Absolutely loved everything about this. I can't wait to pick up the next volume. Music, LGBTQ+ characters, characters of different ethnicity/races, AND a fight club???? What's not to love?

What do you mean it's over???? IT CAN'T BE OVER!!!! I would literally follow Bitty, Jack, and the rest of the Falcs to the ends of the earth with no regrets okay.

I have a lot of feelings right now and ask that you respect my privacy, as I have been WRECKED by this book.

Let me not mince words here ya’ll: I FUCKING LOVED THIS BOOK!! That’s it, that’s all, everyone go home and get this book immediately okay. There’s nothing else left to say.

Okay….maybe I have a little bit more to say.

Kacen Callendar created a beautiful story here and it touched me in more ways than one. From the very first page of this book, I felt fiercely protective of Felix. He’s in an environment where he doesn’t exactly feel like he fits in. Yes he has an amazing best friend (hello Ezra!), but he certainly doesn’t have money like the rest of the kids in his summer program. He spends most of his time at Ezra’s apartment because traveling back and forth from his father’s apartment is not only a draining journey, but also not necessarily the best environment since his mother abandoned him and his father is still having trouble acknowledging Felix’s identity as a trans boy. On top of his troubles at home, Felix is dealing with questioning his identity again, after thinking he had all of this figured out. To make matters worse, though Felix doesn’t hide his trans identity, he’s outed at the summer program when someone puts up a gallery of him after hacking into his old pictures before he transitioned and deadnaming him. Felix is determined to get to the bottom of who outed him and he’s already convinced he knows who it is. Is it really so difficult for Felix to find his happily ever after? Or is he truly unlovable even though his last name is Love?

This….this is such a beautifully written book. Let me say that this is not an #ownvoices review, as I am not transgender, non-binary or gay, but as a black reviewer, it felt so important to me that this story looked at intersectionality. Too often we as black people are forced to pick ONE identity that’s important. Either you’re black or trans or gay or a woman or a man or non-binary. It’s like you can only pick one struggle at a time and that’s just now true. Intersectionality is real and the world needs to start acknowledging it. Felix struggles come from each of his identities and to ignore one is to ignore him as a person. I’ve seen so many people say this is such an important story for the Trans and Non-Binary community and I 100% agree. Being able to see yourself in a story and identify with the characters is an amazing experience. We say all the time that you don’t need anyone to validate your identity and yet, it feels amazing to see yourself in a character because it indeed makes you feel like you are valid. Your struggles are valid. Your feelings are valid. YOUR ENTIRE PERSON IS VALID.

On top of this amazing journey that this book takes you on, you meet some amazing characters. Felix captured my heart immediately. I not only wanted to protect him, but I wanted to love him, encourage him and just watch him grow. Ezra, was equally amazing. He has such fun chaotic energy, so you know he’d be amazing to go out with, but he was a fiercely loyal friend who was there for Felix no matter what. They had their struggles later in the book, but overall, I don’t think there was a better friend than Ezra. He defended Felix, no questions asked.

Not all of the characters were great, but that was on purpose. Some of these characters are going to make you want to strangle them and you know what, go right ahead. It’s true to life because there are some real ignorant assholes in the world. Even still, this book was not about pain for the sake of pain. It was a coming of age story for an extraordinary person that wasn’t steeped in pain, but still showed a very real struggle. Everyone deserves to have this sort of story told.

Okay, that’s it, I’m done because if I say anything else, I’m going to spoil the book. In case this was too long, here’s the gist:

TL;DR: READ THIS DAMN BOOK IMMEDIATELY.

I've read so many great books this month and You Should See Me in My Crown has just been added to the list. This book was both fluffy and serious at the same time. It brought up a lot of feels, both protective and sad, but also made me laugh, tear up, and just smile way too much.

I want to thank Leah for the opportunity to read this advanced copy in exchange for an honest review.

Liz Lighty has a lot on her plate. She’s trying to get into the music program at her mother’s alma mater, trying to find money to may for this college program/education, look out for her younger brother who has sickle cell, and deal with not drawing in too much attention at school. When her scholarship falls through, there seems to be only one solution if she doesn’t want her grandparents to sell their home: run for Prom Queen.

In Campbell, Indiana, prom is a serious matter. There’s an entire competition that involves volunteering, campaigning, and let’s be honest, the entire town is way too invested in this plastic crown. The upside to it is, the prize money is exactly what she needs if she wants to pay for college. With the help of her best friends, she enters the race. Unfortunately, she has to deal with a racist prom queen legacies, all eyes on her, and an ex-best friend who left her out to dry back in freshman year. Liz may be content with who she is, but will who she is actually cut it when it comes to this race? She’s black and queer and in a town that only allows traditional values and ideals at Prom, how can she really win? Then of course, there’s the new girl, Mack, who’s also running. Is she really who she seems to be or is she too good to be true?

First, let met say that I don’t think Black readers get the opportunity to see ourselves in such normal stories. A lot of our stories are centered around pain, our shitty history, the BLM movement or tragedy and while, yes those stories absolutely need to be told, can I just get a cheesy ass contemporary starring a Black character please? Well guess what? Leah Johnson said, yes you absolutely can.

Where there are so many nuances and undercover layers to this story, at it’s hearts it’s just about a girl who is trying to survive high school and high school traditions, rekindle friendships and maybe find a little happiness.

Leah said Black Girl Joy Rights and we have to stan.


Leah manages to weave in a fun coming of age story with real life issues. What happens when you’re confronted with the best friend who ignored you for years? What happens when you’re forced into the spotlight because it’s the only way to get what you want? What happens when suddenly you meet the girl of your dreams, but no one can know? What happens when you’re faced with the sickness that took your mother from you because your brother has it too? What happens when the racist white girl in school just won’t leave you alone? And what happens when everyone, including your best friend, is telling you that who you are just isn’t enough? We get the answers to all of this and more in this story and I had such a good time reading it.

The one issue I had with the story had to do with Liz’s relationship with her best friend Gabi. I won’t give spoilers because those are no fun, but essentially while everyone makes mistakes, I really wanted Gabi to be held more accountable for hers. At the same time I understand why the story took the direction it did because it’s high school right?

At the end of the day, this was a great read and honestly, you should definitely see Liz in her crown because she’s gorgeous.

Cinderella may be dead, but trust me, the fairytale is far from over.

“Do not be silent. Raise your voice. Be a light in the dark.”