Reviews with content warning for Grief - You Should See Me in a Crown

I had a feeling this would be a good book to have in my classroom library for when I teach high school students as opposed to my current middle schoolers. I did get the feeling that this was intended for teenagers and rightly fully so. The small town feel but they are outragesouly into prom out of all events definitely felt like something a junior / senior can relate to more so than a almost thirty year old. So I think in that sense - this would be good for them to read. However, it was hard for me to suspend my disbelief that a small town would care so much about prom. I didn’t grow up in that environment so it did make me raise an eyebrow. I also didnt like

how Gabi was taken back as a friend by the end of the novel. I felt like it would have been a more powerful storyline if Liz had parted ways with her instead. Gabi didn’t seem like a good friend to Liz.

Also

Amanda being coincidentally related to one of the music scene’s popular band members seemed a little too good to be true.

I also misinterpreted Liz’s sexuality a few times when she was around Jordan I did cry when

Robbie was in the hospital</spoiler >Overall, if you are under the age of 19 but over the age of 14- this might be something you want to pick up.

Content Warnings

wardenred's review

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emotional hopeful lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? Character
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

4.0

When the going gets tough, the tough go viral.

This was a really fun and relaxing summer read, a classic YA romcom, except queer and with a Black lead. Most of the beats in the story will be quite familiar to anyone who has watched their share of high school movies and read their share of YA contemporaries. But hey, do we read these stories for the originalities, or do we read them for the feels? For me, it's definitely the latter, and here, there were feels a-plenty.

I really enjoyed the characters in this one. Liz was a compelling protagonist to follow, and everyone around her brought their own flavor into the story: her family, her rekindled friendship with Jordan, Gabi's mixture of messed-up insecurities and fierce loyalty, and, of course, Mack—she was probably my favorite here, especially in those moments where she started rambling and it was just so relatable.

Even though the story as a whole is pretty lighthearted and hopeful, there are moments that get pretty serious: the money matters, dealing with a family member's chronic illness, the grief for a dead parent, the effects of divorce on kids. I felt they were very sensitively handled and brought depth to the story.

I won't lie and say this was a super memorable book for me, but I thoroughly enjoyed it and I'm happy I've read it.

Content Warnings

zombiezami's review against another edition

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emotional funny inspiring lighthearted medium-paced

Plot- or character-driven? A mix
Strong character development? Yes
Loveable characters? Yes
Diverse cast of characters? Yes
Flaws of characters a main focus? Yes

5.0

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