Take a photo of a barcode or cover
3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
I really loved this one, but reading it so soon after There's Something About Sweetie just made me endlessly pissed about all the non-supportive adults in fat teens' lives.
emotional
funny
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:
Complicated
I enjoyed this book, it was a cute story! It all starts with Winnie. Winnie visits her Grandmother every summer and works at her diner, Goldeen’s. This summer is completely different though. It is Winnie’s last summer before she starts college and she tries to find a new meaning in her life. Through all of this, she deals with the drama of her friend Kara and her new relationship with Dallas. On top of it, she learns how to love herself. If you’re looking for a good YA book to start your summer, this is the one! Sadly, I loved Claire Kann’s first book (Let’s Talk About Love) and I had high expectations for this one too! I did not think this one was as good as her first book, which is why I had to give it 4 stars. Overall, such a great book!
“I wasn’t sure why I loved myself as much as I did. Never really questioned it.
Of course, my self-confidence could be flighty as a bee whenever it felt like it. [...] But I loved myself. I knew and felt it deep in my bones. Even on downswing days when living and being happy in my skin felt impossible, I knew I could rely on my true self to come back around to save that struggling version of me.”
Guys, this book is so! damn! good! I really liked Let's Talk About Love but it didn't blow me away; it was a nice, cute contemporary from a perspective we don't often (or ever) get in contemporary YA. So I figured this would be good. What I didn't expect was for it to make me so emotional.
This is a summery contemporary about Winnie during the summer between senior year and her first year of college as she works at her grandma's diner Goldeen's. But things get a bit complicated when she gets crowned the Summer Queen. That sounds like a fun, light read, right? Well, kind of.
There are many moments that are just sweet and fun; scenes at different town events, hanging out with Winnie and her small group of friends, small moments between characters. But this isn't just cute and funny, it also tackles some very serious things. Racism, sexism, fatphobia, homophobia, abuse.
There's two of those things I want to especially touch on because they in particular were handled extraordinarily, in my opinion. First is the fatphobia. This book never lets you forget that Winnie is fat, from her mentioning altering her uniform to commentary on how the world perceives her. There are several scenes in the book of people, some subtly, others not, scrutinising Winnie for her weight and therefore her health. There was one scene in particular of her in a doctors office where two separate doctors ask her to weigh herself and she refuses. Instead of respecting her wishes, they rattle off reasons why they need to know it (even though they don't) and all horrible things that could happen to her if she doesn't lose weight. Winnie loses it in a semi-monologue that filled me up with so many emotions I honestly don't know how I could express them with just words, and yet is still the one seen as in the wrong. The book has so many open, honest discussions about fatphobia, particularly in medicine, that were all done so wonderfully I nearly cried.
Now onto abuse. For the first time in her life, Winnie is clashing with her beloved grandmother who seems determined to have her be perfect, expectations she doesn't put on Winnie's brother or cousin. Throughout the book their fights get bigger and bigger, and it becomes more obvious that while Winnie isn't handling it perfectly she is still being emotionally abused by her grandma. She constantly criticises her in ways that sound caring, will blackmail her while unwittingly using Winnie's brother and cousin, throws her out when she doesn't want to engage with her, her word is law and no one must ever challenge her or she will reign hell. Some people may not see this as abuse. That's fine. But I definitely did. By the end of the book
Spoiler
Winnie is no longer speaking to her grandmother after being kicked out again. There's an acknowledgement that their relationship might be repaired in the future, but also that Winnie's grandmother is the one who needs to apologise and Winnie can't be the person to make the first move yet again.But now let's talk about an amazing family dynamic because Winnie and Winston, her brother? The new best literary sibling duo. They annoy the shit out of each other and purposely get on each others' nerves, but they would also do anything for each other. A lot of Winnie's motivations revolve around Winston, and I love that we're getting a brother-sister relationship that isn't hostile. Especially one where the sister is the older of the two.
The relationships in this book in general are great. Even the bad ones are so well-written and realistic. Winnie and her ungirlfriend, Kara, are adorable but I also love that they have serious issues they have to work through over the summer. Throwing in Dallas, a boy from the town who Winnie maybe has a crush on, just makes the dynamics even better, and there are so many amazing and honest discussions of queerplatonic relationships involving these three.
Despite some of the heavier things this book covers, it still ultimately is a light, summery contemporary that deftly weaves these heavy topics in. The only thing stopping it from getting the full five is that the first five or six chapters are pretty slow as they set up the characters and town. I would say the turning point for whatever reason is the blow-up at the doctors, which luckily isn't too far in. Please read this because it's so good, even if you didn't like Let's Talk About Love I still think you should check this out.
“I didn’t fit in one perfect little box. Boys? Check. Girls? Check. Did gender really matter to me? Eh, probably not. Calling myself queer felt like standing under a kind stranger’s umbrella in an unexpected rainstorm. I might not use it forever, but at the moment, it was exactly what I needed.”
Graded By: Mandy W.
Cover Story: Happy As Can Be
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: Straight Up (But Could Be Sped Up)
Bonus Factors: Small Town Traditions, Fat as Fact
Factor: Family
Relationship Status: Happy Ending
Read the full book report here.
Cover Story: Happy As Can Be
BFF Charm: Big Sister
Swoonworthy Scale: 4
Talky Talk: Straight Up (But Could Be Sped Up)
Bonus Factors: Small Town Traditions, Fat as Fact
Factor: Family
Relationship Status: Happy Ending
Read the full book report here.
Thank you to Changing Hands bookstore for an early copy of this!
This book tackled a lot of topics I had never before seen explored in YA. It has a queerplatonic relationship in it (kann is great with ace rep). And my favorite part was how the author explored the societal difficulties of being a fat woman, particularly a fat black woman. She talked about how medical institutions and even family members can’t see past fatness and often endanger the persons health as a result under the guise of “worrying about their health.” I liked how Winnie talked about the tightrope she has to walk and putting on a performance so ppl don’t think of her as the “angry black girl.” It also just managed to be a fun story, with a great setting and a main character who is so kind and giving (I also was a big fan of the love interest). The only thing I would really change would be Winnie’s relationship with Kara. At times Kara was borderline emotionally abusive and it was labeled as just her being flawed. While I think it is important to have complex, imperfect relationships in books, something about Kara’s possessiveness just really rubbed me the wrong way. But besides that, it was a really fun read and I want to spread news of this book around, because the representation it provides is so so important.
This book tackled a lot of topics I had never before seen explored in YA. It has a queerplatonic relationship in it (kann is great with ace rep). And my favorite part was how the author explored the societal difficulties of being a fat woman, particularly a fat black woman. She talked about how medical institutions and even family members can’t see past fatness and often endanger the persons health as a result under the guise of “worrying about their health.” I liked how Winnie talked about the tightrope she has to walk and putting on a performance so ppl don’t think of her as the “angry black girl.” It also just managed to be a fun story, with a great setting and a main character who is so kind and giving (I also was a big fan of the love interest). The only thing I would really change would be Winnie’s relationship with Kara. At times Kara was borderline emotionally abusive and it was labeled as just her being flawed. While I think it is important to have complex, imperfect relationships in books, something about Kara’s possessiveness just really rubbed me the wrong way. But besides that, it was a really fun read and I want to spread news of this book around, because the representation it provides is so so important.
If It Makes You Happy is about Winnie balancing love and all that life has to hand her. She is a proud fat-girl, with an "ungirlfriend," a job at her grandmother's dinner, and a new crown. Winnie is thrust into the spotlight as Misty Haven's Summer Queen and has to learn to navigate all that comes with that. This was an original story as I haven't read a book bout a queer teenage in an open relationship before. There was a lot going on in this book and I think the main storyline got a little lost sometimes.
I enjoyed this book. It was incredibly refreshing to have a female protagonist who was confident, honest, and loved herself. However, it seemed like with the cooking contest, the summer king/queen situation, and the conflict between Winnie and Kara that there was too much going on to really delve into any of those plot points.
Read for the Read Harder 2021 prompt: Read an own voices YA book with a Black main character that isn’t about Black pain
(Could have also fallen into the category for a fat positive romance, but I’m not double dipping. And it’s not the first book I’ve read this year that fell into this category, I just wanted to have my book be realistic contemporary fiction for this prompt for some reason.)
Okay, let’s start with the positives: this book has SO much representation. Like, so much. Real world diverse representation. Like it says on the cover, our main character is a fat Black girl. But she’s also a fat Black girl who loves herself. And is queer. And is in a queerplatonic polyamorous relationship with her ungirlfriend. And has a family that she loves and has positive relationships with, which is so rare in YA. And none of the characters are perfect. They get mad. They fuck up. They make big mistakes. Some have toxic traits that they have to work through. But they love each other, genuinely. And that’s so beautiful. And they also learn that sometimes that isn’t enough, and you have to leave people behind.
And another thing, couple’s therapy is seen as a positive and normal thing for the mc’s parents to be doing up strengthen their relationship. I love that.
I had a really hard time getting into this one. And that’s on me. It’s a summer romance that I picked up at the end of September. Not the best timing. I wanted to read cozy books, and did not get that with this one. So if you’re going to read it, wait for summer! It’s a summer book.
And it did read a little young to me. But the mc acted her age, and I think all the characters did. I dunno am I getting too old for YA? How!? I’m only 21, I am a YA! I think them being my students’ ages may be making me feel distanced from YA now that I’m back in person.
So the main negative things I have to say about this book are actually on me, not it.
Still not sure about the ending though. Really not sure how to feel.
3.5 stars.
TW: fatphobia, mentioned negative reactions to coming out, manipulation, mentioned police brutality, racism
4 stars
TW: nstitutionalized fatphobia, casual fatphobia, discussions of fatphobia, casual arophobic comments, discussions of homophobia, gaslighting, character being kicked out of the home repeatedly
Rep: Black fat queer girl MC, asthmatic Black boy SC, mostly POC cast
The Writing
The writing wasn't anything to write home about (take a shot every time a reviewer uses this pun). But, to be honest, I really remember -2 things about the writing in this book, which seems to be a common theme with Claire Kann's books, because I enjoy the other elements of the book a lot more than the writing. So, let's move on now.
The Plot/Pacing
I'm also gonna need y'all to take a shot every time I say "but listen, this was a character-driven book, so there wasn't any plot" because I'm Predictable. In all honesty, though, this was a book that depended heavily on the relationships between the different characters to carry it, and I'm honestly not mad about it because the characters were all amazing. So, let's move on to talking about them now.
The Characters
First order of business, let me just say that I absolutely adored Winnie. There is so much more to Winnie than meets the eye and I loved seeing her slowly come into her own and realize what she wanted out of life and I just,,, wow I love her so much. I also really loved the side characters in this book, though I do think there was a bit of room to develop them better, but you can only get so much from one 300-page book.
That said, I did really love the way familial relationships were explored in this book - and how it was established that just because you're related to each other, that doesn't make you obligated to take shit from your family, which is such a powerful message. However, it also explores healthy familial relationships and I particularly love the sibling relationship we got in this book. The friendships were also definitely a breath of fresh air. The one negative thing that I will say about the characters in this book is that the romance felt a bit unnecessary to me.
Overall
This started out as a really adorable and sweet summer contemporary and I definitely was not expecting to pack as much of a punch, but it definitely did, with discussions on things like casual fatphobia, homophobia, and racism making frequent appearances and plenty of complex character dynamics to go along with them.
TW: nstitutionalized fatphobia, casual fatphobia, discussions of fatphobia, casual arophobic comments, discussions of homophobia, gaslighting, character being kicked out of the home repeatedly
Rep: Black fat queer girl MC, asthmatic Black boy SC, mostly POC cast
The Writing
The writing wasn't anything to write home about (take a shot every time a reviewer uses this pun). But, to be honest, I really remember -2 things about the writing in this book, which seems to be a common theme with Claire Kann's books, because I enjoy the other elements of the book a lot more than the writing. So, let's move on now.
The Plot/Pacing
I'm also gonna need y'all to take a shot every time I say "but listen, this was a character-driven book, so there wasn't any plot" because I'm Predictable. In all honesty, though, this was a book that depended heavily on the relationships between the different characters to carry it, and I'm honestly not mad about it because the characters were all amazing. So, let's move on to talking about them now.
The Characters
First order of business, let me just say that I absolutely adored Winnie. There is so much more to Winnie than meets the eye and I loved seeing her slowly come into her own and realize what she wanted out of life and I just,,, wow I love her so much. I also really loved the side characters in this book, though I do think there was a bit of room to develop them better, but you can only get so much from one 300-page book.
That said, I did really love the way familial relationships were explored in this book - and how it was established that just because you're related to each other, that doesn't make you obligated to take shit from your family, which is such a powerful message. However, it also explores healthy familial relationships and I particularly love the sibling relationship we got in this book. The friendships were also definitely a breath of fresh air. The one negative thing that I will say about the characters in this book is that the romance felt a bit unnecessary to me.
Overall
This started out as a really adorable and sweet summer contemporary and I definitely was not expecting to pack as much of a punch, but it definitely did, with discussions on things like casual fatphobia, homophobia, and racism making frequent appearances and plenty of complex character dynamics to go along with them.