You Should See Me in a Crown (novel)

You Should See Me in a Crown is a debut young adult novel by Leah Johnson, published by Scholastic in June 2020.

You Should See Me in a Crown
AuthorLeah Johnson
CountryUnited States
LanguageEnglish
GenreYoung Adult
Publication date
June 2, 2020
Media typePrint Hardcover
Pages336 (Hardcover edition)
ISBN9781338503265
Websitehttps://www.byleahjohnson.com/
This article is about the young adult novel. For Billie Eilish song, see You Should See Me in a Crown.

The story follows Liz Lighty, who hatches a plan to leave the 'small, rich, prom-obsessed midwestern town' she lives in because she feels 'too black, too poor, too awkward' to live her best life there.[1][2][3] The book was given a Stonewall Book honor.[4]

Plot

Liz Lighty longs to leave her hometown of Campbell, Indiana and makes plans to start a new life at the elite Pennington College, where she aims to join their world-renowned orchestra and study to become a doctor. Liz hopes to enroll at Pennington with the help of financial aid but when the aid suddenly becomes unavailable, she reluctantly decides to join a contest at her high school which awards scholarships to the prom king and queen.[1][2][3]

Even though Liz is afraid of being the center of attention, fears the possibility of being trolled on social media and dislikes public events, she is fueled by the desire to follow her dream of attending Pennington College. When Liz finds herself falling for her prom queen competition, the bright and witty Mack, she is caught between the excitement of a new crush and the risk of losing a scholarship.[1][2]

Publication history
  • United States, Scholastic Inc ISBN 9781338503265, 2 June 2020, Hardback

Reception

On its release,You Should See Me in a Crown received positive reviews and temporarily sold out across various retailers.[3] Publishers Weekly included the novel in its Children’s Institute 2020: Indies Introduce Debut Authors list, Forbes profiled it during Pride month 2020, and Time cited it as a fiction book that can contribute to anti-racism work through storytelling that centers Black people.[5][6][7][8] Goodreads included it in its list of Popular Queer Young Adult Fiction list for June 2020 calling it 'a self-love anthem for queer black girls everywhere.' The book was given a Stonewall Book honor.[4]

References
  1. "Meet the Authors of June's Popular Queer Young Adult Fiction". Goodreads. Retrieved 2020-06-13.
  2. You Should See Me in a Crown. 2020-06-02. ISBN 978-1-338-50326-5.
  3. Gerike, Lydia. "'Black joy is at the heart of' author and Indianapolis native Leah Johnson's YA novel". The Indianapolis Star. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  4. "ALA announces 2021 Youth Media Awards". News and Press Center. 2021-01-25. Retrieved 2021-01-25.
  5. Bussel, Rachel Kramer. "5 LGBTQ Authors On The Inspiration Behind Their Young Adult And Middle Grade Books". Forbes. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  6. "Children's Institute 2020: Indies Introduce Debut Authors". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  7. "Spring 2020 Flying Starts: Leah Johnson". www.publishersweekly.com. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
  8. "Reading Anti-Racist Nonfiction Is a Start. But Don't Underestimate the Power of Black Fiction". Time. Retrieved 2020-07-15.
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