Take Up Space: The Unprecedented AOC

Democratic congresswoman Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez gets the star treatment in this immersive biography made up of original pieces by contributors to New York magazine. The book’s centerpiece is Lisa Miller’s lengthy profile, which traces the origins of Ocasio-Cortez’s stunning upset victory in 2018 to the “extreme discouragement” she felt after college, when she was forced to take a waitressing job to help pay off $25,000 in student loans. Miller also examines how the congresswoman’s enthusiasm for Bernie Sanders’s 2016 presidential campaign was “tempered by skepticism, frustration, and dissatisfaction”; analyzes the animosity directed at Ocasio-Cortez and fellow “Squad” member Ilhan Omar by “certain white men”; and discusses rumors that AOC’s celebrity status has created “disarray” in her congressional office. Elsewhere, Kate Aronoff documents Ocasio-Cortez’s decision to join a group of climate-change activists for a sit-in at House Speaker Nancy Pelosi’s office in support of the Green New Deal, while Andrea González-Ramírez reflects on how Ocasio-Cortez and other “Puerto Ricans born outside the archipelago... grow up with their heart split in two, loving both the land of the free and its colony.” Bold graphics and copious photos add to the celebratory feel, as contributors revel in AOC’s social media savvy and ability to parry Republican attacks. Fans of the congresswoman will delight in this stylish tribute. (Feb.)