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3.68 AVERAGE
3.68 AVERAGE
As always, Winnie is heading to Misty Haven for the summer to spend time with her ungirlfriend Cara and work at her grandma’s diner. What she doesn’t expect is to be crowned Misty Haven’s Summer Queen, alongside her secret crush Dallas, the Summer King. In the meantime, Cara is entering a cooking competition in town, and Winnie decides that she should enter her grandma’s diner, too, with the hopes of putting the winnings toward getting a new oven for the diner.
This was the rare YA book that makes me wonder if I’m getting too old for the genre. Cara was supposedly ok with her and Winnie’s QPR being open for Winnie, but when someone else is interested in Winnie, she becomes jealous and sabotages it; I wasn’t a fan. There were a lot of side plots going on, making it feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time on any one plot. I did like the relationship between Winnie and her little brother.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
This was the rare YA book that makes me wonder if I’m getting too old for the genre. Cara was supposedly ok with her and Winnie’s QPR being open for Winnie, but when someone else is interested in Winnie, she becomes jealous and sabotages it; I wasn’t a fan. There were a lot of side plots going on, making it feel like we didn’t get to spend enough time on any one plot. I did like the relationship between Winnie and her little brother.
Many thanks to NetGalley for providing me an audio ARC of this book.
This is not the follow-up I expected after Let’s Talk About Love. It’s better. Inside its pages you’ll find... queer-platonic partnerships, polyamory normativity, body positivity, found family, learning to let go of relationships that don’t serve you, and ALL the swoons. Plus a healthy dose of Winnie kicking ass and taking names, which, if you’re like me, will have you jumping around the room screaming YASSSS! If you need a feel-good read, this one’s for you.
It had a good setting but the whole relationship drama was quite confusing.
CW: fatphobia (forced dieting and exercise), racism (incl. discussions of police brutality), abusive familial relationships, a few HP references
If It Makes You Happy is a cute YA contemporary about queer teen experience and recognizing the unhealthy relationships in your life, and learning to both make amends and let go. It follows Winnie and focuses on her familial, romantic and platonic (queerplatonic) relationships, as she is working in her grandma's diner over the summer.
What I liked was the relationship between Winnie and her grandmother. It showed that you can love someone and they can love you back, but that doesn't mean the relationship is good for you. And I loved.
Another interesting thing about the story is Winnie's personal relationships. She is in an poly QPP with another girl, and it looks like she wants to start a romantic relationship with a boy. I think Kann did a great job of showing how scary it is for Kara to see Winnie pursue a romantic relationship in a society that prioritizes romantic bonds over platonic ones. I also loved how confident Winnie was in articulating her boundaries. I also find the way Winnie acted when those boundaries were crossed was written very well and responsibly for the age group.
What I didn't like about the book was the plotting - it was just somehow messy and the pacing was really hectic as a result. If you don't care about pacing as much as I do you'll probably have a better time with the story. I also was really excited to see some things on the page, which were set up and they happened off-page, which was a bit disappointing.
If It Makes You Happy is a cute YA contemporary about queer teen experience and recognizing the unhealthy relationships in your life, and learning to both make amends and let go. It follows Winnie and focuses on her familial, romantic and platonic (queerplatonic) relationships, as she is working in her grandma's diner over the summer.
What I liked was the relationship between Winnie and her grandmother. It showed that you can love someone and they can love you back, but that doesn't mean the relationship is good for you. And I loved
Spoiler
that the book doesn't end with the grandmother seeing Winnie's perspective, or apologizing for her actions, because that's rarely how those type of manipulative relationships unfold.Another interesting thing about the story is Winnie's personal relationships. She is in an poly QPP with another girl, and it looks like she wants to start a romantic relationship with a boy. I think Kann did a great job of showing how scary it is for Kara to see Winnie pursue a romantic relationship in a society that prioritizes romantic bonds over platonic ones. I also loved how confident Winnie was in articulating her boundaries. I also find the way Winnie acted when those boundaries were crossed was written very well and responsibly for the age group.
What I didn't like about the book was the plotting - it was just somehow messy and the pacing was really hectic as a result. If you don't care about pacing as much as I do you'll probably have a better time with the story. I also was really excited to see some things on the page, which were set up and they happened off-page, which was a bit disappointing.
I listened to this on audiobook through NetGalley after they provided me with an ARC in exchange for an honest review.
I liked the narrator and the length of the audiobook was perfect! When they get too long I start to lose interest quickly.
The plot was a cute concept. I liked the small town feel and the weird matchmaking event. That being said, I didn't really like any of the main characters. Winnie felt very whiny and hypocritical throughout most of the book. I really, really disliked her. I liked some of the messages in the book and the overall lesson of loving yourself and standing up for yourself, I just don't like how the messages were conveyed sometimes. At the end of the day this book does not make me want to read more from this author and I wouldn't recommend reading this.
Full review to come.
I liked the narrator and the length of the audiobook was perfect! When they get too long I start to lose interest quickly.
The plot was a cute concept. I liked the small town feel and the weird matchmaking event. That being said, I didn't really like any of the main characters. Winnie felt very whiny and hypocritical throughout most of the book. I really, really disliked her. I liked some of the messages in the book and the overall lesson of loving yourself and standing up for yourself, I just don't like how the messages were conveyed sometimes. At the end of the day this book does not make me want to read more from this author and I wouldn't recommend reading this.
Full review to come.
I didn't realize until the interview at the end of the book that this author is also the author of another book of her's that I gave a 2-star for. Unfortunate!
Before I knew that, I said if a book was a whiplash of chaos as a reading experience, this book would take the cake.
I was so confused a good chunk of the book. I think I found several continuity mistakes, and I didn't feel gripped or taken by any of the characters, aaaand I felt like some of the characters' habits and behaviors didn't fit? With what I'd expect them to do?
Like the parents are sooooo supportive but they aren't? Granny's on and off reactions giving a listening ear, then taking talk back then not...
And the names for the group messages kept throwing me... We're already being thrown into a queer platonic relationship with polyamory (correct me if I'm wrong with the wording), but adding "ungirlfriend" made it SO confusing throughout the story.
And there was NO. CLIMAX. to the other romance part of the book! A kiss happens and it's literally a passive like, 3-word sentence.
There's SO much going on, I wish only like two things were focused on... I got so sick of the county king and queen activities...
The characters and everything just fell flat and were so shallow and the new words for people and relationships and everything made everything so much more confusing and inconsistent...
It made me finally jump in and begin writing my own book, this one made me so disappointed as a reading experience.
Before I knew that, I said if a book was a whiplash of chaos as a reading experience, this book would take the cake.
I was so confused a good chunk of the book. I think I found several continuity mistakes, and I didn't feel gripped or taken by any of the characters, aaaand I felt like some of the characters' habits and behaviors didn't fit? With what I'd expect them to do?
Like the parents are sooooo supportive but they aren't? Granny's on and off reactions giving a listening ear, then taking talk back then not...
And the names for the group messages kept throwing me... We're already being thrown into a queer platonic relationship with polyamory (correct me if I'm wrong with the wording), but adding "ungirlfriend" made it SO confusing throughout the story.
And there was NO. CLIMAX. to the other romance part of the book! A kiss happens and it's literally a passive like, 3-word sentence.
There's SO much going on, I wish only like two things were focused on... I got so sick of the county king and queen activities...
The characters and everything just fell flat and were so shallow and the new words for people and relationships and everything made everything so much more confusing and inconsistent...
It made me finally jump in and begin writing my own book, this one made me so disappointed as a reading experience.
adventurous
emotional
funny
inspiring
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
Queer/Black/Light polyam love it .. wish we gotten more of a ending
I had a great time. I love seeing myself reflected. I also loved the black insight footnotes.
This was cute!
I think it has a lot of important reps and themes, and that it'll be important to a lot of different teens that don't usually see themselves in stories (fat Black girls, polyam teens, aro teens etc.) but I am outgrowing contemporary YA a little bit I think. I still really enjoy reading them and can recognize the value of these books and want to have them in my classroom but they're often not as impactful to me specifically as they used to be. (Also beware the HP references, this was published a while back so they're still there)
I think it has a lot of important reps and themes, and that it'll be important to a lot of different teens that don't usually see themselves in stories (fat Black girls, polyam teens, aro teens etc.) but I am outgrowing contemporary YA a little bit I think. I still really enjoy reading them and can recognize the value of these books and want to have them in my classroom but they're often not as impactful to me specifically as they used to be. (Also beware the HP references, this was published a while back so they're still there)