You Should See Me In A Crown- Book Review

Just finished with the audio book of You Should See Me In A Crown by Leah Johnson. Can’t wait to share my thoughts with you all!

Becky Albertalli meets Jenny Han in a smart, hilarious, black girl magic, own voices rom-com by a staggeringly talented new writer.

Liz Lighty has always believed she’s too black, too poor, too awkward to shine in her small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town. But it’s okay — Liz has a plan that will get her out of Campbell, Indiana, forever: attend the uber-elite Pennington College, play in their world-famous orchestra, and become a doctor.

But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz’s plans come crashing down . . . until she’s reminded of her school’s scholarship for prom king and queen. There’s nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she’s willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.

The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She’s smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?

No. of Pages :- 336 pages

Date published:- June 2020

Genre:- YA Fiction/ LGBT fiction

Leah Johnson is a writer, editor and eternal Midwesterner, currently moonlighting as a New Yorker. She is a graduate of Indiana University and Sarah Lawrence College, where she received her MFA in fiction writing, and currently teaches in their undergraduate writing program

This is actually my first time reading LGBTQ themed books. This book is also the debut book of author Leah Johnson.

So in a nutshell, Liz Lightley believes that she is too black, too poor, too awkward to take part in the prom that seems to be an obsession in her small town Campbell, Indiana. But when she loses the financial aid she has been aiming for to get into her dream college, Pennington College. Her only choice would have been to join the highly publicized high school prom event which will offer her the check to her get into Pennington so she could become a doctor. But being black is not the reason why Liz was a bit hesitant if she will win the prom–she is actually a queer.

So anyway, I will tell you all about the ones I liked about the book.

• I really enjoyed reading this book! I simply couldn’t put it down.It was funny, it was so well written. Kudos to the author for writing this book well. It was also interesting too to read that I simply couldn’t put it down.
• Many of the characters in this book are all likable except of course Rachel. I really like the main protagonist, Liz Lightley’s character in the book. She was funny, but she was also very open, a bit sensitive and is particularly close to her brother Robbie.
• I also like how Liz’s friend particularly Gabby and Britt were all supportive to her, helping her to prep for the prom, knowing her sexuality. This shows the true friendship between the girls. I like how Jordan, her friend from middle school was supporting her in the end.
• I should say, the narrator who was reading the book did a good job reading it as I was drawn into the book!
• I like the budding romance between Liz and the new girl, Amanda McCarthy, known as Mac. I also like how the author made it realistic as Liz was feeling a bit insecure with her feelings.
• This is such a cute book! This book is full of activity and also I had an emotional roller coaster ride while reading this book.
• This book is told from the perspective of Liz so we can actually know what Liz is really feeling. She seemed to be a kind heart likable character, sometimes making bad decisions.
• I like the competition the high school is having to secure a position in the prom court, like the bake sale, volunteer work.
• I like how nearly the entire community support Liz in the end–it was so heart breaking and emotional as how Liz had to go through because she is black and because of her sexuality.

Overall, I strongly recommend this book to everyone! It was fun, enjoyable, unputdownable and overall an emotional roller coaster ride. Worth five stars!