A review by readingismyonlytalent
Excuse Me While I Ugly Cry by Joya Goffney

adventurous challenging emotional funny informative 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

I loved this book. I loved watching Quinn grow to love herself and become more comfortable with her Blackness. I love how the book talks about the struggles of growing up black in a predominantly white area/school and being called an “Oreo” or “not black enough” or having our feelings about racial issues cast aside bc “we’re basically white” it’s annoying and I felt so seen knowing that I wasn’t the only one who went through that. I wasn’t the only one who didn’t feel black enough. I also loved Carter and how much he loved Imani and watching how hard he worked to make sure she didn’t grow up with “daddy issues” like he did. Watching him and Olivia help Quinn become more comfortable in her skin was so nice. I also loved how it touched on the topic of self hatred in the black community with her dad. The only problem I had was

how Matt kind of just disappeared. In the beginning she was pretty adamant about not losing his friendship bc it was 10 years long and he meant a lot to her. But after she lost her journal and started hanging out with Carter and them, she stopped talking to Matt and was even ignoring his text. It was all just really weird to me especially bc he didn’t do anything to deserve it. He was a pretty good friend.

Overall this book was so good and I’m definitely buying a copy.