O P E N I N G H O O K:
I shudder at the thought of a slip that douses me in ranch dressing or a trip that lands me in the lap of one of the guys from the wrestling team. Or, worse, a video of that fall blowing up on Campbell Confidential, the gossipy, Twitter-esque app some senior created a few years ago that has become my worst nightmare.
(Page 7, US e-book edition)
“I never needed this race or a hashtag or the king to be a queen.I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown.”
~YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
If you are looking for the perfect June read to help promote Black Authors and Black Lives Matter, you want to read brand-new release YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN by Leah Johnson. If you are looking for the perfect uplifting book to read during Pride Month, you should read YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN. This book was the perfect way to kick off June, and I want to share the love by giving you a chance to win your very own copy at the bottom of this post!
Liz Lighty has always known her future. She's going to graduate high school and go to her mother's alma mater, Pennington College. Her music teacher Mr. K. also went there and found herself there. She's going to do the same, playing in the orchestra while studying to become a doctor to fight sickle cell anemia, a disease that took her mother too soon and that her younger brother currently lives with. When she finds out that she wasn't offered a scholarship or a chair in Pennington's orchestra, everything collapses. Sure, she can re-audition for the orchestra, but without the scholarship money, how can she even attend the college of her dreams?
The only way? To become Prom Queen and win a $10,000 scholarship.
“Prom in Campbell County, Indiana, is like football in Texas. The only difference is, we don't get our fanaticism out of our systems every Friday night for months on end. Nope, in Campbell we just hold it in, eleven months and twenty-nine days per year, until one day we explode. The whole town, covered in a heap of sequins and designer tuxes and enough hairspray to fuel the Hindenburg. It might be impressive if it weren't so ridiculously, obnoxiously annoying.” (Page 7, e-book edition)
The only problem? Liz has always tried to hide from the public eye. To win, she must become the center of attention...
YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN is such a great book about self-identity and discovering who you are and what you want. It is a quintessential growing up story, one teens everywhere will identify with, especially in this time of social media. If you slip and fall or have a bad hair day or do something crazy, everyone automatically tweets about it or makes a TikTok or shares a photo to Instagram, not to mention all the other viral apps out there. In YSSMIAC, the whole school is logged onto Campbell Confidential, an app exclusively for students that basically mimics Instagram. Liz has tried her entire high school life not to do anything that would mean going viral on the app. But now, if she wants to be prom queen, she has to start taking chances and learning more about her fellow students, and becoming a part of the school. Watching her change and evolve is so uplifting. Seeing where she was as the book begins versus where she is as it concludes is inspiring, and her story is so important for teens to see.
It's also really nice to see the student body rise around Liz. She has all these concerns that people don't like her because she's one of the only Black kids at school, or because she's really poor (Campbell students are so rich, that they are literally given goodie swag bags at prom with iPod AirBuds and gift cards to local stores. The school even hires Guy Fieri to cater prom), or because she's gay. But in the end, the majority of her classmates don't harbor these concerns and like Liz for who she is. They even support her after somebody outs her to the entire school in a mean-spirited manner, creating a couple name "Mighty" for Liz and her new girlfriend Mack, and someone even writes on Campbell Confidential, "Get someone who looks at you like Mack looks at Liz! #RelationshipGoals #JusticeForMighty." (Page 209, e-book edition) I really loved how heart-warming it was to see everyone rally around Liz and support her. This was life-changing for her, and really helped boost her confidence. Because she took a chance and came out of her shell, she gained so much confidence and love and really grew as a person -- and teens need to see this. It may encourage them to take more chances as well. Liz also deals with anxiety throughout the book, which some readers will be able to relate to, and her journey really helps give her new coping tactics that reduce her anxiety.
Liz also has an excellent support system. Her family and friends have known that Liz is gay for a long time, and are nothing but supportive of her. She never had a horrific coming out story to her loved ones, though she is outed in a horrid fashion at school. Thankfully, the times have evolved enough that her classmates are more open-minded and also thought the outing was horrible, and chose to support her rather than shun her. Even one of her teachers, who starts off as a flimsy, cardboard cutout that is simply there in the background to fuel things along, becomes such a bad-ass and champion for Liz along the way. There is this amazing scene in the principal's office where this teacher stands up for Liz and for the way Prom has been run and readers will be shouting, "You go, girl!"
Finally, if you need one more reason to pick up this book? There is a totally epic reference to Avatar the Last Airbender that results in a conversation between two characters. When characters love the same things you love, you suddenly love them just a little bit more, you know? Right now, ATLAB was given new life on Netflix and found so many new fans. I think this reference is sure to get a lot of smiles! ^.~
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If you are able to, please purchases a copy from a Black-Owned Bookstore,
such as my semi-local stores Uncle Bobbie's Coffee and Books or Harriett's Bookshop in Philadelphia!
Philly is closed due to COVID19 -- the store may reopen in June once restrictions are lifted.
BUT if you order from sites such as Bookshop and Libro.fm, the store will receive a portion of the proceeds and it will help so much!
You can also donate to their GoFundMe to help keep the store in business!
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You also have a chance to WIN A COPY below -- I think this is such a great book for both Pride Month and to support Black Authors and Black Lives Matter, and I want to help bring it to more readers.
Enter below!
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F A V O R I T E Q U O T E S
"I never needed this race or a hashtag or the king to be a queen. I was born royalty. All I had to do was pick up my crown."(Page 173)
"It might be my imagination, my newfound comfort onstage, but the room stops feeling like the walls are closing in on me. It feels something like when I perform with the band. Something like right." (Page 198)
"I tried to control your world because I couldn't control mine, and I'm so sorry. I never should have made you feel like you had to hide parts of yourself. No friend should do that." (Page 210)
"My Lizzie, my little star. I never want to tell you not to burn as fast and as bright as you can." (Page 216)
"Feeling special in a town that doesn't feel special at all is worth all sorts of madness." (Page 227)
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C O N T E N T R A T I N G S
Content Ratings: highlight between ( ) for details
Romance: G ( Kissing )
Language: PG13 ( One "F-bomb written on a school window; the hashtag #EffYourFairyTale, which implies the f-bomb and refers to the the school window message; Dammit; pissed; the phrase "Bros before hoes;" mentioning that former students almost "copulated' in a classroom. One character makes racist and homophobic remarks. )
Violence: G ( Drunk Driving Simulation; students wear bloody prom outfits and use makeup to convey bruises and blood )
Violence: G ( Drunk Driving Simulation; students wear bloody prom outfits and use makeup to convey bruises and blood )
Other: PG13 ( Hate crime occurs when one student outs the MC to the student body with a visual sign. The school principal considers disqualifying MC from the race for prom queen due to the fact that she isn't straight. Past trauma because MC's father left when she was young and mother died from sickle cell anemia. Brother also has sickle cell anemia. There is a reference to a character that is possibly drunk underage; there is a drunk driving simulation to warn students against drinking on prom night [SEE VIOLENCE].)
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C O V E R D E S I G N:
This cover is a lot of fun! I love the vibrant colors, and the playful font that forms around the model's face.
I also love that the designer brought in the crown, which is an image the main character uses throughout the novel for her campaign.
In fact, even chapter headers are broken up by that crown:
There is a lot of social media in this novel, and a lot revolves around the school app Campbell Confidential. The designers even managed to bring elements of this in sporadically throughout the novel:
I love when a book has a good design throughout, and YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN appeals to my aesthetic in so many ways!
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O F F I C I A L I N F O:
Title: YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
Author: Leah Johnson
Release Date: June 2, 2020
Publisher: Scholastic Press
Received: Borrowed from Library
Received: Borrowed from Library
SUMMARY:
But when the financial aid she was counting on unexpectedly falls through, Liz's plans come crashing down . . . until she's reminded of her school's scholarship for prom king and queen. There's nothing Liz wants to do less than endure a gauntlet of social media trolls, catty competitors, and humiliating public events, but despite her devastating fear of the spotlight she's willing to do whatever it takes to get to Pennington.
The only thing that makes it halfway bearable is the new girl in school, Mack. She's smart, funny, and just as much of an outsider as Liz. But Mack is also in the running for queen. Will falling for the competition keep Liz from her dreams . . . or make them come true?
~*~
****Giveaway*****
YOU COULD WIN....
a copy of YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
by Leah Johnson!
Enter now!
YOU COULD WIN....
a copy of YOU SHOULD SEE ME IN A CROWN
by Leah Johnson!
This giveaway is INTERNATIONAL!
If BookDepository sends books to your country,
I will send you a copy of this book if you win! ^_^
If BookDepository sends books to your country,
I will send you a copy of this book if you win! ^_^
You must be at least 13 years old to enter or have a parent's permission!
Winners will be emailed upon being chosen. If a winner doesn't respond within 48 hours, another email will be drawn. Emails entered into the Rafflecopter are used exclusively to email winners and then discarded. If chosen, the winner must disclose a shipping address so I can send them the book. This address will only be shared with Book Depository so I can ship out your book!
Winners will be emailed upon being chosen. If a winner doesn't respond within 48 hours, another email will be drawn. Emails entered into the Rafflecopter are used exclusively to email winners and then discarded. If chosen, the winner must disclose a shipping address so I can send them the book. This address will only be shared with Book Depository so I can ship out your book!
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