Take a photo of a barcode or cover
cellular_cosmogony 's review for:
If It Makes You Happy
by Claire Kann
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.