of the earlier section. A number of people who contributed to the policies Ocasio-Cortez developed and helped shepherd through the groups in and out of Congress write about their particular knowledge of Ocasio-Cortez and the policies she espouses.

This is an easy-to-read biography and supplementary material. There is some repetition, but perhaps that is inevitable where essays are used to provide different perspectives on earlier information. Regardless of the variety of contributions there is no doubt that the writers are great supporters of Alexandra Ocasio-Cortez and her views. On the other hand, some of the conflicts with her own staff and Congressional supporters are referred to, as is her preparedness at times to accommodate alternative views, or at least work to further the interests of the Democratic Party by accepting her role cannot always to be a star standing against the inevitability of compromise that impacts all progressive political parties.

This book is really well researched, you can feel that every moment of AOC’s public life was analyzed and studied in this collection of essays. As someone that is not from the US, I was familiar with her views and some of the moments that are told in this book. However, not everything had reached me so I learned a lot of new information and I can say I understand better her political journey now. In terms of information, I have nothing negative to point out, what I felt was a bit lacking was the prose and it also felt a bit scattered and repetitive.
Thank you to NetGalley for providing me with an arc of this book in exchange for an honest review!