Educated: A Memoir

I enjoyed this book enough to binge-read it, and while I found the storytelling and language to be vibrant while reading it, I did find myself confused here and there due to the inconsistencies and plot holes that seemed to occur in every chapter. First, I found it strange that the author used pseudonyms for her family members, when her own name was unchanged. I just don't see the point - half of her family members have their real names mentioned, the others do not. A simple Google search will give you their correct names, so what was the purpose of this?

I also had a difficult time pinning down the exact personalities of each character, but I guess for some (like Tara's father) that was the point. He's described as charming and loving in one paragraph, but paranoid and downright abusive in the next. Again, I get that this is to provide insight into the conflict and family turmoil caused by his potentially bipolar nature, but at some points I just didn't get what was going on. Which brings me to Shawn, Tara's mother, Audrey, and the rest of the characters who float in and out of importance throughout the story. I just wasn't sure if I was supposed to be as confused as I was while reading about their interactions, or if I was missing something.

All in all, it was an entertaining read, and I found myself invested in Tara's story though I will admit towards the end I just wanted the story to finish because her lack of agency was starting to grate on me. But as this is an autobiographical story, I can't be too picky - after all, hindsight is 20/20 and I'm sure even she was frustrated by the strange mistakes of her younger counterpart.