A review by calilendra
You Should See Me in a Crown by Leah Johnson

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

2.5

though I've come to realise this book is not meant for my age group (someone's who's about to graduate uni) quite early, I persisted and wanted to finish it. I was met with beautiful writing and lots of diversity(yay!) but also sooo many basic tropes and pop-culture references. while it does make the book feel more "relatable" to the audience, it kinda locks it in a very specific timeline which makes the book "retire" sooner than it should.
I love how we got to see some of Liz's personal relationships develop and change throughout the book, but what also got me was how it seems that Liz couldn't have reached a happy ending and got out of her shell without becoming the cliche main character at the end. I get that this might be poking at all the tropes we see in teen movies, but it did make me wonder why couldn't we have had the main character get over her fears and anxieties while staying in the "unpopular kids" bubble where she started the story.
so yeah, it was nice, it was sweet. maybe even too sweet.