YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN

4 1 0
                                    

BOOK INFO 

Title: You Should See Me in a Crown

Author: Leah Johnson

Pages: 336

Publication date: June 2nd 2020

Description: 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?

REVIEW

I don't know what to make of this book. On one hand, it is a fun book. I breezed through it in one day. I mean, look at the premise! What's not to like about it?!

On the other hand... 

It's not realistic. Like, really not. I have never been to an American high school, but I know people don't actually act this way. At least, not to this extreme. Sometimes, they're just plain goofy. I get that this is fiction and that you don't have to be super realistic, but c'mon. 

Another thing is that the background characters are just that; background characters. We never really get to know much about them. Characters that seem important can be forgotten in the book. 

One last thing I wanna talk about is the competition itself. Don't get me wrong, it's good. It's fun. I just expected certain things to happen. And I'm pretty sure a lot of people did too. But the "things" that ended up happening—while fun—can be a tad... weird. 

Still, though. It's a solid book, as far as YAs go. 

Rating: 8/10


Clemmie JudgesWhere stories live. Discover now