You Should See Me in a Crown: A Reese's Book Club YA Pick

My 16 year old daughter loved this book.

I may be a little older than the intended audience of this book, but I enjoyed every second of it. I wish I could have read it a few years ago when I was in high school. Seeing a queer, black, and nerdy protagonist learn how to be unapologetically herself and get her happy ending was so empowering and heartwarming. I'm so glad this story exists, and I'm glad I got to experience it. The relationships in the story were beautiful, meaningful, and all played equally important roles in this story-- romantic, friendships, and familial. The romance between Liz and Amanda was so sweet, and it gave me all the butterflies. I loved Jordan and Liz's friendship and Liz and Robbie's sibling dynamic. Such a great read!

This was perhaps the cutest, sweetest, softest, most heartwarming story I have ever read!As a poor, black teen, Liz Lighty as never felt as though she truly belonged Campbell, Indiana, a fairly upper-class and predominately white town. However, she has a plan to get out. She is going to attend college at Pennington, an elite school where she hopes to be a member of their orchestra while studying to become a doctor.However, all of that crashes around her when she finds out she wasn't awarded the scholarship she needs in order to be able to meet the financial cost of Pennington.Desperate, she decides to run for prom queen, because in her prom-obsessed community, those who earn the title of prom queen, are also awarded a scholarship to the school of her choice. But this is something so far outside of Liz's comfort zone, and she is riddled with anxiety just thinking about it.Luckily, their's Mac, the new girl who just so happens to be running for Prom Queen as well. She makes the whole thing bearable, and Liz might just have more then platonic feelings for her. But in her town, being queer might ruin her chances of winning the crown. Will falling for Mac be the end of her dreams, or the beginning?This story was absolutely lovely and gave me so much more than I was expecting.I was hesitant going into this, as I thought this would be riddled with social commentary. I dislike it greatly when authors use their own characters as a mouthpiece to voice their own personal political viewpoints, especially as they are often delivered in a very surface-level fashion, not providing nearly enough context or well-rounded information. Luckily, this did nothing of the sort.I also very much enjoyed Johson's writing, which was modern and relatable without being too over-saturated with pop-culture references (Basically, what Becki Albertalli wishes she could be.)This book also didn't fall into a lot of holes that many stories of this kind could trip into. While there was one mean girl, the front runner for prom queen, people in her circle didn't fall to her whims. They stood up to her when she was being hideous towards Liz, and I appreciated the representation of loving, kind, female friendships.I also love how supportive the other candidates for Prom King and Queen were, especially when Liz was publicly outed by the mean girl referenced above. They and the entire student body all came together in support of her, calling out their uptight school administration demanding they challenge the preexisting prejudices that have long existed in their school.Ultimately, this story was filled with many beautiful messages and I will definitely be on the look for more from Leah Johson in the future

Liz Lighty’s future is perfectly planned out. She’s going to attend her mother’s alma mater, Pennington, on her way to becoming a hematologist. But everything falls apart when she doesn’t receive the scholarship she needs. Now, in order to salvage her dreams, Liz is doing the unthinkable. She’s running for prom queen. Prom is not just a high school dance in Campbell County, it’s the event of the year. Thrust into the spotlight, Liz must find a way to carve space for herself in a world where her Blackness and queerness set her apart and sometimes makes her feel unwelcome. Liz is an easy character to like. Her dreams for the future are intertwined with the death of her mother and her younger brother’s same sickle-cell diagnosis. She tends to spread herself thin if it means keeping the burden off her loved ones. She isn’t used to having good things come her way easily and so accepting these good things can sometimes be hard. When she meets Mack, a fellow prom queen candidate, her attraction to her throws her off. I loved the easy rapport between these characters. Liz is only out to her family and close friends and knows that starting a relationship with Mack might jeopardize her campaign, but she keeps getting drawn to the gregarious and alluring Mack. Johnson explores a trope that we really don’t see often and that’s the second-chance friendship. Liz ends up reconnecting with her former best friend, Jordan, and even though there is still a lot of past hurt, they fall into step with one another effortlessly. These two get each other in a way that is rare and feels truly special. You Should See Me in a Crown is all about embracing who you, not allowing others to change you, and demanding that people make room for you. Leah Johnson’s debut is infused with charm and is guaranteed to leave you with a big grin on your face.

TW: anti blackness, homophobia, being outed, vomitingCW: pre-book parent death, illness mentions, panic attacks, anxiety, an instance of vomiting from a panic attack, hospitals, some medical procedure talkYou Should See Me In A Crown quickly drew me into the life of Liz Lighty, a hard-working high school senior whose dream is to become a doctor and also attend the university her late mother to pursue a further education in composing. From the beginning, I had to root for Liz and loved how she succeeded despite the hurdles life threw her way. Many Black women and girls go through hardships without a solid support system and I love love love that Liz has a loving family she’s close to and can count on, even if she forgets that for a little while and thinks everything is on her shoulders alone.This book made me laugh and tear up. For Black readers like myself, it’s relatable and comforting to see someone like us going through it, but also gearing up to be gay and fall in love, but also have a bitchin prom experience! It was very feel good while also touching on some deep topics like racism, mental health awareness, poverty, self-identity, toxic friendships, and having family members with chronic disease.While Liz’s world is turned upside down trying to fund her dream, she falls in love. I think Johnson did a wonderful job giving us a sweet wlw romance for the Black queer audience. It wasn’t insta-love, but Liz and Mac have obvious chemistry and I loved their relationship! Even when there were mistakes or someone didn’t show up for their girlfriend how they should’ve, it wasn’t ignored and they actually had to talk about their feelings! I really loved that and think it’s super important for younger audiences to know it’s okay to say what hurt you and not keep it locked up inside.Overall, I loved reading this book. It has a happy gay end for the lead couple and has tons of Black girl magic! I couldn’t stop thinking that Black kids are so so lucky to be growing up in an era where YA books are starting to show more and more stories with us in the forefront. It went right on my favorites shelf and I’ll be keeping an eye out for Leah Johnson’s future works.